How Sean Snyder will fill in for Ben Miller
The position that Sean Snyder currently occupies as the special teams coordinator and specialist coach for Bret Bielema on the Illinois football coaching staff is a precarious one. Not because the job itself is unique, but, rather, because if things go well off the field in Ben Miller's treatment for colon cancer Snyder will likely leave Illinois after just one season.
Miller hasn't been with the Illini on a full-time basis since the spring, he missed all 15 practices as he went through the first round of chemotherapy sessions to treat cancer. And despite an improvement in Miller's overall health, he is scheduled to receive a second set of chemotherapy treatments that will keep him off the sidelines for Illinois this upcoming season.
But he is still involved in a smaller role, and he's still permitted to recruit for Illinois per NCAA rules.
Snyder comes to Illinois after previously serving as the special teams coordinator at USC for the last two seasons. Before coaching Southern California, Snyder was an assistant coach at Kanas State for many years under his father Bill, and was on staff when Bielema was a co-defensive coordinator from 2002-03.
Sean Snyder and Bielema also played together at Iowa for one season where Snyder was a punter while Bielema played defensive line. Snyder transferred to Kanas State after one season with Iowa to play for his father. Bielema and Sean developed a connection that has lasted though, and when Bielema knew a, hopefully, short-term replacement for Miller would be needed, Sean Snyder was his man.
"There's a lot of guys that are, especially as coordinators, who really are good at special teams, but they're not great at, maybe they don't have a lot of experience, at kicking the ball, snapping the ball, punting the ball," Bielema said. "That's his forte. That's where he made his deal.
"When I first took the job [at Illinois], I actually considered him but he was at USC. The way the cookie crumbled and the way it played out I reached out to him and afforded this opportunity. The impact he’s had on our specialists has been very positive. …As bad as it is timing for Coach Miller and what he’s going through — it’s very positive as of late — and the addition of Sean has been awesome.”
But the idea of taking a, likely, temporary position on a coaching staff was difficult for Snyder. He didn't want to disrespect or take anything away from Miller in what is obviously a tough time for him, and his family. But through conversations with Bielema and Miller, Snyder felt a working relationship could be formed.
"The conversations Coach (Bielema) and I had, the conversations I've had with Ben has made that a very comfortable situation," Snyder said. "For me, it's coming in here and doing the best I can. Doing everything the best I can and doing it in a way with Ben, with coach that we are all married up together so we don't have any issues, that's all been good."
Making matters slightly more complicated for the Illini on special teams in 2022 is that the Illini are being forced to replace Blake Hayes (punter), James McCourt (kicker) and long snapper Ethan Tabel. All three were multi-year starters for the Illini -- Hayes and McCourt both earned All-Big Ten honors in their careers. Illinois does feel confident that Hugh Robertson can step in at punter and Caleb Griffin should be ready to be the Illini's kicker as he prepares to enter his fifth season in college football. Snyder worked with both in the summer, which helped established a working relationship with both specialists.
"Hugh has been punting the ball pretty well," Snyder said. "Caleb has been doing a nice job and all the snappers are doing a good job. We've got to get those guys to a point where they are consistent is the goal right now. I think they are going to be in a pretty good place by the time we get to the season. They are talented guys, they will get to the place they need to be."
Because of a relationship that dates all the way back to the early 1990s and strong communication about the expectations for Snyder and what the future might hold after this season, Illinois was able to hire one of the more proven specialist coaches in the country.
Phil Steele named Snyder the special team's coach of the year in both 2015 and 2017. But Snyder will have help coaching the special teams in 2022. Bielema said on Saturday that he and defensive coaches Andy Buh (linebackers), Kevin Kane (outside linebackers) and Aaron Henry (cornerbacks) would all contribute to the special team's effort, a much different approach than in 2021, Bielema's first as the head coach of the Illini. Offensive coaches George McDonald (wide receivers) is working with punt returners and Cory Patterson (running backs) is working with kick returners.
"When you have coaches jump in and help," Snyder said, "that's one thing that has been really good here. Coach Bielema is on every unit. It's really good."
Snyder's role with Illinois could be short-lived, but he is okay with that. He's long admired Bielema's attention to detail and organization as a head coach, and after working through many details in the hiring phase he's happy to have joined the Illini coaching staff -- for at least the 2022 season.
"I've always admired the stuff he does and how he does it," Snyder said of Bielema. "His experiences have been really good for him. For me, it was an opportunity to come to learn. I hope Ben comes back and is in the saddle. And if I come out of this thing learning, gaining something for myself that's great."