It's time for Fitz to clean house
Pat Fitzgerald needs to make some tough decisions, and his first step should be replacing both coordinators.
Column: It's time for Fitz to clean house
- Thread starter lou v
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Spot on with the "going through the motions" comments. The only NU person showing emotion on the field Saturday was Dr. Thompson during halftime.
Terrific piece that sums up how far Northwestern football has fallen in 2 years. We're basically one of the worst teams in all of FBS let alone the Big Ten or Power 5.
It's tough medicine for a 17 year HC like Fitz to swallow, but the harsh reality is that both coordinators have failed to do their job and have to be replaced. And that's just a part of the staff changes likely needed. Keep the best assistants and then clean house.
This is a results oriented business. Part 1 of the job is to graduate the players and make sure they're giving effort to the program and representing themselves and the university well. By all accounts, the staff does an A+ job of that. The players didn't quit and kept practicing hard throughout a 1-11 campaign. That is obviously a good thing.
Part 2 of the job is to get reasonable football results. We should expect to go bowling most years. We should expect to challenge for the division every couple of years. Yes, we're a development program in a land of NIL and portals, but we do have top-flight resources that all but a few dozen universities would envy.
It's okay to have 4-8/5-7 years here. That will happen.
A 1-11 collapse where we're in the running for worst team in the nation and getting beaten by teams with far fewer resources is unacceptable. That it comes in a stretch of seasons that includes 2 other 3-9 seasons in the last 4 years is especially problematic.
It's tough medicine for a 17 year HC like Fitz to swallow, but the harsh reality is that both coordinators have failed to do their job and have to be replaced. And that's just a part of the staff changes likely needed. Keep the best assistants and then clean house.
This is a results oriented business. Part 1 of the job is to graduate the players and make sure they're giving effort to the program and representing themselves and the university well. By all accounts, the staff does an A+ job of that. The players didn't quit and kept practicing hard throughout a 1-11 campaign. That is obviously a good thing.
Part 2 of the job is to get reasonable football results. We should expect to go bowling most years. We should expect to challenge for the division every couple of years. Yes, we're a development program in a land of NIL and portals, but we do have top-flight resources that all but a few dozen universities would envy.
It's okay to have 4-8/5-7 years here. That will happen.
A 1-11 collapse where we're in the running for worst team in the nation and getting beaten by teams with far fewer resources is unacceptable. That it comes in a stretch of seasons that includes 2 other 3-9 seasons in the last 4 years is especially problematic.
Appreciate the article, but unfortunately not enough chatter going on nationally to put pressure on Fitz to act and behave like the head coach of a 1-11 Big Ten program.
Major sports media have lost all interest in Northwestern football, and that bodes well for Fitz to do what Fitz wants.
Sidenote: with all the talk on getting Jake and JON out, I don't think any assistant should be considered safe - gotta be willing to let guys go if we were to recruit a coordinator who wants to bring in his guy(s). But the first pink slip I'd hand out today would go to Jeff Genyk.
Major sports media have lost all interest in Northwestern football, and that bodes well for Fitz to do what Fitz wants.
Sidenote: with all the talk on getting Jake and JON out, I don't think any assistant should be considered safe - gotta be willing to let guys go if we were to recruit a coordinator who wants to bring in his guy(s). But the first pink slip I'd hand out today would go to Jeff Genyk.
Nice job but many doubt Fitz is capable of pulling off the necessary changes needed to keep the Titanic from sinking. The program under him has taken on too much water. I think the best course is for Fitz to follow Shaw and resign. If not then the captain will go down with the ship and take everything with him.
Great article. Can't happen soon enough. We have been season ticket holders for more than 30 years and I will not sit through another season of these coordinators.
It's time for Fitz to clean house
Pat Fitzgerald needs to make some tough decisions, and his first step should be replacing both coordinators.northwestern.rivals.com
Honestly...this is the test. As the head coach he is the steward of the program - the one tasked with making the tough calls, especially if he has actually been given any sort of contractual autonomy that supersedes Gragg.
It is an irrefutable fact there is not another P5 program in existence that would give their head coach the same grace that Fitz and his assistants have been given here. If he can't see that and/or is unwilling to make changes to his staff, at that point I will agree he must go.
Great column from photo selection to kicker. My only gripe is with saying Illinois has less talent than us, which I assume is based on recruiting rankings. I hate it when (once upon a time) we beat conference opponents who would then use the same “we have more talent” line. Talent is what you see on the field — and what we saw Saturday was clear.
