For Fitzgerald vs NU. Judges urges both parties to try and settle. I think Fitz goes to trial unless NU comes up to $70mm (at least) or issue a Public apology and fires Schill.
Court date set April 2025
- Thread starter curdog
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My email address is hashtag Idontcare
I’m just glad the university got to the bottom of the issue and found out who perpetrated these heinous crimes and meted out justice. Bravo NU!
Totally unrealistic. If it goes to trial Fitz will not get an apology and get Schill fired. So he can’t get that in a settlement
I hate to get sucked in…
It’s pretty clear based on the initial reporting that hazing occurred and was well-known throughout the NU football program.
What’s less clear is that, under the terms of the contract, this hazing was sufficient for Fitzgerald to be fired for cause. “Known or should have known” was the standard Schill referred to in the actual announcement; however, the contract language was strangely limited to, like, law violations of assistant coaches.
Neither side will want to go public.
I wonder what happened to the report on the report that was commissioned six months ago. We’re owed a report!
From Rittenberg:
www.espn.com
It’s pretty clear based on the initial reporting that hazing occurred and was well-known throughout the NU football program.
What’s less clear is that, under the terms of the contract, this hazing was sufficient for Fitzgerald to be fired for cause. “Known or should have known” was the standard Schill referred to in the actual announcement; however, the contract language was strangely limited to, like, law violations of assistant coaches.
Neither side will want to go public.
I wonder what happened to the report on the report that was commissioned six months ago. We’re owed a report!
From Rittenberg:
Lawyer: Fitzgerald won't be hired until case ends
The attorney for former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is seeking a December trial date for Fitzgerald's wrongful termination lawsuit against the university.
I'm still of the opinion that this gets settled before end of this year.
Fitz can take a job by early 2025 and he'll walk away with $60-70 million.
Fitz can take a job by early 2025 and he'll walk away with $60-70 million.
Um, if the head of an organization made a decision that cost that organization tens, potentially hundreds, of millions of dollars, that person gets fired. Maybe it’s not part of the settlement, but Schill is dead man walking.
None of what you said is “clear” at all. If it was so “well known” how is Fitz the only guy blamed?I hate to get sucked in…
It’s pretty clear based on the initial reporting that hazing occurred and was well-known throughout the NU football program.
What’s less clear is that, under the terms of the contract, this hazing was sufficient for Fitzgerald to be fired for cause. “Known or should have known” was the standard Schill referred to in the actual announcement; however, the contract language was strangely limited to, like, law violations of assistant coaches.
Neither side will want to go public.
I wonder what happened to the report on the report that was commissioned six months ago. We’re owed a report!
From Rittenberg:
Lawyer: Fitzgerald won't be hired until case ends
The attorney for former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is seeking a December trial date for Fitzgerald's wrongful termination lawsuit against the university.
Regardless of how you think about this whole situation, I think we can all agree that it would be bad for all of us if this thing went to trial. A settlement will lead to one, maybe two days of news coverage and then it's gone. A trial will open up potentially weeks of media coverage and discussion about the hazing incident, the mishandling of the report and all the negativity that surrounds this, which can only hurt the program.
Judge knows that everyone will look bad in a trial like this, which is why he's encouraging a settlement.
I think we get a settlement before hiring season at end of this year.
Just doesn't make sense for either side to get to a trial and have a media frenzy over every detail.
We’ve never seen the report, which is a shame. The word “well-known” came specifically from Lou’s reporting at the time of the incident.
It’s any Wildcat fan’s choice to pretend that things weren’t reported, or to hear a denial where nobody has ever made one, or to imagine that freshmen managers knew more than the head coach. And it’s any fan’s choice to decide that was reported was true, but was just “horsing around”.
I think Pat Fitzgerald had a blind spot to what was happening. And I think that it was just part of the culture, and that those who were uncomfortable just accepted it.
I think the terrible backup quarterback that never should have been at a B1G program did have an axe to grind, and had an agenda, and was not a good or totally honest actor through this process, but also I think that the reporting of Lou and Kalyn Kahler and Adam Rittenberg was factual in nature, and validates many of his claims.
I’m happy that Pat Fitzgerald is gone. I’m happy that he won a bunch of bowl games. I’m happy that he found David Braun.
And I think he structured a great contract and is going to get a huge settlement sometime in the fall.
I hope Loyola wins a bunch and Fitz’s sons get great offers. And I hope Jack catches a bunch of passes for NU.
And I hope in ten years or so — maybe 20, for the 50th anniversary of the Rose Bowl team — that Braun and Fitz are both there as Fitz’s statue is unveiled.
Obviously, it’s not worth the back and forth of what happened or what is true or what is hazing. We won’t ever know, and our opinions and conclusions don’t change what happened or did not. I’ll do my best to stay out beyond this comment.
