Louisville offensive coordinator Garrick McGee reportedly leaving for same job at Illinois

Louisville offensive coordinator Garrick McGee will accept the same position on Lovie Smith's new staff at Illinois, this according to multiple reports Wednesday morning.

Illinois is hiring Louisville's Garrick McGee as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, a source told ESPN.... https://t.co/N1Cdd4sNqn

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) March 9, 2016

McGee, who is currently the 19th highest-paid assistant in the country, came to U of L in 2014 after having been UAB's head coach for the previous two seasons. Last offseason, he turned down interest from his alma mater, Oklahoma, to take on the offensive coordinator role there.

Smith and McGee go back a long way. When the freshly-hired Fighting Illini head coach was an assistant at Arizona State in 1991, he was the main recruiter who convinced McGee to come play quarterback for the Sun Devils (McGee later transferred to Oklahoma). The pair have remained close ever since, explaining why he would be willing to talk away from Louisville and an exciting sophomore quarterback coming into his own.