MacPherson out
- Thread starter zeek55
- Start date
Braun is wiping the slate clean. I will miss the Fitz era, with the exception of 19,21-22. Fitz was a solid coach and I did like him. I was shocked and disappointed in how he handled things post 2018 though. It was as if a bubble was popped for me.
All of the best to Coach Mac. Thank you and best of luck in your next coaching position.
I find it odd and borderline rude of Braun having won all these games last year and being a consensus "oh what a great story, wow, what a great ending, wow, great job", I find it a bit offputting that he is fiding the assistants that got him these wins last year.
Sorry, I don't like it (but it is his right to do it, that I recognize).
Sorry, I don't like it (but it is his right to do it, that I recognize).
I'm actually surprised that he kept Timmy Mac, he has no plausible deniability. Some of the changes (Jake, Genyk,.S&C) were no brainers re performance. Perhaps the others were due to hazing liability. The hazing thing is quiet now, but , make no mistake, the potential liability is huge. Like Pat Ryan or endowment fund huge.
I think in the case of MacPherson specifically, he was the most tied to the hazing allegations given that he was directly named in them.
And yes, the liability for the hazing allegations is larger than the Fitz settlement in all likelihood. If/when the University has to settle each for millions; that can easily add up to a 9 figure settlement...
There is no chance that MacPherson could have stayed on here. We knew that back in August-September.
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Not true. MacPherson’s dismissal had nothing to do with the bogus hazing allegations.
Even if the allegations are bogus, he was the only coach that was named in them specifically.
No chance he was going to be on the staff after this season either way.
Counterpoint: he’s also keeping McGarigle, Vokolek, Hicks, Smith, Binns, and Foster while elevating McGarigle to DC. Bajakian was also almost universally known to be on thin ice after this year no matter the head coach and any OC change likely would have brought some other staff changes with it.
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I would eat a murder of crows to learn that the allegations were, indeed, bogus. It would be far less costly for the university to pay Fitz's spurious suit than the possibility of having to pay all of the other eventual claimants
They aren’t bogus. A six-month investigation, Lou’s reporting, ESPN, and The Athletic all confirmed them.
Perhaps we disagree whether requiring those interested in showering after practice to walk past a whole bunch of naked offensive linemen to be hazing. But naked offensive linemen blocking the shower happened. Genitals grinding against young players (covered or not, who knows?) happened. This is running.
McPherson was gone because he was the only assistant coach named in the complaints. He couldn’t be kept on.
@CoralSpringsCat’s claimed insider knowledge of the program is the most bogus thing on this board. He will never present what *actually* happened because, actually, the reporting makes pretty clear what actually happened. And, of course, only one person — gone for more than a decade — has denied the core charges. Fitz himself has confirmed them. (“I was disappointed when I heard…”, right?) @CoralSpringsCat just likes Twitter a lot.
By most accounts, MacPherson was good at his job and should have gotten a shot at the DC job or a co-DC job before JON came in and destroyed Hank’s decade of excellence. (McGarigle, a career defensive coach, was probably the better fit.)
I’m sure it’s not fun for McGarigle to let his longtime colleague go, but it’s the right move. With MacPherson’s son a D1 prospect at Loyola, I assume Matt will not resurface as a coach until a year from now.
(@gocatsgo2003, I assume Hicks was an accidental omission on the above list? And it’s exciting to me that Binns and Foster have been kept on, if that’s what has indeed happened. They seemed to do good work.)
Yes just forgot about Hicks. Will add. Makes my point even more though.
And, for what it’s worth, I’ve also heard that MacPherson’s departure has nothing to do with the hazing situation. I’m sure it didn’t help, but is not the main driver as I understand it.
The defense attorney in me says, oh how wonderful we are are as a society and at Northwestern. Just throw an allegation at someone - poof - yer fired. Is that what we want to be? Not in my book.
We have no way of knowing whether his name came up in the six-month investigation, because the university was non-transparent.
And perhaps, per GCG, he could have been kept on but was fired/not retained at Braun or McGarigle’s discretion.
As I said above, that is the head coaches right and the coordinators right, to bring in his own people.
I respect that, honestly I do.
But I also watched coach Braun's post game press conferences about "staying together" and "the power of belief" and all that and frankly that seems to be exactly what his assistant coaches did for him.
All these firings leave a bad taste in my mouth regarding our new coach. If I were him I would talk to all the assitants and say "look, thanks for last year, let's keep it all together for one more year, and thanks for what you did I cold not have done it without you, but it is what it is and next year here are my expectations...". Maybe that is just me but it seems like a dick move to fire many of these guys. But whatever, it is his right.
I respect that, honestly I do.
But I also watched coach Braun's post game press conferences about "staying together" and "the power of belief" and all that and frankly that seems to be exactly what his assistant coaches did for him.
