Braun may be the guy.

[Jaguar 88]

Thing is he let Bajakian loose with the ball flying, but the defense is still a question mark. We might see a role reversal

Why are people concluding that Braun would be a great DC for us? The defense has actually been pretty lousy so far. It's the offense that is the pleasant surprise.

Have to concur with you there. The defense isn't all that good. Poor Gallagher got reamed on the board last night pretty good, but it sounds like he deserved it. I am still sticking with my assessment before last night. 6 wins tops, but 4-5 probably is still more realistic. There still needs to be substantial improvement to even contemplate a bowl. The offense stepped it up, but the defense has regressed some over the past few games.

 

[stpaulcat]

Thing is he let Bajakian loose with the ball flying, but the defense is still a question mark. We might see a role reversal

Have to concur with you there. The defense isn't all that good. Poor Gallagher got reamed on the board last night pretty good, but it sounds like he deserved it. I am still sticking with my assessment before last night. 6 wins tops, but 4-5 probably is still more realistic. There still needs to be substantial improvement to even contemplate a bowl. The offense stepped it up, but the defense has regressed some over the past few games.

Second half defense has been quite good.

 

[Jaguar 88]

Second half defense has been quite good.

True, but to go bowling we need to create more stops/turnovers. We can't always count on Bryant and Co to go nuts like Saturday night every game. Saturday night was special, but unless we build on that and improve on defense and keep that offensive mindset going, it will still be hard to make a bowl. PSU and Maryland might be very ugly for us as things stand now. Wisconsin is for real. Those 3 are in the loss column in my book. Iowa is a probable loss, but Purdue, Illinois, and Nebby are up in the air. We beat Howard and 3 of the 5 previously mentioned and we make a bowl. Still, a lot of work to be done. I just hope we don't sustain major injuries against PSU.

 

[curdog]

Naw, Penn State is the best team we play this year by a mile. They're a legitimate national championship contender that's loaded across the board.

That game and the Duke game are the 2 that I don't think offer much of a look at where we are.

Nebraska, Purdue, Illinois are the 3 big ones other than Howard that are good measuring sticks for the program.

Maryland, Wisconsin, and Iowa are going to be difficult games like the Duke game so I think we'd just want to look competitive. A win against any of those 3 would be unexpected.

If Braun can find 3 more wins and take this team to a bowl game, it would be a terrific result far above pre-season expectations.

 

[FanatiCat]

True, but to go bowling we need to create more stops/turnovers. We can't always count on Bryant and Co to go nuts like Saturday night every game. Saturday night was special, but unless we build on that and improve on defense and keep that offensive mindset going, it will still be hard to make a bowl. PSU and Maryland might be very ugly for us as things stand now. Wisconsin is for real. Those 3 are in the loss column in my book. Iowa is a probable loss, but Purdue, Illinois, and Nebby are up in the air. We beat Howard and 3 of the 5 previously mentioned and we make a bowl. Still, a lot of work to be done. I just hope we don't sustain major injuries against PSU.

Agree with you on PSU and Maryland - too much offense, too many athletes.

Wisconsin, I disagree they’ve shown they’re “for real.” Purdue is bad and none of the other games were that impressive. Their D is not great. Iowa, their offense is so bad, they’re not unbeatable either.

 

[Jaguar 88]

Agree with you on PSU and Maryland - too much offense, too many athletes.

Wisconsin, I disagree they’ve shown they’re “for real.” Purdue is bad and none of the other games were that impressive. Their D is not great. Iowa, their offense is so bad, they’re not unbeatable either.

Yeah, I might be too up on Wisconsin and Iowa, although the Badgers look like the best team of the bunch by far. We just need more consistent play from the defense and keep the ball flying and I think we will be fine to make a bowl. I am worried about sustaining injuries against PSU.

 

[Hkjb]

I will never know enough to have a vote on whether he should be the guy or not - and it's too early to tell.

