Whether voluntary or pushed, a lot of previously valued members have departed Lovie Smith's Illini football operation.
Assistant coaches Garrick McGee and Paul Williams were the first to go. They're joined by defensive line coach Mike Phair (Colts) and staffer Nathan Scheelhaase (Iowa State).
Phair and Scheelhaase will be quickly replaced, but their loss adds to the perception that, with 15 scholarship players parting ways, the Illini might be starting over in 2018 as a shorthanded football team.
And to some extent, that is true. Even if those 15 weren't valued, 12 of them were good enough to be handed 47 starts for the Illini in 2017 alone.