All these firings leave a bad taste in my mouth regarding our new coach. If I were him I would talk to all the assitants and say "look, thanks for last year, let's keep it all together for one more year, and thanks for what you did I cold not have done it without you, but it is what it is and next year here are my expectations...". Maybe that is just me but it seems like a dick move to fire many of these guys. But whatever, it is his right.
Grow some balls. That’s coaching. Go read Anderson’s good bye tweet.
They were indeed bogus and hopefully fitz wins every penny of that $100MM suit. It’s disgusting - Schill and the idiots he has underneath him literally bent the knee to their own [REDACTED] student ran news paper. Its piss pants funny when you boil it down to its nuts and bolts
Except the just one person has denied that hazing occurred.
I believe the victims. I'm simply picking up "bogus" from the fitz apologist I responded to.
There weren't any victims. There were a couple malcontents looking for a payday
Ok - I’ll play - you have a Time Machine and the only way you can use it is to insert your 17 year old onto the NU OL five years ago. Cannot provide him advice or anything, just push a button and off he goes. Are you pushing the button?
I’ll sit back and wait for you not to respond, or non- responsively attack me cuz we know you cannot give your answer out loud.
I'm still trying to figure out how one non-responsively attacks someone. I'm watching just for that!
I've never said a word to Coral on this board or in person so I have no idea, but the "reporting" by the Daily was anything but that. It was an article that a bunch of J school losers that truly believe they hold some magic power because of the career path they've chosen. The way they constructed the orginal article was very intentionally meant to create a narrative in the head of the reader, and a narrative that would drive a SHIT TON of eyeballs to their otherwise worthless product
Not once in that "report" was anyone interviewed or quoted that would have said what Richardson conjured up was bullshit. Not one!!! If you're going to "report" on something serious, probably report on both sides of the story... I'm not a journalist, but that seems fair and unbiased, no?
Oh and again - I've personally seen/heard all the tapes/recordings *with my own two ears* and heard Richardson lay out his and the Daily's plan to Hilinski in very plain sight. The shitty part is it actually worked.
I have no idea what is being asked of me. Time machine? Five years ago?
All I will say is that if he my kid was on the NU OL five years ago he would have been on the same OL as the number 11 draft pick of 2023. Another reason I am dissapointed Anderson is gone. And don'ttell me "Anderson had nothing to do with that". You don't arrive as a seventeen year old kid ready to be a top 10 (okay 11) pick in the NFL without being coached up to how to play big time ball by your position coach.
dailynorthwestern.com
All I will say is that if he my kid was on the NU OL five years ago he would have been on the same OL as the number 11 draft pick of 2023. Another reason I am dissapointed Anderson is gone. And don'ttell me "Anderson had nothing to do with that". You don't arrive as a seventeen year old kid ready to be a top 10 (okay 11) pick in the NFL without being coached up to how to play big time ball by your position coach.
Football: Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft, most picked since 1985 Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft
After no Northwestern players were drafted to the NFL last year, the Wildcats made a major, and historical, bounce back this year. For the first time since 1985, four Wildcats were drafted. Here they are: Offensive lineman Peter Skoronski — Tennessee Titans (Rd: 1 Pk: 11) The All-American is...
dailynorthwestern.com
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I'll take Hanwitz word before anything else.
Ex-N'western DC pushes back on allegations
Former Northwestern assistant coach Mike Hankwitz is pushing back against allegations of hazing and racism in the program under former coach Pat Fitzgerald, outlining the many ways players could report abuse and mistreatment.
Former Northwestern assistant coach Mike Hankwitz is pushing back against allegations of hazing and racism in the program under former coach Pat Fitzgerald, outlining the many ways players could report abuse and mistreatment.
Hankwitz, who served as Northwestern's defensive coordinator from 2008 until his retirement after the 2020 season, defended Fitzgerald and the program in a series of social media posts Wednesday night. He said Northwestern had regular individual and group meetings throughout the year with players, who had direct access to Fitzgerald and also others around the program, including a sports psychologist, compliance officers and mentors.
Hankwitz also highlighted exit interviews players did when they left the program with Northwestern faculty members not associated with the athletic department.
"It was done this way in the hopes that the players would feel free to speak their minds about their experiences without fear of backlash," Hankwitz wrote.
@chicagocatfan24 We have no idea what was in the report versus what was in the Daily. The university believed that *nothing* would come out. The university then offered several comments about NU specific anti-hazing actions, but did not address the specific allegations. Nobody refuted running, nobody refuted car wash. Whatever CR’s intents were doesn’t change what was in the initial report.
The Daily had two sources, and went to the university for comment. For all the post-suspension outrage, nobody has said that hazing didn’t happen (except Demos, from a decade ago).
