Bob Ligashesky is in his fifth season as the Fighting Illini’s special teams coordinator in 2020. He also coached the tight ends in 2016 and ’17. Ligashesky came to Champaign-Urbana after serving as the special teams coordinator for the Houston Texans.

“Bob Ligashesky has been one of the outstanding special teams coaches in the nation for many years,” said head coach Lovie Smith. “He brings in an incredible amount of experience at both the collegiate and professional levels, and earned a reputation as a terrific recruiter when he was at Bowling Green and Pittsburgh prior to his career in the NFL.”

Ligashesky has coach Illinois to have one of the top special teams units in the nation. Punter Blake Hayes has been one of the top punters in FBS for three seasons, including winning the 2019 Big Ten Punter of the Year award, and the kicking of Chase McLaughlin (2016-19) and now James McCourt has been outstanding. In 2019, McCourt's last-second 39-year field goal beat No. 6 Wisconsin and gave Illinois one of its greatest Homecoming moments in program history. The Illini entered the game as a 30-point underdog, pulling off the biggest upset in Illinois history. The Wisconsin victory sprung Illinois to four straight Big Ten wins, the first four-game Big Ten winning streak for the Fighting Illini since the 2001 Big Ten Championship team.

Ligashesky led punter Blake Hayes and kicker Chase McLaughlin to outstanding seasons in 2017 and 2018. McLaughlin was the 2018 Bakken-Andersen Big Ten Kicker of the Year after tying for the FBS lead with nine 40+ field goals made and ranking second in FBS with four 50+ field goals made. Hayes was a 2018 All-Big Ten third team selection after being named honorable mention in 2017 as a true freshman. 

McLaughlin's career was one of the top by an Illinois kicker in history. He finished with program all-time ranks of first in 50+ yard field goals (5), tied for first in extra point accuracy (1.000, 79-79), fourth in field goals made (44), fourth in field goal accuracy (.746, 44-59) and sixth in points scored (211).

Ligashesky joined the Illini staff that Lovie Smith quickly put together after his hiring on March 7, 2016. The staff featured more years of NFL experience than any other in the country, which including 12 years of NFL coaching experience from Ligashesky. 

Ligashesky has 31 years of coaching experience, including more than eight seasons as a special teams coordinator in the NFL. He spent the first 19 years of his coaching career in college football, most recently during a four-year stint at Pittsburgh (2000-03), before coaching in the NFL for the past 12 seasons.

In 2016, Texans kicker Nick Novak made 18 of 21 field goals and 29 of 31 extra points, and punter Shane Lechler averaged 47.3 yards per punt under Ligashesky. Houston allowed 10.2 yards per punt return and 24.4 yards per kickoff return without allowing a score against during the regular season.

Ligashesky helped Randy Bullock have the most successful year of his career in 2014, setting career-highs with 30 made field goals on 35 attempts, including a career-long 55-yard field goal. Ligashesky was the interim special teams coordinator for Houston’s last three games of 2013 before taking the full-time position.

Prior to his arrival in Houston, Ligashesky’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers led the NFL with four blocked punts while he led the special teams units.

Previously, Ligashesky coached the Denver Broncos tight ends in 2010 before moving on to Oakland as a special teams assistant in 2011. He spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2007-09), helping the Steelers win the Super Bowl in 2008 as special teams coordinator.

Ligashesky made stops in St. Louis (2005-06) and Jacksonville (2004) in special teams positions following his tenure at Pittsburgh (2000-03), where he was special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. He came to Bowling Green (1991-99) to serve as linebackers coach after a two-year stop at Kent State as the outside linebackers/special teams coach. Ligashesky was promoted to assistant head coach/linebackers/special teams coach at Bowling Green for the 1999 season before moving on to the NFL.

Ligashesky started his career with graduate assistant jobs at Wake Forest (1985) and Arizona State (1986-88). At ASU, he crossed paths with Lovie Smith, who was the Sun Devils’ linebackers coach in 1988.

The Pittsburgh area native graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he was a defensive back and three-year letterman (1982-84). He graduated with a degree in sports management.

Ligashesky and his wife, Shelley, have one daughter, Sydney, who was born in 2009.

Ligashesky's Coaching History