Head Saluki football coach Nick Hill will never be a maligned face in southern Illinois. 

Much like his former counterpart, Bryan Mullins, Hill is a product of SIU and will always be remembered for what he did during his playing days. But Hill may soon join Mullins as a former player who couldn’t live up to the same glory as a coach.

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Hill has been SIU’s coach since 2016, when he was hired as a 31-year-old, first-time head coach. He had served as the offensive coordinator and co-offensive coordinator for Dale Lennon’s Salukis before being promoted to interim, then finally permanent head coach in early 2016. 

In nine seasons, Hill is still under .500 as a head coach, coming in at 48-56, including 28-42 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.  In my eyes, and in what I believe to be an increasing number of supporters’ eyes, this simply isn’t good enough. 

This opinion isn’t based only on the 2024 season. Hill and the Salukis had some of, if not the worst injury luck in the MVFC, if not the whole country. They also played a very difficult schedule, which was ranked the hardest in the FCS, according to WarrenNolan.com.

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I’ll also say that I don’t believe Hill should be fired, at least right now. He deserves a season to prove that he should remain the coach of the Salukis for a long time. He also hasn’t seemed to lose the respect of his players despite such a poor season, which is highly important for the success of a program. 

But: Hill’s seat should be very, very hot. He has consistently underperformed as a coach, reflected by only having four of his nine seasons end with more wins than losses. He also has made the FCS playoffs only three times in nine tries.

To me, realistic success for SIU is winning six or seven games a year, playing the Dakota schools hard and losing narrowly to them and possibly even getting the occasional upset, and finishing in the top five of the MVFC. 

This is an achievable standard, and one that Hill has struggled to achieve. His performance in the MFVC is particularly galling, and something that I just can’t shake. While he has beaten the top teams in the conference, he hasn’t done so on a consistent basis. 

Previous coaches, like Mullins, have been fired for their conference performance. Mullins never finished higher than third, and was consistently closer to the cellar of the conference. 

Basketball is a much different sport than football, considering teams play three times as many games, but this is an important parallel to draw. Athletic director Tim Leonard has proven that he isn’t afraid to move on from a southern Illinois legend in order to bring in his guy in a coaching spot.

Another important note in Hill’s situation is his contract. While his salary of $280,000 (and climbing by $15,000 every year) is a relatively palatable amount as far as coach contracts go, the number of years left on his deal is the key here.  He is signed through the 2026 season, meaning that SIU would only have to buy out one year of his deal if he were to be fired after next season. 

Again, Leonard and the rest of the decision makers involved with the job have shown a willingness to do this. Mullins was fired with one year left on his deal, and was set to enter a lame-duck year. 

It’s incredibly hard for a coach to recruit to a school when they don’t know their own future, and that begs the question; does SIU want to extend Hill? 

And while administration has stood by Hill so far, will they really want to pay him? He’s guaranteed to get a larger per-year salary than he already gets, as the market for coach contracts has only gone up. And with average-to-mediocre results, is it really worth paying Hill that kind of money? 

Again: I’m not advocating against Hill remaining at SIU. He has shown to be a great leader for the program, a wonderful ambassador for the university, and truly loves the area. Personality wise, there is not one person who would be a better fit for SIU. 

However, it still may not be worth paying Hill that money, even if he is a solid coach. Finding someone who can take the program to another, championship-contending level is the administrations’ duty, and determining whether it truly is Hill who can get them there is going to weigh heavily on their minds within the next year.

As a result, the administration should be breathing down his neck, making sure that he knows that he must improve to make sure he keeps his job. If they don’t do this, it’s a failure on their part, as it’s their job to make sure that programs are in the best shape that they possibly can be.

I don’t think that Hill will get fired; I can’t see Leonard canning another SIU legend, simply because of the emotional attachment the region has to him, unless Hill has another season like this one only with a healthy roster. I could expect that many would be calling for Leonard’s own job if that were to happen.

I, like many fans, want to see Hill take this program to another level, but also want the program to improve, even if it’s without him. I hope that I get to write about Hill getting an extension at this point next year. But, I would also not be at all surprised if I’m writing a brief about his firing. 

Sports consultant Ryan Grieser can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and on X @dailyegyptian.

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