But I have a ton of respect for how Braun carries himself: one of those things being how he engages the press. He's more authentic and he takes more accountability than Fitz. (I say this as a Fitz fan)

He owns up, points at himself first, and doesn't try to hide it when he doesn't know all the answers.
Compares well to some of the Fitzisms that we've all heard over time.
- Never allowing that the coaching or game planning may have been flawed "just need to execute" etc. Rang very hollow in the JON era.
- His unaccountable statement on the hazing. 100% pure weasel.
- His constant rote repeat of "need to educate these young men" during the union vote.

I know his approach to players was not the same as his press persona. But being that arrogant behind the mic after all the losing doesn't go down well with me. I don't think it would be convincing to a recruit or a parent.

I watched Fleck's press conference after the game. As much as I hate the guy - even he held himself more accountable than Fitz in similar situations.

 

[hdhntr1]

Pretty negative post in the face of what seems to be happening with this team and how Braun is growing rapidly into the job. He may very well be one of the most talented up and coming coaches and if so it would be a shame to see him go somewhere else.

I do not share your view that he cannot beat out other schools for the recruits we need. In fact, if we have a fairly successful season, which could happen based on what we saw today, then many recruits will be giving us serious consideration.

It's way too early for anyone to know how the season will turn out. So talk about replacing Braun is likewise very premature.

While I disagree with a few things he says (such as the indication that we are going to suddenly find someone who will significantly improve recruiting over Fitz) much has merit. There are so many aspects to the HC job that it is pretty hard for him to have at this point in his career and the difficulty of this particular rebuild that it is hard to see him as ready for, Especially since it is hard to say we have that experience in house (or will have if house cleaning is needed after the season) If he is the guy, would sure like to see him mentored in those areas for a year or two

 

[hdhntr1]

It just seems like common sense, but maybe it is the scuttlebutt that is floating around that I am choosing (hoping) to believe.

Hope you are not counting on what is floating around on this board

 

[hdhntr1]

The one thing I will say about Braun, is that he is playing the game the right way. His decision to kick the field goal when they were down 24-7 was the difference in the game. I was thinking how Fitz would give up those points because of his stubbornness, often costing us games. At the time I didn't realize how important it was, but I appreciated having a coach who understands that you need points to win games, and you take them when you can get them! I honestly like this guy, as a man, and as a coach, and he has my full support.

A lot depends on the overall situation.

 

[hdhntr1]

If he wins 2-4more games I think it's a no brainier. The claim he has no Power 5 experience is ridiculous since at the end of the season he will have completed a year as a Power 5 HC,hopefully a successful one. The claim that he hasn't recruiting chops may have some merit but In truth most recruiting is done by coordinators and position coaches with the HC acting as a closer. In this role Braun should excel. I think parents will love him.

There are a host of reasons that not even winning a couple more games makes him a no brainer, There are a lot of parts of the HC job that are necessary but have been significantly slimmed down this year. If a house cleaning of coaches is done at the end of this season as would seem to be required based on if FItz "should have known" and was fired for not knowing, how can you keep anyone that was with the program for any length of time? And if they are shown the door, who is there to guide him in those areas? No mater how good he appears, he is not taking over in anything resembling a normal situation. He would need at least a mentor to guide him through the processes

 

[hdhntr1]

Yeah.. and they see an NU D that gives up a lot of points and a lot of yards. Hence, my question. I'm not saying he can't be a solid DC, but I don't see it as so obvious as others do.

Do you remember the last couple years and how out of position guys were? Now pretty much all the time they are in position, They sometimes get outmanned but that is generally a different issue. D is much more sound.

 

[hdhntr1]

I can see why you're so well liked around here.

I have had so disagreements with him but for sure not in this case. Just look and you see a D that is much better prepared,

 

[EvanstonCat]

The roller coaster that is this Board continues. Can't wait to see the comments after next week's Penn State game.

