Think about the last three times before Monday that Illinois had hired a head football coach.
In 2005, the Illini hired Ron Zook, who'd already become something of a punchline after a failed tenure at Florida. In late 2011, the school brought in Tim Beckman from Toledo, and from early on it appeared that Beckman lacked a certain, shall we say, stature for the position. In November, of course, Bill Cubit was elevated from interim to full-time head coach, though the two-year contract he was given underlined the program's dubious commitment to his future.
That's the main difference between those moves and Monday's introduction of Lovie Smith as the next Illini coach.