Illinois coach Bret Bielema continues to be unapologetically himself these days. Whether it's public 'X' feuds, retaining as many players as possible, or single-handedly turning around a program that once failed to capture the imagination of the national college football landscape.
Following a 10-3 mark this past season, Bielema, 55, is making his stamp known in Champaign, but his success didn't come overnight. Thanks to the help of NFL coaching legend-turned-North Carolina coach Bill Belichick, Bielema was set up for success upon returning to Big Ten college coaching.
During an episode of "Pardon My Take," Bielema threw shade at those who quickly discredited his success while also leaning on Belichick during his years in New England to make him a better coach overall.
“He just kind of started talking to me," Bielema said. "He said, ‘Hey, I don’t know how long we’re gonna go, but when we’re done, I’d like to give you a call and see if you’d like to think about working in our organization.’ Didn’t know what it was.' “So, literally, that was the year they got beat by Philly. The next day at 11:00 he called me. He said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in this?’ So, I started watching some film. He didn’t offer me a job.”
Bielema was eventually brought on New England's staff the following season, the same year the Patriots won their most recent Super Bowl in Tom Brady's second-to-last season in Foxboro.
"One of the first projects," Bielema said regarding how quickly his consultant role got going. "He gave me four teams to look at in a playoff season,” Bielema said. “And said, ‘Look at it in the redzone and tell me what you think.’ So, I literally did this little project. I think that’s what it turned into. I ended up working on the defensive side of the ball."
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Bielema then took his talents to Champaign to turn around a fledgling program seemingly broken by past regimes. Nearly five years later, Illinois is in a much better spot as it seeks back-to-back bowl wins under Bielema.
For now, only time will tell whether Bielema can keep building momentum.