After watching another abysmal Saturday performance on the field and being seeing endless threads of the same on the boards, these are my last words on the matter.
Like many of you, as a long time alum of NU (class of 90) I am crushed by what I am seeing and feeling in regards to all that is NU and NU Football, Many of you have accurately expressed the feelings of sadness, anxiety, hope, frustration, anger and now ambivalence that we are all share.
While I have many recommendations on where to go from here, I don’t have any solutions - especially because I don’t have inside knowledge on the commitments and expectations that have been established with counterparties regards to every aspect of the program. While i suspect that what has been communicated publicly - “Top 10, Top 10”, “Student Athletes and Development of High Character Men”, “BIG West Champions” - are in fact the stated objectives and goals, i don’t know what the rubric is for evaluating HC and organizational performance.
Of course it is obvious we are woefully falling short of the athletic goals as it appears that we no longer field a competitive team for 60 minutes each saturday. But there are always reasons to those closest to the facts. Have we returned to the days of limited depth - which many point to as being the prime contributing factor to our Dark Ages record? It sure seems like one could make an argument that injuries (and indirectly poor recruiting and unlucky medical retirements) are now impacting our OL and DL performance, leading to the narrative that we are playing a lot of young and inexperienced talent.
As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in between the extreme views and narratives out there. In the case of NU Football, I can’t have no idea where this line of truth is drawn, nor do i know if the leadership of the program has lost the confidence and trust of its constituencies - the athletes, the parents, the administration, the $$$ benefactors, the media, etc….
What i do know is that nature forces everything to adapt or die. And NU Football is no different. I hope that PF has the wisdom to realize that everything operates on a much faster timetable in today’s reality as compared to even just a few years ago. Maybe it is the $$$, maybe it is the media/social media, or even the framework of the institutions of NCAAFB.
NU Football must adapt (to all the changing conditions surrounding the program) or it will continue to fall into all that which is irrelevant. I know we have all experienced organizational dynamics that mirror the situation we see in Evanston - a terrible manager at work, a favorite sports team that suffers from poor decision making and leadership, etc - and many continue to draw from these personal experiences to call for change. Many have argued that the HC/CEO has to make quick and decisive changes to respond to performance dynamics, especially when getting paid the way they do. Accountability stands and will at NU at the end of the day - as a fan, I just don’t know what that means right now.
I can only hope that it is NOT TOO LATE for the Program to ADAPT. I can only hope that PF and the leadership of the program understand the urgency and know how to act and respond differently because all the methods employed to date appear to be largely ineffective to achieve any of the “athletic” goals for the program. And in this day and age, 2 years might actually be too long to respond as expectations run high, choices appear unlimited, and loyalty is fleeting. I can only hope that we avoid the trainwreck that we all project could ensue at season’s end (thankfully leave unwritten on these boards).
I truly have purple running through my blood, and will continue to (now quietly) cheer on the wildcats. I bought into everything NU Football - the underdog role, the NU way, overcoming strict academic standards, recruiting character, superior player development. But i am forever changed and disappointed in what has been allowed to transpire as the current situation brings me back to feelings from the Dark Ages and the ineptitude of the Colby defenses (and i can’t even recall when the O has been this depressing - ever). Thankfully we have the women’s sports that are all KILLING IT, and sadly there is the upcoming MBB season to facilitate a change in topics.
I am truly numb to NU Football now (and not that kind of NUMB). Hopefully those to which it matters are paying attention. This kind of response from leadership is largely unacceptable in these circumstances, and the consequences can be dire. NU Football may have lost out on a huge opportunity to cement themselves as a relevant player in the future of CFB. Maybe not all is lost and the organization can recover. At least many of the other “academic” programs like Stanford continue to experience similar hardships on the field - so there is that (LOL).
I for one will continue to hope, but not nearly with the commitment, emotion and attentiveness I have invested for the last 3 decades…
Like many of you, as a long time alum of NU (class of 90) I am crushed by what I am seeing and feeling in regards to all that is NU and NU Football, Many of you have accurately expressed the feelings of sadness, anxiety, hope, frustration, anger and now ambivalence that we are all share.
While I have many recommendations on where to go from here, I don’t have any solutions - especially because I don’t have inside knowledge on the commitments and expectations that have been established with counterparties regards to every aspect of the program. While i suspect that what has been communicated publicly - “Top 10, Top 10”, “Student Athletes and Development of High Character Men”, “BIG West Champions” - are in fact the stated objectives and goals, i don’t know what the rubric is for evaluating HC and organizational performance.
Of course it is obvious we are woefully falling short of the athletic goals as it appears that we no longer field a competitive team for 60 minutes each saturday. But there are always reasons to those closest to the facts. Have we returned to the days of limited depth - which many point to as being the prime contributing factor to our Dark Ages record? It sure seems like one could make an argument that injuries (and indirectly poor recruiting and unlucky medical retirements) are now impacting our OL and DL performance, leading to the narrative that we are playing a lot of young and inexperienced talent.
As with most things, the truth lies somewhere in between the extreme views and narratives out there. In the case of NU Football, I can’t have no idea where this line of truth is drawn, nor do i know if the leadership of the program has lost the confidence and trust of its constituencies - the athletes, the parents, the administration, the $$$ benefactors, the media, etc….
What i do know is that nature forces everything to adapt or die. And NU Football is no different. I hope that PF has the wisdom to realize that everything operates on a much faster timetable in today’s reality as compared to even just a few years ago. Maybe it is the $$$, maybe it is the media/social media, or even the framework of the institutions of NCAAFB.
NU Football must adapt (to all the changing conditions surrounding the program) or it will continue to fall into all that which is irrelevant. I know we have all experienced organizational dynamics that mirror the situation we see in Evanston - a terrible manager at work, a favorite sports team that suffers from poor decision making and leadership, etc - and many continue to draw from these personal experiences to call for change. Many have argued that the HC/CEO has to make quick and decisive changes to respond to performance dynamics, especially when getting paid the way they do. Accountability stands and will at NU at the end of the day - as a fan, I just don’t know what that means right now.
I can only hope that it is NOT TOO LATE for the Program to ADAPT. I can only hope that PF and the leadership of the program understand the urgency and know how to act and respond differently because all the methods employed to date appear to be largely ineffective to achieve any of the “athletic” goals for the program. And in this day and age, 2 years might actually be too long to respond as expectations run high, choices appear unlimited, and loyalty is fleeting. I can only hope that we avoid the trainwreck that we all project could ensue at season’s end (thankfully leave unwritten on these boards).
I truly have purple running through my blood, and will continue to (now quietly) cheer on the wildcats. I bought into everything NU Football - the underdog role, the NU way, overcoming strict academic standards, recruiting character, superior player development. But i am forever changed and disappointed in what has been allowed to transpire as the current situation brings me back to feelings from the Dark Ages and the ineptitude of the Colby defenses (and i can’t even recall when the O has been this depressing - ever). Thankfully we have the women’s sports that are all KILLING IT, and sadly there is the upcoming MBB season to facilitate a change in topics.
I am truly numb to NU Football now (and not that kind of NUMB). Hopefully those to which it matters are paying attention. This kind of response from leadership is largely unacceptable in these circumstances, and the consequences can be dire. NU Football may have lost out on a huge opportunity to cement themselves as a relevant player in the future of CFB. Maybe not all is lost and the organization can recover. At least many of the other “academic” programs like Stanford continue to experience similar hardships on the field - so there is that (LOL).
I for one will continue to hope, but not nearly with the commitment, emotion and attentiveness I have invested for the last 3 decades…