Pretending there was no hazing is delusional. Acknowledging that all parties involved in the release of the report failed spectacularly is absolutely accurate. Had Gragg and Schill and Fitz taken literally any other path (transparency, longer suspension), I think Fitz would be NU’s coach still.
dailynorthwestern.com
@Eurocat, lots of safeguards in place, yes, but Hankwitz doesn’t say hazing wasn’t part of the culture or that it didn’t happen. It says something about the effectiveness of the policy as they relate to hazing.
All, I’ll stop now. Maybe I can put together an ECat copy/paste for when people do silly things like pretend there wasn’t any hazing.
The Daily had two sources, and went to the university for comment. For all the post-suspension outrage, nobody has said that hazing didn’t happen (except Demos, from a decade ago).
Pretending there was no hazing is delusional. Acknowledging that all parties involved in the release of the report failed spectacularly is absolutely accurate. Had Gragg and Schill and Fitz taken literally any other path (transparency, longer suspension), I think Fitz would be NU’s coach still.
Former NU football player details hazing allegations
Content warning: This article contains mention of hazing, sexual assault and suicidal ideation. A former Northwestern University football player told The Daily some of the hazing conduct investigated by the university involved coerced sexual acts. A second player confirmed these details. The...
dailynorthwestern.com
@Eurocat, lots of safeguards in place, yes, but Hankwitz doesn’t say hazing wasn’t part of the culture or that it didn’t happen. It says something about the effectiveness of the policy as they relate to hazing.
All, I’ll stop now. Maybe I can put together an ECat copy/paste for when people do silly things like pretend there wasn’t any hazing.
I’m happy to make a board bet that NU will end up paying out more $$ to Fitz than to the hazing lawsuits from the players in the aggregate.
"Pretending there was no hazing is delusional."
So what. All teams have hazing rituals. I remember reading about the NHL teams in the 1950s. If you got traded to one (or boosted up from the minor league) you better have had your head on a swivel because you were going to get jumped and have the crap beaten out of you by your new brethern. One you withstood that and didn't cry about it you were considered "one of the boys" and could be sent out to brawl if need be.
It is 60 years later and times have changed but I do not think whatever our guys went through was so traumatic as to be worthy of a federal case or anything like that.
Ask Hank. Ask Skornski.
By the way they WERE asked about it. I already linked to Hank who said it was all bullspit.
Here is Pete -
"Yeah I’m definitely surprised by that," Skoronski said after the first day of Titans training camp from Nashville on Wednesday.
Northwestern has been embroiled in controversy, scandal and lawsuits this summer stemming from allegations of hazing across its athletics department. Fitzgerald was dismissed as a result of the scandal, which has also spread to complaints about the baseball, softball and volleyball programs. A Northwestern investigation found 11 former and current players who alleged hazing within Fitzgerald's program.
Skoronski played at Northwestern from 2020-22, starting all three years. He was a unanimous All-America honoree in 2022, the first such player in Northwestern football history. The Titans selected Skoronski with the No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
"I’ll just say I had a great college experience," Skoronski said. "I’m not going to comment much more on that. I’m focused on being a good teammate here with the Tennessee Titans, which is what I focused on in college too. I’m really just locked in on training camp for now."
So what. All teams have hazing rituals. I remember reading about the NHL teams in the 1950s. If you got traded to one (or boosted up from the minor league) you better have had your head on a swivel because you were going to get jumped and have the crap beaten out of you by your new brethern. One you withstood that and didn't cry about it you were considered "one of the boys" and could be sent out to brawl if need be.
It is 60 years later and times have changed but I do not think whatever our guys went through was so traumatic as to be worthy of a federal case or anything like that.
Ask Hank. Ask Skornski.
By the way they WERE asked about it. I already linked to Hank who said it was all bullspit.
Here is Pete -
What Peter Skoronski said about Northwestern football hazing allegations, Pat Fitzgerald firing
Tennessee Titans rookie offensive lineman Peter Skoronski admits he was surprised by Northwestern's decision to fire long-time coach Pat Fitzgerald in the wake of a hazing scandal."Yeah I’m definitely surprised by that," Skoronski said after the first day of Titans training camp from Nashville on Wednesday.
Northwestern has been embroiled in controversy, scandal and lawsuits this summer stemming from allegations of hazing across its athletics department. Fitzgerald was dismissed as a result of the scandal, which has also spread to complaints about the baseball, softball and volleyball programs. A Northwestern investigation found 11 former and current players who alleged hazing within Fitzgerald's program.
Skoronski played at Northwestern from 2020-22, starting all three years. He was a unanimous All-America honoree in 2022, the first such player in Northwestern football history. The Titans selected Skoronski with the No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
"I’ll just say I had a great college experience," Skoronski said. "I’m not going to comment much more on that. I’m focused on being a good teammate here with the Tennessee Titans, which is what I focused on in college too. I’m really just locked in on training camp for now."