Thankfully, once the settlement is over, we can all agree it’s over.
Go Cats Go Cats Go Cats Go
Lots of words that say very little. I too am glad that Fitz is no longer the coach because he was not good at his job, but am extremely disappointed at how the process went down.
So once a settlement is reached, it’s over? Schill, whose actions will end up costing the university millions of dollars, can continue leading the institution? The players who perpetrated what can be described as sexual assault get a pass? None of the other coaches, who clearly should have known if it was as rampant as you suggest, suffer any repercussions?
Also, this settlement won’t end anything because the players are suing Fitz and the school. This will be in the news for awhile.
Zis is Nerthvestrn, ve is owt nussingk.I hate to get sucked in…
It’s pretty clear based on the initial reporting that hazing occurred and was well-known throughout the NU football program.
What’s less clear is that, under the terms of the contract, this hazing was sufficient for Fitzgerald to be fired for cause. “Known or should have known” was the standard Schill referred to in the actual announcement; however, the contract language was strangely limited to, like, law violations of assistant coaches.
Neither side will want to go public.
I wonder what happened to the report on the report that was commissioned six months ago. We’re owed a report!
From Rittenberg:
Lawyer: Fitzgerald won't be hired until case ends
The attorney for former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is seeking a December trial date for Fitzgerald's wrongful termination lawsuit against the university.
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The entire staff has turned over, right? I’m not going to worry about it anymore, anyway. No more car washes.
I’m interested to hear about the settlement when it comes through. I imagine Rittenberg or Jim O’Donnell will report it, because I know NU won’t.
No more from me in this thread.
Go Cats Go Cats Go
So short sighted to judge one’s entire career on a couple of terrible seasons. If Fitz were to have been retained and most likely had the same turn around as Braun we’d be talking about the recent hiring of our new OC and getting excited about Spring Ball and all our returning players…especially those on defense who excelled under Coach Braun.
I see your point but it was not just a couple of bad seasons, it was several historically bad seasons. Throw out Covid year and it was the worst 3 year stretch since my undergrad days in early 90s. In my opinion Fitz did not adapt
To the many changes in college football since he started coaching. Others may disagree.
Maybe Fitz adapted, maybe he didn't.
NIL seemed to hit hard and a lot of coaches weren't ready for it.
NU is pretty vulnerable to "highly paid players."
Fitzgerald brought in a QB and a WR thru the portal - without those guys we sucked last year too.
My guess is that Braun will have to follow the Fitzgerald playbook as far as what he's selling at NU.
As for the trial, Fitzgerald strikes me as a 100 on a scale of 1 to 100 on valuing his reputation.
He loved NU. Thru my NU alumnus eyes, this was the clearest thing about him, other than his deep concern for his players. Now he feels he has been assaulted by Schill. I'm guessing he feels nothing but contempt for the guy, but still loves NU. So, in one way he wants to settle because no one wants to sue someone or something they love, in the other way he wants to crucify somebody.
That is an eerily accurate comparison.
What’s also jaw dropping: Gary Patterson and Randy Walker’s close resemblance and their coaching battles in the early 2000s.
LaDainian Tomlinson vs Walker’s D was even more effective than OSU, PSU, and Michigan’s studs were versus Fitz’s Ds - with or without Hankwitz.
Braun made some key changes that Fitz couldn’t see or simply wouldn’t do.
Fitz mailed it in his last few seasons (aside from COVID when there was literally nothing else to do).
Do you remember when he skipped the short busride home with the team after a difficult loss at Wrigley? Sad!
And this is why the story is not over. In written discovery, defense will ask for all fact witnesses. Plaintiff will ask for all exit notes, reports, etc.
Then parties will be deposed. In the player cases, defense lawyer will ask who else saw the activity.
Any names disclosed, player, coach or personnel will get deposed. I suspect those two girls doing the podcast will get deposed. If I’m plaintiff lawyer, I depose every player and coach that came out in support and start with why they did not deny the activity while supporting the coach.
Better question - will anyone get ensnared in perjury….
Yes. But a lot of charged emotions all around. PF, players, guys here - I want the truth. The whole truth.
If Fitz was put on administrative leave, with pay, instead of being fired, his lawsuit wouldn’t be worth the powder to blow it to hell with because: no damages, except for hurt feelings.
Why don't you think Fitz would have allowed Braun to make those changes? Braun was his guy.
Braun made key changes on offense and defense that Fitz clearly didn’t the last two years. He may have also impacted special teams but I didn’t track the team that closely this fall.
Well Fitz made no changes the two years he went 4-20. Changes should have been made before Braun’s arrival.
What changes on offense?
On defense, Braun was the DC. He would've been the DC under Fitz. Fitz made a big change on defense by firing JON and hiring Braun as the DC. I really don't understand your position on defense.
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