AP: Ron Zook to be named Illinois coach

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - Former Florida coach Ron Zook will take over at Illinois, sources told The Associated Press Monday.

Zook's hiring as head coach will be announced at a news conference Tuesday, said two senior university officials speaking on the condition of anonymity.

He will replace Ron Turner, who was fired Nov. 22 after the team went 3-8.

Florida fired Zook Oct. 25 after an embarrassing loss at Mississippi State. Zook coached the Gators for the rest of the season, finishing 7-4, including 3-1 after he was fired, and getting an invitation to the Peach Bowl.

Zook's firing at Florida came after two-plus years with the Gators, satisfying a growing groundswell for his ouster that began the day he replaced Steve Spurrier, who left for the NFL.

Zook was 23-14 with Florida in his first heading coaching job and had some impressive victories, including two wins over Georgia, one over eventual national champion LSU last season and an upset of Florida State on Nov. 20. It was the Gators' first win in Tallahassee since 1986. That may have been Zook's final game with Florida. It was not clear whether he would coach the Gators against Miami in the Peach Bowl.

Turner was fired after Illinois had just one Big Ten victory in two seasons. Just three years ago, Turner led the Illini to their first conference title in a decade.

Illinois won only once in 2003 and lost 14 Big Ten games in a row before defeating Indiana 26-22 on Nov. 6. Two of the Illini's four wins in the past two seasons have been against Division I-AA opponents, Illinois State and Florida A&M.

Zook, who played football at Miami of Ohio, was an NFL assistant for six years before taking over for Spurrier. He was the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator for two seasons; defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999; and special teams coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1996-98.

Before that, he was an assistant at Florida from 1991-95, and also worked as an assistant at Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Kansas, Cincinnati and Murray State.