Illinois coach Bret Bielema is on the short list of coaches this century who have come to know both the Big Ten and SEC well.
From 2006 to ‘12, Bielema put in seven years as Wisconsin’s head coach, leading the Badgers to a 68–24 record and a trio of Rose Bowls. He then shocked the Big Ten by departing for Arkansas—a gross miscalculation that ended with his firing immediately after a loss in 2017.