Oh please, Peay and Green never got even close to sniffing a bowl game, much less winning five of them (against power5 opposition). It's a new era of college football. We'll see if Fitz can adjust, but you cannot denigrate what he has done here already.
It's astounding
- Thread starter stpaulcat
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I'm just rambling here, but the predicament we find ourselves in as a program right now is very tricky.
We have a head coach who is effectively tenured...now finally showing signs/willingness to change...but enough to right the ship?
Then we have a relatively new AD who I am still convinced doesn't totally get the weird NU sports culture, reporting to a president who didn't hire him, and who may not honestly care about the sports function of the university anyway.
At many other schools, two of the three aforementioned guys would see next season as one that could get them fired. I believe neither see it that way, and neither does the third who could do all the firing.
I also unfortunately think that none of these guys see how the fanfare of a new stadium is totally and completely squandered when the team we're fielding can't win at least 50 percent of their games. It's Ryan Fieldhouse all over again - we cut the ribbon on a gorgeous facility but anyone reading about the new palace when it opened then checked the scores and saw we were mediocre. Terrible timing.
And I won't even get started here on the NIL factor that could really put us in an "I've fallen and I can't get up" kind of position.
I worry seriously we're focused on the wrong things, and no one is treating this like the five-alarm fire that it might very well be.
Of course, we could go 8-4 this year and then win a bowl game, and I will be perfectly happy to come back here and have people point and laugh at everything I've said.
We have a head coach who is effectively tenured...now finally showing signs/willingness to change...but enough to right the ship?
Then we have a relatively new AD who I am still convinced doesn't totally get the weird NU sports culture, reporting to a president who didn't hire him, and who may not honestly care about the sports function of the university anyway.
At many other schools, two of the three aforementioned guys would see next season as one that could get them fired. I believe neither see it that way, and neither does the third who could do all the firing.
I also unfortunately think that none of these guys see how the fanfare of a new stadium is totally and completely squandered when the team we're fielding can't win at least 50 percent of their games. It's Ryan Fieldhouse all over again - we cut the ribbon on a gorgeous facility but anyone reading about the new palace when it opened then checked the scores and saw we were mediocre. Terrible timing.
And I won't even get started here on the NIL factor that could really put us in an "I've fallen and I can't get up" kind of position.
I worry seriously we're focused on the wrong things, and no one is treating this like the five-alarm fire that it might very well be.
Of course, we could go 8-4 this year and then win a bowl game, and I will be perfectly happy to come back here and have people point and laugh at everything I've said.
Not to split hairs (but hey, we're just fans sitting around talking football in the off season)...the sport in which Peay and Green coached is not an apples to apples comparison to Fitzball.
Peay and Green didn't coach games that were broadcast nationally where 3-star recruits in Texas could watch Northwestern play every week. They didn't have Big Ten TV money to help with football operations, and there weren't 40 bowl games that 5-7 teams sneak into on the regular. As I recall, they also didn't have mega supportive ADs or presidents in their corner.
I'm pretty comfortable agreeing that Fitz is the most successful Northwestern coach in our history, regardless of how the next couple of seasons go, but I don't know how fair it is to compare his stats to those guys when you consider - as you point out - it's a new era of college football.
Fitz has kind of boxed himself in as far as what he can say, since many of his statements and predictions in recent years have been off base. His chances of being wrong again are well over 50% at this point.
This team wouldn't go 8-4 in the MAC. I am glad Fitz made staff changes, although a) I feel like the iceberg is already struck and b) so many players lost from a terrible team last year and c) I WANT to see hope on offense or special teams, but have no reason to feel so.
Nah, the overall state of the football program must be blamed on CCC. Since he made the tourney this year, we have to make up something new to blame him for. This will do.
As already stated, it was a different time when it came to $$ and national exposure, plus, Peay and Green never got the kind of administrative support that Fitz has gotten (shiny new facilities, etc.).
Also, Peay and Green were tasked with getting the Cats out of the Dark Ages whereas Fitz had the advantage of leading a program that had won 3 B1G titles (the starting points were entirely different).
For all the advantages Fitz has had, the past couple of seasons are nearly unforgivable (but for all the goodwill Fitz has built up), but many of us saw the disaster that was coming with the hiring of his buddy.
What's disconcerting is that Fitz has not only made too many of these type of mistakes (and taking too long to rectify them), but he has repeated some of them.
But at least it looks like Fitz has finally decided to change things around with his latest coaching hires.