Surely, it will swing the other way. That's the way these boards operate. This said, I don't think anything we will see from PSU should change our views (though I know they will). Braun has been doing an impressive job, given the circumstances, even if (and most likely probably) we get boatraced against PSU.

And I still think we should bring in someone with more qualifications, especially in recruiting and also perhaps bringing a modernized and effective offense in. And I hope he retains Braun as DC.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Recruiting is wildly different from 30+ years ago. Do I really have to walk you through this again?

My point is that recruiting is all about relationship-building, even at Bama/OSU/UGA/etc. That and being willing to actually take some risks in recruiting (which I think Fitz was too unwilling to do, usually taking the easy way out).

Braun has clearly shown the ability to build relationships quickly, plus seems very honest and believeable. That’s a pretty solid “tool kit” for recruiting successfully.

I don’t think we are really disagreeing, just that it seems you ascribe a lot more value to name recognition. Even your guy St Gary only had a year of coordinator experience when he came to NU, albeit as a national title-winning coordinator… but where have I heard that before?

I don't argue that he doesn't have the ability. Like I said, he has all the intrinsics, and the way the players love him and play for him and how he has motivated and kept them together amazes me (maybe better than Fitz). But, he is lacking in other areas that you want to see.

No doubt that he has the ability to make people like him and build relationships. It's more that he needs time to build those relationships. With HS coaches nationally. With coaches. He could use a few years to learn and pick up what he needs to know to be a much better head coach. Name recognition is helpful, but not at all what I'm talking about. Its experience.

Again, until this year, he had never coached at a D1 much less P5 or D1 level. And he has no exposure to the offensive side of the ball. None of that is deal breaking taken on its own. Its the combination of that, or the fact that he is lacking in so many of those boxes that you woudl want to check, which creates a far greater gap than Gary had.

I have no problem bringing in someone like a Jim Tressell who was a IAA and super successful national championship caliber coach. I have no problem bringing in someone who was never a head coach but has championship rings with Alabama, Clemson, or Georgia. Barnett was an OC and had a national championship ring. He knew what he had to do and could bring in people who could fill in the gaps. He had the relationships to bring in someone like a Ron Vanderlinden. Who did Chris Braun bring in to fill out his staff? Barnett knew how to recruit 4 and 5 star players and did so again for NU (I'm not sure Fitz ever did, perhaps because he never actually had experience doing so, and maybe one of the reasons we did so poorly in that department during his tenure).

Look, I like Chris Braun a lot. I think he could be a great head coach one day. But, I think he lacks a lot of experience, that he needs to get only by doing the time. Maybe the best thing for him is if he can hook on to one of the National Championship contenders for a few years, get that championship ring. Succeed in recruiting 4 and 5 star talent and learn by actually doing it, while building his network with HS's nationally and with top tier coaching talent so he can fill out a staff. (Then again, arguably, he would never end up at NU).

Its not to say that he can't overcome this if we did retain him. But, as impressive as he is, if you think he's the best guy we can bring in as head coach for Northwestern football at this stage of his career and given the many gaps in his experience base, then perhaps we are just going to have to agree to disagree.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Second half defense has been decent, if not very good. Would not have won without that yesterday..

The most impressive thing is how much better we get in the 2nd half. On both sides of the ball. That is 1000% coaching. And something we have not seen in the last couple of years on Defense, and perhaps forever on offense.

 

[Rebel II]

Whatever Braun's future is, we're fortunate that he was hired and on the staff to take over the position of HC when we needed it.

I do not want to imagine the alternative choices in that spot right now; Braun clearly rose to the moment and has handled the pressure of taking over the HC job in extremely difficult circumstances.

The fact that this team fought like hell down 21 when everybody outside that locker room expected them to lose handily is just incredible.

I'm excited to watch this team play the rest of the games this year (though next week may be brutal going up against a legitimate national championship contender).