Will also say this: other than Bajakian (who pissed people off with his behavior after the Fitz firing), none of the firings have been hazing related at all, so this entire thread is kinda belabored and irrelevant.
How many of them wanted to stay? We assume that they all wanted to stay. They were Fitz guys. They didn’t owe any loyalty to Braun.
McGarigle was the only NU alum of them all with affinity for the school and not the regime.
Well said. Hope to have the chance to speak with you some day. You bring truth to the boards.
Normally many would have been fired shortly after he got the job but it was such an in between situation that could not happen
No one said he had nothing to do with it. At the same time, he came in as a starter from day one. He gets tremendous credit for getting him here. But if his coaching was so good then why didn't the other OL improve enough to have a cohesive unit?I have no idea what is being asked of me. Time machine? Five years ago?
All I will say is that if he my kid was on the NU OL five years ago he would have been on the same OL as the number 11 draft pick of 2023. Another reason I am dissapointed Anderson is gone. And don'ttell me "Anderson had nothing to do with that". You don't arrive as a seventeen year old kid ready to be a top 10 (okay 11) pick in the NFL without being coached up to how to play big time ball by your position coach.
Football: Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft, most picked since 1985 Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft
After no Northwestern players were drafted to the NFL last year, the Wildcats made a major, and historical, bounce back this year. For the first time since 1985, four Wildcats were drafted. Here they are: Offensive lineman Peter Skoronski — Tennessee Titans (Rd: 1 Pk: 11) The All-American is...
Odd that the nationals ran the story broke by the J team….
And of course, this means Lou is a terrible reporter as he claimed to have a reliable source, those two female managers are simply big fat liars, and every player past and present forgot to say it didn’t happen in their declarations of support for PF. A rather glaring and consistent forget…
But discovery will hopefully happen and then leaked and then we can revisit.
Ok - so you are cool with knowingly sending your kid to get run and car washed. Weird but some parents also raise their kids to be Cubs fans so nothing surprises me anymore.I have no idea what is being asked of me. Time machine? Five years ago?
All I will say is that if he my kid was on the NU OL five years ago he would have been on the same OL as the number 11 draft pick of 2023. Another reason I am dissapointed Anderson is gone. And don'ttell me "Anderson had nothing to do with that". You don't arrive as a seventeen year old kid ready to be a top 10 (okay 11) pick in the NFL without being coached up to how to play big time ball by your position coach.
Football: Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft, most picked since 1985 Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft
After no Northwestern players were drafted to the NFL last year, the Wildcats made a major, and historical, bounce back this year. For the first time since 1985, four Wildcats were drafted. Here they are: Offensive lineman Peter Skoronski — Tennessee Titans (Rd: 1 Pk: 11) The All-American is...
Also - I get how many here evade hypotheticals by playing dumb. But law school grad and you can’t keep up with a hypo…. The Bar ain’t what it used to be…I have no idea what is being asked of me. Time machine? Five years ago?
All I will say is that if he my kid was on the NU OL five years ago he would have been on the same OL as the number 11 draft pick of 2023. Another reason I am dissapointed Anderson is gone. And don'ttell me "Anderson had nothing to do with that". You don't arrive as a seventeen year old kid ready to be a top 10 (okay 11) pick in the NFL without being coached up to how to play big time ball by your position coach.
Football: Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft, most picked since 1985 Four Northwestern players selected in 2023 NFL Draft
After no Northwestern players were drafted to the NFL last year, the Wildcats made a major, and historical, bounce back this year. For the first time since 1985, four Wildcats were drafted. Here they are: Offensive lineman Peter Skoronski — Tennessee Titans (Rd: 1 Pk: 11) The All-American is...
I prefer to live with PF’s quotes like zero tolerance for hazing and the Buck stops with him.I'll take Hanwitz word before anything else.
Ex-N'western DC pushes back on allegations
Former Northwestern assistant coach Mike Hankwitz is pushing back against allegations of hazing and racism in the program under former coach Pat Fitzgerald, outlining the many ways players could report abuse and mistreatment.www.espn.com
Former Northwestern assistant coach Mike Hankwitz is pushing back against allegations of hazing and racism in the program under former coach Pat Fitzgerald, outlining the many ways players could report abuse and mistreatment.
Hankwitz, who served as Northwestern's defensive coordinator from 2008 until his retirement after the 2020 season, defended Fitzgerald and the program in a series of social media posts Wednesday night. He said Northwestern had regular individual and group meetings throughout the year with players, who had direct access to Fitzgerald and also others around the program, including a sports psychologist, compliance officers and mentors.
Hankwitz also highlighted exit interviews players did when they left the program with Northwestern faculty members not associated with the athletic department.
"It was done this way in the hopes that the players would feel free to speak their minds about their experiences without fear of backlash," Hankwitz wrote.
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