Genyk definitely deserves some mention.
NU finished 128th in punt return yardage (19), 126th in punts returned (8), 119th in kick return average (16.7), and 127th in kick return yards (184, with that defense!)
I’m not sure NU needs a special teams coordinator to teach “run away from the ball, and miss your kicks.”
NU was fourth in the nation in average kick return allowed, but I assume that’s a function of pooch/squibs.
NU ranked 103 in net punting average.
NU finished 128th in punt return yardage (19), 126th in punts returned (8), 119th in kick return average (16.7), and 127th in kick return yards (184, with that defense!)
I’m not sure NU needs a special teams coordinator to teach “run away from the ball, and miss your kicks.”
NU was fourth in the nation in average kick return allowed, but I assume that’s a function of pooch/squibs.
NU ranked 103 in net punting average.
"To whom much is given, much is expected." Also applies to whom too much has been given.
Really good work. Some have said it's too disruptive to change both OC and DC at the same time, but the team is getting disrupted EVERY F'G GAME! Like surgery without anesthesia, it's not getting easier while we wait.
NU will have to assist Fitzgerald in replacing coordinators. He's already shown he doesn't want to do it.
Really good work. Some have said it's too disruptive to change both OC and DC at the same time, but the team is getting disrupted EVERY F'G GAME! Like surgery without anesthesia, it's not getting easier while we wait.
NU will have to assist Fitzgerald in replacing coordinators. He's already shown he doesn't want to do it.
Genyk is the absolute worst of the buddy hires. His only success in his career came in the glory days of NU, has generally been unsuccessful in every role since.
Not an indictment of his character. He may be a great guy who cares deeply about his players...but his talent has yet to be seen in his current capacity. Is it possible that our ST play has actually REGRESSED since he started?
My concern is whether Fitz has the vision to recognize and the willingness to embrace real change. He's an incrementalist by nature, not a change agent. It's time for him to watch the top programs and see what they're doing differently. If he's looking to get back to playing like we did in 2020 or 2018, he is looking in the wrong direction. We need to look forward, decide what we want to become and then build a plan to get there. What this new direction is, I have no idea. My concern is that Fitz is too stubborn and set in his ways to realize that he needs to find a new direction. Nor do I think he knows how to implement this sort of radical change.
I just don't see that happening. My from long distance, goofball opinion:
1) He and Pat Ryan have been putting their heart and soul into FINALLY getting NU in a position to compete with the rest of the Big Ten and CFB on all major program aspects, and now that we FINALLY have the last big piece, the new stadium and great game day environment on the horizon, Fitz is going to willingly walk?? I seriously doubt it.
2) His son is about to arrive at NU. Fitz has been watching his first born son develop as a football player from a distance for a decade. He FINALLY gets to watch him practice and play up close, every day now. Walk away from that? I seriously doubt it.
I wouldn't want him to walk away. This man absolutely deserves one more chance to fix this mess. I'm just nervous that he won't seize the opportunity, or won't do it fully or adequately.
Pretty sure the ultra-conservative special teams comes from Fitz. And that’s why Genyk added TEs to his responsibilities the last cycle.
Yeah, I know. We haven’t returned punts for the better part of a decade.
Gotta give the ST coordinator another title because the ST coordinator’s only job under Fitz is “please please please please don’t make a mistake”, and never “go make a play.”
Trust Yourself
It's time for that to become more than a piece of wood (I assume it's wood, I don't really know)
The blocked punt vs. Miami was egregiously bad and changed the outcome of the game and the Illinois punter running for 25 yards because no one was on one side of the field was ridiculous. Same thing happened in the 2020 game, by the way. I'm not a fire all the coaches guy, but those plays made my blood boil.
I commend everyone’s empathy and concern about firing people; I totally agree that taking away someone’s livelihood in the short run needs to be done with care and sensitivity. But here are my two bits based on several years of interacting with college coaches ( a large portion of them were football position coaches). They understand they are on one year contracts for a reason, and they know that college coaching can be a nomadic life, at least until one reaches the coordinator level, and sometimes even then. Head coaches have financial security and multi-year contracts, none of the other coaches do - they get that. So, although they would certainly not want to be fired, and it would hurt, they understand that when a team does not perform, they will likely be on the chopping block. NU is a real exception when it comes to coaching job security; it can be justified when the team performs reasonably well. But the past two years more than justify major changes IMO.