Reports are that the guys love him and the current staff. Win two more conference games and beat Howard he might well be our man. Can he recruit is the huge question!

 

[Rebel II]

I don't argue that he doesn't have the ability. Like I said, he has all the intrinsics, and the way the players love him and play for him and how he has motivated and kept them together amazes me (maybe better than Fitz). But, he is lacking in other areas that you want to see.

No doubt that he has the ability to make people like him and build relationships. It's more that he needs time to build those relationships. With HS coaches nationally. With coaches. He could use a few years to learn and pick up what he needs to know to be a much better head coach. Name recognition is helpful, but not at all what I'm talking about. Its experience.

Again, until this year, he had never coached at a D1 much less P5 or D1 level. And he has no exposure to the offensive side of the ball. None of that is deal breaking taken on its own. Its the combination of that, or the fact that he is lacking in so many of those boxes that you woudl want to check, which creates a far greater gap than Gary had.

I have no problem bringing in someone like a Jim Tressell who was a IAA and super successful national championship caliber coach. I have no problem bringing in someone who was never a head coach but has championship rings with Alabama, Clemson, or Georgia. Barnett was an OC and had a national championship ring. He knew what he had to do and could bring in people who could fill in the gaps. He had the relationships to bring in someone like a Ron Vanderlinden. Who did Chris Braun bring in to fill out his staff? Barnett knew how to recruit 4 and 5 star players and did so again for NU (I'm not sure Fitz ever did, perhaps because he never actually had experience doing so, and maybe one of the reasons we did so poorly in that department during his tenure).

Look, I like Chris Braun a lot. I think he could be a great head coach one day. But, I think he lacks a lot of experience, that he needs to get only by doing the time. Maybe the best thing for him is if he can hook on to one of the National Championship contenders for a few years, get that championship ring. Succeed in recruiting 4 and 5 star talent and learn by actually doing it, while building his network with HS's nationally and with top tier coaching talent so he can fill out a staff. (Then again, arguably, he would never end up at NU).

Its not to say that he can't overcome this if we did retain him. But, as impressive as he is, if you think he's the best guy we can bring in as head coach for Northwestern football at this stage of his career and given the many gaps in his experience base, then perhaps we are just going to have to agree to disagree.

Who knows what this Admin will do if he wins a couple more games. Keeping this team together and improving is no mean accomplishment.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I don't argue that he doesn't have the ability. Like I said, he has all the intrinsics, and the way the players love him and play for him and how he has motivated and kept them together amazes me (maybe better than Fitz). But, he is lacking in other areas that you want to see.

No doubt that he has the ability to make people like him and build relationships. It's more that he needs time to build those relationships. With HS coaches nationally. With coaches. He could use a few years to learn and pick up what he needs to know to be a much better head coach. Name recognition is helpful, but not at all what I'm talking about. Its experience.

Again, until this year, he had never coached at a D1 much less P5 or D1 level. And he has no exposure to the offensive side of the ball. None of that is deal breaking taken on its own. Its the combination of that, or the fact that he is lacking in so many of those boxes that you woudl want to check, which creates a far greater gap than Gary had.

I have no problem bringing in someone like a Jim Tressell who was a IAA and super successful national championship caliber coach. I have no problem bringing in someone who was never a head coach but has championship rings with Alabama, Clemson, or Georgia. Barnett was an OC and had a national championship ring. He knew what he had to do and could bring in people who could fill in the gaps. He had the relationships to bring in someone like a Ron Vanderlinden. Who did Chris Braun bring in to fill out his staff? Barnett knew how to recruit 4 and 5 star players and did so again for NU (I'm not sure Fitz ever did, perhaps because he never actually had experience doing so, and maybe one of the reasons we did so poorly in that department during his tenure).