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It's astounding to me that on this site that while the NFL draft is going on, and we were hoping some of our key players like t o m i were going and the first and second round, that no one is on this site talking about it. Sadly they are well into the third round and he's not been selected yet
Yes, many of us knew on day one that JON was the wrong hire, and the huge mystery is why Fitz didn't know that? Fitz knew a lot of other smart stuff, why not this? Is it possible he needs an advisor, such as Barnett, who orchestrated the Hank hire, to keep him on track. Does he have one now--a coach coach? I sure hope so. If not, NU Football may indeed be in trouble.
I think coach Hank was the key to Fitz's success. EVERYTHING out of Evanston seems to be a mystery. Fitz's stubborn nature reflected with the JON situation (should have been canned after the 2021 Nebraska game) and caused massive damage to his organization. He makes roughly 5M a year, if he doesn't want to adapt to the new reality (addressing under performing coaches, NIL, etc) and keep thinking it is still the mid-90's, then he needs to move on and enjoy life. This whole situation cannot be fun and I see no real path forward with the moves he has made. I am not an alum and have been a NU fan since I was a kid. I love going to games with my family, tailgating and supporting NU. This is the first year (ever) I really have little interest in this team and have no real expectations that we will win a BIG game. I am still super pissed we got trashed by IL two years in a row and feel this will be an ongoing beating with what we have in our bullpen.
Totally understand this being a non-alum myself. I really like Fitz, but he clearly needs to revamp his approach with the new era of College football. There are a lot of transfers out there that could help. The next 30-60 days are huge to upgrade talent on both the transfer and HS commit side. This is Chicago, we like our Coaches with some visible fire in their belly. I like cantankerous Fitz, I don’t like invisible Fitz. He doesn’t need to divulge secrets, but the program needs to toss the fans a bone every now and then. We aren’t closing on players that have crappy offers. Not sure the 40 year argument sells as well in this day in age. If we are going to suck this year, I would be playing as many RS Freshman and true Freshman as I could. If they don’t totally embarrass themselves they are out there. 1-11 with no light at the end of the tunnel is a recipe for losing most of your fans. Then we apparently will be playing somewhere else for 2 years. It’s still top secret. Get ready for a mass exodus of both players and fans if something drastic doesn’t improve this year. Feels like a critical juncture for the program.
Take the keys to the kingdom away from Fitz and maybe he would coach like his job depends on it as it should. I also don't have much faith in the current AD and his staff to help the process. A pretty lost organization right now.
Don't kid yourself, we have an athletic administrator rather than a athletic director. Go read the Tulsa boards and you will see terms like "empty suit", and I don't think they were devestated when he left for the NCAA. Yes, he left the AD gig and went to the NCAA, a total cluster. And then he comes out of nowhere and becomes our AD after that mess of a fake nationwide search.
I struggle to understand how an experienced coach with recent success let the program fall like it has 3 of the last 4 years. Tons of money poured into facilities etc.. and it all crumbles.
The "competitive success" comment in the RISE statement said it all for me. How many meetings did it take to come up with that? He says a lot without saying much.
1) I don't blame Dr. Gragg for applying for and being selected as the AD after the Polisky shitshow. Not his fault. 2. Contrary to everyone else's opinion, I think he did a good job in lighting a fire under CCC and, as far as we know, providing actual leadership and direction to him. Does anyone think CCC couldn't have left if he wanted after this season? 3. The problem of Fitz. Tenured, arrogant, complacent (I am picturing Carl Sandberg writing this part). Much tougher employee. And yet - 3 coaches gone, new blood arriving. Perhaps he is getting through to Fitz. Can he get him to fully embrace the Portal? 4. My 10k foot view is that Gragg should be doing more to encourage NIL. Without it, we are dead. I'm not sold on TrueNU, though I've donated and will continue, until I see actual evidence that it is moving the needle for revenue sports. Heck, tell people that their stadium donations also, "in part" fund NIL
That's it. I don't think Gragg is the problem (yet)
That's it. I don't think Gragg is the problem (yet)
Interesting - if folks chose to donate to True instead of the athletic dept (maybe even instead of their FB season Tix), maybe they could move the needle.
I would rather watch on TV and celebrate a talented team instead of going to see a terrible team in person surrounded by a bunch of opposing fans.
Gragg's timing for his hiring worked out well for him. His resume- results at Tulsa and Eastern Michigan are not impressive.
