he unexpectedly fired Landry the day after Redman signed his letter of commitment (LOC). Tepper denied any attempt to deceive Redman about Landry's future at Illinois and eventually released Redman from his commitment. It would later emerge that Landry had allegedly been soliciting an NFL job behind Tepper's back. The departures of Landry and Redman and the manner in which they left had damaged Tepper's reputation among fans and media. The NCAA decided to void the LOC based on the unusual circumstances, allowing Redman five full years of eligibility and no transfer restrictions. Tepper hired former Ball State head coach and veteran Big Ten assistant Paul Schudel as Landry's replacement. The hiring of Schudel marked the fourth time in six years that the Illini had made a change at offensive coordinator. Despite Tepper's abilities as a defensive coach, he only put together only two winning seasons in his six years in Champaign. His teams were unable to match the moderate success the Illini had enjoyed under Mackovic and Mike White, and the Illini got progressively worse over his tenure. They placed fourth in the Big Ten Conference in Tepper's first full season, 1992, and finished in fourth, fifth, seventh, and ninth in his remaining years. Tepper was fired after the 1996 season, when the Illini went 2–9 with a 1–7 conference record. Tepper later said that he had forgiven Illinois for firing him. Prior to coaching at Illinois, Tepper served as an assistant defensive coach at Pittsburgh (1967, graduate assistant), New Hampshire (1968–1971), William and Mary (1972–1977), Virginia Tech (1978–1982), and Colorado (1983–1987). Tepper's contract at IUP was scheduled to expire in June 2011, however, in December 2010 the university announced he would depart effective at the end of the year. In February 2011 he was named defensive coordinator of the United States national American football team for the 2011 IFAF World Cup. From 2012-14, Tepper was named defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Buffalo. Head coaching record *John Mackovic coached the first 11 games of the season. References 1945 births Living people Buffalo Bulls football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Edinboro Fighting Scots football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches IUP Crimson Hawks football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches William & Mary Tribe football coaches