Look, I like Chris Braun a lot. I think he could be a great head coach one day. But, I think he lacks a lot of experience, that he needs to get only by doing the time. Maybe the best thing for him is if he can hook on to one of the National Championship contenders for a few years, get that championship ring. Succeed in recruiting 4 and 5 star talent and learn by actually doing it, while building his network with HS's nationally and with top tier coaching talent so he can fill out a staff. (Then again, arguably, he would never end up at NU).

Its not to say that he can't overcome this if we did retain him. But, as impressive as he is, if you think he's the best guy we can bring in as head coach for Northwestern football at this stage of his career and given the many gaps in his experience base, then perhaps we are just going to have to agree to disagree.

Like him enough to not know his first name?

Braun is also a championship-winning coordinator. Twice, actually. NDSU is as good a culture program as exists. I’d be thrilled to bring some of that to Evanston.

It’s not like he doesn’t have a recruiting network. Just going to be recruiting a different level of player in the B1G.

At the end of the day it’s highly unlikely that Braun ends up the permanent HC, but not as implausible as you make it out to be.

 

[freewillie07]

LOL wrong? Really, you are prepared to make a definitive statement about that based on one half of football? .NU was down 21 points and on the verge of getting blown out at home by one of the worst teams in the Big Ten this year. We are all fans in the opinion sharing and projection business. Is there any doubt that any of us could be wrong? I’d love to be wrong because that would mean that the program I have been emotionally invested in for the last 40 years outperforms my very low expectations. We’ll see. Let’s see what the Wildcat Report roller coaster riding board posters say next week and at the end of the year. I think I have a pretty good guess.

Still think playing Bryant was a terrible mistake?

 

[TerraCat]

Surely, it will swing the other way. That's the way these boards operate. This said, I don't think anything we will see from PSU should change our views (though I know they will). Braun has been doing an impressive job, given the circumstances, even if (and most likely probably) we get boatraced against PSU.

And I still think we should bring in someone with more qualifications, especially in recruiting and also perhaps bringing a modernized and effective offense in. And I hope he retains Braun as DC.

EC, I don't know how fragile the ego's of D-1 coaches are. But it just seems unlikely that after being interim head coach he might stick around as D-coordinator. Now I understand it all depends on compensation and title. But it may be head coach or nothing. Thoughts?

 

[curdog]

EC, I don't know how fragile the ego's of D-1 coaches are. But it just seems unlikely that after being interim head coach he might stick around as D-coordinator. Now I understand it all depends on compensation and title. But it may be head coach or nothing. Thoughts?

Sean Lewis (Colorado OC) was HC at Kent st. He wasn’t fired at Kent St. he saw a better opportunity. If a new coach wants to keep braun as DC, he may stay if he sees it has his best opportunity

 

[phatcat]

Still think playing Bryant was a terrible mistake?

I did even after the perfect 80 yarder to Kirtz. He looked uncomfortable for 3.5 games. And then he didn't. As I said elsewhere, the guy stepped into a phone booth and came out with a superhero costume on

 

[Sheffielder]

EC, I don't know how fragile the ego's of D-1 coaches are. But it just seems unlikely that after being interim head coach he might stick around as D-coordinator. Now I understand it all depends on compensation and title. But it may be head coach or nothing. Thoughts?

Nothing about Braun suggests to me he'd be an "all or nothing" guy when it comes to what's next. He just got here a minute ago with the intention of being a DC - not like he's been on the staff for 15 years and is now in danger of being passed up (I'm thinking of a guy like Tom Bradley at Penn State after their fallout). What does seem clear is that he generally seems to like it here, and we generally like him, and that's an excellent place to be right now.

My natural inclination is not to make an interim head coach permanent. For every Dabo Swinney there's a Bill Stewart or a Clay Helton...once the program becomes totally theirs, things have seemed to go sideways for the interim guys because their success came on the fumes of their predecessors. Granted...we're not Clemson or USC and I don't know what "success" Fitz has left behind in the recent past.

