After firing head coach Bill Cubit on Saturday, Illinois is hiring former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith as the new head coach. Smith coached the Bears for nine seasons. He was 81-63 during his time in Chicago, taking the Bears to the Super Bowl in the 2010 season. He then coached two seasons with the Bucs, but was let go this offseason after a 6-10 season. Before hiring a new athletic director, Illinois had signed Cubit to a two-year contract in November. A defense-minded coach, will likely bring more discipline to a Big Ten team that hasn't had a winning season since 2011 when the Fighting Illini went 7-6. Follow me on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL Aaron Wilson covers the Texans for The Houston Chronicle.