And he was the best candidate for a P5 Big Ten program. Say that a few times to yourself.
No, nor was there a Spring, as far as we can tell. There was something, but it is a deep, dark mystery. We will know the answer when we are either 1-11 or 11-1.
There were plenty of sources on this board, from the moment he was hired, who had heard very negative reports about the new AD. It's largely playing out as feared—adrift in the stormy seas of college sports with NIL.
And I don't see anyone really stepping in to course-correct from the NU administration, so he is here for as long as he wants.
Many good points. There is one thing they are proficient at. The amount of fundraising solicitations.
I'm ok with the guy. I'll avoid reposting what I've already said, but, IMO, he is managing the CCC thing ok and he SEEMS to have had some effect on Fitz. I'd like to see more done about NLI, but I don't know what that looks like for the AD. Heck, even public statements like "we need to spend less money on white elephant stadiums (stadia?) and more on attracting and keeping good student athletes."
I have no real issue with on field performances when you consider all sports but they've got other issues.
As example I was not able to take advantage of early renewal offer for b-ball ST's because of system issues on their end despite multiple e-mail exchanges with my AE. At least e-mails were returned (as opposed to voice mails that weren't). I get e-mails from development asking to meet up for lunch (I assume for the dog/pony show for the new Ryan Field) and my responses of "sure" go unreturned.
Don't get me started on being asked to sign up for wait list for WLAX home NCAA tix despite being 15 year LAX STH and regular standalone LAX donor.
Thing is, Fitz has made plenty of bone-headed mistakes - taking points off the Dook loss which ended their losing streak, going w/ a running QB and gameplan against an Army D that was weak in the secondary and practices against a running QB (and waiting too long to switch QBs/gameplan), repeatedly handing the ball off on 3rd/4th and short when the Cats didn't have the O-line to sustain a push, etc.
But what's disconcerting is his repeating mistakes - thinking that bringing back a R&R scheme is a good idea despite having had poor experiences with it (having to simplify the scheme because players were getting confused, etc.).
The thing is, I think we were very spoiled with the Phillips/Morty combo and it's possible in this lifetime we may never see it again at NU.
We had a guy running athletics who was commonly in the conversation to lead the conference and the NCAA at large, and has nevertheless landed a commissioner job; if/when he leaves that position, if not to retire, he can basically contend for any AD job in America. Likewise for Morty, we had a president who cared about athletics because he was a fan - not because of its impact on admissions or fundraising, but because he was excited for on the field success.
For Gragg...sweet frickin deal:
* Emergency hire = lower expectations out of the gate
* Comes in right after a major facilities overhaul
* Oh, and as the finishing touches are put on a new stadium - just get it to daylight
* Had what he probably thought was a football program steady on the tracks - barely out of a division title season
* A very not-demanding fan base with deep pockets but low per-donor giving (I suspect) so he probably saw that as an opportunity - increase that a smidge (as reflected in the MANY revenue-generating initiatives we've seen) and he calls it a success.
* Even if he fails at raising per-donor giving, he's got the golden goose to bail him out - not that he'd ever need to ask him for bailouts common to other Division I programs...like buyouts...right? Right?
* Oh, and...Big Ten money.
To me, the jury is still out on whether this guy can run the most unique (putting it politely) athletics program in the conference - I would love for Fitz to find his feet, but he might not. So...we'll see.
While the jury is still out, have yet to see anything I can say good about him. I feel he mishandled the CCC thing and while indications are that he will do the right thing now by working to extend him by three years, he was sort of forced into it. We shall see but so far, not impressed.
Yeah nobody agrees with me about Gragg/CCC, and we don't know what went on behind closed doors. What I do know is that Collins was circling the drain and had lost several players. There was no reason to expect anything different. Therefore, my hypothesis is that Gragg provided good direction and leadership and helped Collins save his job. I don't know. That's my guess. I would have fired his ass.
King Fitz is a tougher manage. Let's see how this season turns out, even if we lose 9 games but look like an actual program. Again, my hypothesis is that Gragg spoke to him sternly and told him to clean house.
I don't know what restrictions Gragg has on leadership in NIL, but it seems like something could be done, like make it clear that it will be difficult to field a competitive team in our shiny new stadium without a serious NIL. Maybe Jacob Schmidt/ TrueNU is the vehicle, but it needs like 50-100 million just to be in the conversation
The whole RISE campaign strikes me as a whole lot of nothing. Hope I'm wrong.