What *really* worries me is that Schill honestly doesn't care about this enough to think big, and Gragg will make the decision that is least risky to his own personal circumstances - as it seems this is the one thing we all agree on: having these two driving the bus gives me no comfort whatsoever.

 

[hdhntr1]

Do you have eyeballs?

Apparently not

 

[hdhntr1]

Do whatever St. Gary did. It’s been done. If I knew I would put my hat in to the ring for the $5m or so that would be the just reward for somebody who can do it.

But just for fun, and speaking out of my ass as usual, I would offer way more 4 and 5 star players including any who are considering Stanford or Duke. I would poach the shit out of other schools if I thought they had kids who would be good for us and could be flipped and not consider anyone fully committed until they sign not would I stop recruiting them if they happened to start looking elsewhere. Would also hit Pat Ryan and Alan Smither for a couple hundred million or so, find a great fund manager to invest it and provide an annuity for NIL.

Sorry but things are far different now than they were then. And a lot of the guys that took us to RB and Citrus bowl were not the superstar recruits that you attribute to him, Many of them came after the RB year, As far as Fiz not bringing in 4 and 5 star recruits, that is not true either. Number of 4 star and HJ thou a transfer was a 5 star

 

[hdhntr1]

I did even after the perfect 80 yarder to Kirtz. He looked uncomfortable for 3.5 games. And then he didn't. As I said elsewhere, the guy stepped into a phone booth and came out with a superhero costume on

While he is sometimes less accurate than I would like, I have not seen him being the guy as a mistake. He has shown enough mobility, has the experience and has managed to remain upright (something that our other QBs have had trouble doing behind our OL)

 

[hdhntr1]

Nothing about Braun suggests to me he'd be an "all or nothing" guy when it comes to what's next. He just got here a minute ago with the intention of being a DC - not like he's been on the staff for 15 years and is now in danger of being passed up (I'm thinking of a guy like Tom Bradley at Penn State after their fallout). What does seem clear is that he generally seems to like it here, and we generally like him, and that's an excellent place to be right now.

My natural inclination is not to make an interim head coach permanent. For every Dabo Swinney there's a Bill Stewart or a Clay Helton...once the program becomes totally theirs, things have seemed to go sideways for the interim guys because their success came on the fumes of their predecessors. Granted...we're not Clemson or USC and I don't know what "success" Fitz has left behind in the recent past.

What *really* worries me is that Schill honestly doesn't care about this enough to think big, and Gragg will make the decision that is least risky to his own personal circumstances - as it seems this is the one thing we all agree on: having these two driving the bus gives me no comfort whatsoever.

He seems like a very good addition. Even as early returns seem promising, hard to see him as ready for HC at this level with everything else that is going on. That said would like to seem him staying on the staff. If they see him as a long term answer, then bring in someone that can get him ready over the next year or two

 

[hdhntr1]

I will never know enough to have a vote on whether he should be the guy or not - and it's too early to tell.

But I have a ton of respect for how Braun carries himself: one of those things being how he engages the press. He's more authentic and he takes more accountability than Fitz. (I say this as a Fitz fan)

He owns up, points at himself first, and doesn't try to hide it when he doesn't know all the answers.
Compares well to some of the Fitzisms that we've all heard over time.
- Never allowing that the coaching or game planning may have been flawed "just need to execute" etc. Rang very hollow in the JON era.
- His unaccountable statement on the hazing. 100% pure weasel.
- His constant rote repeat of "need to educate these young men" during the union vote.

I know his approach to players was not the same as his press persona. But being that arrogant behind the mic after all the losing doesn't go down well with me. I don't think it would be convincing to a recruit or a parent.

I watched Fleck's press conference after the game. As much as I hate the guy - even he held himself more accountable than Fitz in similar situations.

Even if we like him, does not mean he is yet ready. At issue is pretty hard to see the guys on staff (or ones remaining after this season) as being guys able to bring him along in areas he is deficient so they would need to bring someone like that in (Holtz is sort of doing that now but for next step probably would need something more)

 

[RhabdoWildcat]

The roller coaster that is this Board continues. Can't wait to see the comments after next week's Penn State game.

