Illinois Athletic Director Candidates: 6 options to replace Mike Thomas

Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY SportsIn a sudden announcement Monday morning, the University of Illinois and Chancellor Barbara Wilson fired athletic director Mike Thomas. Associate athletic director Paul Kowalczyk will be named as the interim AD, but it will only be a matter of time before the University hires a new one. Much like we have been doing with head football coaching candidates, below is a list of people that could potentially be the interim's replacement.

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Jason Lener, executive senior associate AD at Illinois

Lener would be a hire from within, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Having been at Illinois since 2011, Lener has been apart of major projects like the State Farm Center…