I’m hoping for more than zero points. If we do that I’ll be happy.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I don't argue that he doesn't have the ability. Like I said, he has all the intrinsics, and the way the players love him and play for him and how he has motivated and kept them together amazes me (maybe better than Fitz). But, he is lacking in other areas that you want to see.

No doubt that he has the ability to make people like him and build relationships. It's more that he needs time to build those relationships. With HS coaches nationally. With coaches. He could use a few years to learn and pick up what he needs to know to be a much better head coach. Name recognition is helpful, but not at all what I'm talking about. Its experience.

Again, until this year, he had never coached at a D1 much less P5 or D1 level. And he has no exposure to the offensive side of the ball. None of that is deal breaking taken on its own. Its the combination of that, or the fact that he is lacking in so many of those boxes that you woudl want to check, which creates a far greater gap than Gary had.

I have no problem bringing in someone like a Jim Tressell who was a IAA and super successful national championship caliber coach. I have no problem bringing in someone who was never a head coach but has championship rings with Alabama, Clemson, or Georgia. Barnett was an OC and had a national championship ring. He knew what he had to do and could bring in people who could fill in the gaps. He had the relationships to bring in someone like a Ron Vanderlinden. Who did Chris Braun bring in to fill out his staff? Barnett knew how to recruit 4 and 5 star players and did so again for NU (I'm not sure Fitz ever did, perhaps because he never actually had experience doing so, and maybe one of the reasons we did so poorly in that department during his tenure).
,
Look, I like Chris Braun a lot. I think he could be a great head coach one day. But, I think he lacks a lot of experience, that he needs to get only by doing the time. Maybe the best thing for him is if he can hook on to one of the National Championship contenders for a few years, get that championship ring. Succeed in recruiting 4 and 5 star talent and learn by actually doing it, while building his network with HS's nationally and with top tier coaching talent so he can fill out a staff. (Then again, arguably, he would never end up at NU).

Its not to say that he can't overcome this if we did retain him. But, as impressive as he is, if you think he's the best guy we can bring in as head coach for Northwestern football at this stage of his career and given the many gaps in his experience base, then perhaps we are just going to have to agree to disagree.

E-Cat, there are only a handful of coaches in FBS whose name means anything to high school kids and their parents. Saban, Harbaugh, Coach Prime, Smart (probably, maybe), Dabo (maybe), and probably a few others. None of those guys are coming here.

The best "name" coach for NU would probably be Kafka, but most high school kids would have to Google him to find out who he is.

Give me the guy who knows how to build strong relationships with players, parents and high school coaches, and who has won.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I’m hoping for more than zero points. If we do that I’ll be happy.

Iowa got 4 first downs against Penn State, who had 28.
Iowa lost 4 fumbles and punted 7 times.
They ran a total of 33 plays in 14 minutes of possession.
They gained a total of 76 yards, to Penn State's 397.

So thats cause for serious concern...

But on the other hand Illinois threw for 292 yards against Penn State and had 20 first downs...
so we probably will have to throw it down the field...

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Hope you are not counting on what is floating around on this board

No

 

[EvanstonCat]

Like him enough to not know his first name?

Braun is also a championship-winning coordinator. Twice, actually. NDSU is as good a culture program as exists. I’d be thrilled to bring some of that to Evanston.

It’s not like he doesn’t have a recruiting network. Just going to be recruiting a different level of player in the B1G.

At the end of the day it’s highly unlikely that Braun ends up the permanent HC, but not as implausible as you make it out to be.

Never said it was implausible. I just don’t think he should be hired without the requisite qualifications.

 

[mesacat]

So getting us to a Bowl would not be enough for a 3 year appointment?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

So getting us to a Bowl would not be enough for a 3 year appointment?

A 3-year appointment is pretty much pointless. You’ll notice that pretty much any HC contract is for at least 5 years nowadays in order to support recruiting. Could do a 5-year deal with extremely low buyouts, but shorter than that for the headline is dumb.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I'll take one David Braun and give you as many Skip Holtz clones as you want.

 

[Eurocat]

It’s not like he doesn’t have a recruiting network. Just going to be recruiting a different level of player in the B1G.

So I went to the Bison football roster to see where the players are from - are they all from North and South Dakota with maybe Minnesota sprinkled in? Hardly. Now that is the majority of the team, sure, and that is to be expected.

https://gobison.com/sports/football/roster

I took out the Dakotas as well as Minnesota.

But here is where other kids are from - Seems like Braun would have contacts from all over the place.

Senior Tampa, Fla.
Wylie, Texas Plano East HS
Solon, Iowa
Jamestown, N.Y.
Novi, Mich.
West Chicago, Ill.
Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Waukegan, Ill.
Ruskin, Fla.
Fond du Lac, Wis.
Port Washington, Wis.
Naperville, Ill.
Grandview, Mo.
Angleton, Texas
Derby, Kan.
Omaha, Neb. Frisco, Texas
Lemont, Ill.
Green Bay, Wis.
Compton, Calif.
Sparta, Wis.
Freshman Elmhurst, Ill.
Freshman Lakeland, Fla
Lake Geneva, Wis.
Neenah, Wis.
Liberty, Mo.
Dubuque, Iowa
Hortonville, Wis.
Muskego, Wis
Dublin, Ohio
Grimes, Iowa
Sherwood, Ore.
Milwaukee, Wis.
St. Louis, Mo.
Sturtevant, Wis.
Tampa, Fla.
Sioux City, Iowa
Batavia, Ill.
Whitefish Bay, Wis
Lakeland, Fla.
Pella, Iowa
Warrensburg, Mo. via St. Thomas Aquinas HS (Kan.)
Elkhorn, Neb.
Stoughton, Wis.
Markesan, Wis.
Eldridge, Iowa
Grand Island, Neb.
Maryville, Mo.
Highland Park, Ill.
El Paso, Texas
Green Bay, Wis.
Batavia, Ill.
St. Charles, Ill.
Marshalltown, Iowa

 

[zeek55]

A 3-year appointment is pretty much pointless. You’ll notice that pretty much any HC contract is for at least 5 years nowadays in order to support recruiting. Could do a 5-year deal with extremely low buyouts, but shorter than that for the headline is dumb.

Agreed.

Let's say Braun wins 3 or 4 more games and gets us to a bowl game and they decide to extend him.

It'd probably be a $3-3.5 million per year deal over 5 years with relatively small buyouts (say $6 million after 1 year, $3 million after 2, none after 3).

To me, it'd make a lot of sense to give him that kind of deal knowing that we're going through a stadium rebuild for 2 of those seasons and that he has the trust of the players and has at the very least stabilized the program.

If it doesn't work out, he leaves with $9-10 million pre-tax in his pocket after 3 years.

Obviously, much will depend on how the next 8 games go, but at the very least there's a path for him to stick around here as HC.

 

[Rebel II]

Agreed.

Let's say Braun wins 3 or 4 more games and gets us to a bowl game and they decide to extend him.

It'd probably be a $3-3.5 million per year deal over 5 years with relatively small buyouts (say $6 million after 1 year, $3 million after 2, none after 3).

To me, it'd make a lot of sense to give him that kind of deal knowing that we're going through a stadium rebuild for 2 of those seasons and that he has the trust of the players and has at the very least stabilized the program.

If it doesn't work out, he leaves with $9-10 million pre-tax in his pocket after 3 years.

Obviously, much will depend on how the next 8 games go, but at the very least there's a path for him to stick around here as HC.

As well as his staff and vast majority of players. He probably would make some staff changes.