“Anytime you get your fanny whipped, you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror first," said coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Story: Fitz shoulders blame for Duke debacle, slow start
Story: Fitz shoulders blame for Duke debacle, slow start
Mea culpa: Fitz blames himself for Duke debacle
- Thread starter lou v
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“What’s the mood? Let’s get better. Let’s improve. Let’s get back out on the practice field and get things going.” Let's get a new O Line coach.
Your O-line coach has been in his position for 7 years, or is it 8? Anyway, it's well over 5, so everyone on the O-line was recruited and developed (or not) by the current O-line coach. Yet your O-line is a mess at the beginning of the season (before injuries have taken a toll), as it was last year, and maybe quite a few other years. Don't you see the problem here, Coach Fitz? Seriously?
Two games into season #9. 13 years seems to be the magic number to determine non-performance
If he's aware of it, and I have little doubt he is, as anyone watching can see the consistent OL issues, it's not being fixed. If an attempt to fix it has been made over the last handful of years, it has not been successful.
The definition of inanity is a Fitz press conference.
I am sure he is aware of it and he certainly deserves criticism for not addressing it to this point. That being said, I don't think anyone who has ever lead a team would have expected him to single out Cushing in yesterday's press conference.
Of course not, address it personally and discreetly, although it's not doing anyone any good to prolong this. When the entire team suffers for years due to one pretty obvious issue....
Feels to me like Fitz stuck his neck out for his staff (or at least certain members) after the disappointing season in 2014, then the team's strong 2015 season and strong close in 2016 "turned down the heat" on the hot seats after it ratcheted up following the WMU/ISU debacle. While we could still see a resurgence this year, I'm most definitely in "prove it" mode.
Not sure if intentional, but that was pretty funny.
gcg2003 In your opinion will the change of an assistant coach make that much difference?Aren't the problems more in recruiting and identifying the OL prospects that would be successful. I mean Cushing reports to the OC and the OC to Fitz.. So I guess I am wondering that if with these players and the various blocking schemes, could a different OL coach make that much difference?
OL coach can make a big difference, both in terms of coaching techniques and in recommending various tweaks to schemes; it's not like the OC dictates everything without any input from his staff. Same thing between the coordinators and head coach. But scheme plays an important role, as does recruiting the "right" players (which takes time and recruiting misses can have "carry-on" effect for years to come, which we are in part feeling right now).
So "yes, but probably not as much as everyone around here would hope if/when that change is made."
Thanks---talked to a guy over the weekend that had started at DE for a pretty good P5 school and he said essentially the same.
I am struggling to understand what people on here expect him to say at this juncture. Help me please. As much as I hate the same mantra of it starts and ends with me, what can he really say to fend off the wolves?
Almost all of us think a change is needed on the OL. However, nothing is going to happen during the season. As a leader, he is not going to publicly point fingers and throw people under the bus. So like it or not we are going to get a heavy dose of coach speak. Carry on and bitch about it if we like, but that isn't going to change what he says.
The real problem is this wasn't addressed in the last few years. We got a false sense of hope with the 10 win season and the improvement at the end of last year.
Actions speak louder than words. I want to see results and could care less about the required coach speak.
Almost all of us think a change is needed on the OL. However, nothing is going to happen during the season. As a leader, he is not going to publicly point fingers and throw people under the bus. So like it or not we are going to get a heavy dose of coach speak. Carry on and bitch about it if we like, but that isn't going to change what he says.
The real problem is this wasn't addressed in the last few years. We got a false sense of hope with the 10 win season and the improvement at the end of last year.
Actions speak louder than words. I want to see results and could care less about the required coach speak.
Agree with your points. The thing I found odd both in the post-game presser and yesterdays event was how calm he was. Not the anger we saw after the ISU debacle last year. So either he feels like the issues are correctable in the short term, or he doesn't really care (which I seriously doubt). I for one would have liked to see a more emotional Fitz, given just how badly NU played everywhere but Fitz's kicking game.
Agreed. Based on Fitz's track record, I have zero expectation that Cushing (or any other coach, really) would be replaced during the season. If the offense and/or certain position groups (i.e. OL and WR) continue to decline and/or do not show improvement from the Duke performance, I don't know that there will be anyone arguing for coaches to stick around. While there are technique and scheme "fixes" that can be implemented without changing coaches, we're starting to run out of options.
You've got to start somewhere. You change one thing and other dynamics change. Or you don't change anything and the dynamic between parts starts to deteriorate more. Certainly Fitz knows this, but loyalty is likely the issue. Also, those inside the program most assuredly see this differently than we do because they are much closer to it. It's kind of like you've got an ache in your left hip, but it's something in your right hip that is causing the problem--can't really understand exactly what's going on with out the insight of an objective expert, and we aren't that.
And unless we go 2-10, a change likely won't happen at the end of the season either, just prolonging the agony. Can't wish for a bad season, though. If somehow we got to 10-2 at season's end, in spite of the current issues, which likely we won't, we will find ourselves yet again next year having this same discussion. Especially with Godwin and JJ gone. It's definitely a conundrum.
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JJ deserves better than this. With any kind of line at all, he'd be a shoe-in to top Archie Griffin as #2 all time in the Big Ten. With a Wisconsin-level line, he'd probably be looking at taking down Ron Dayne. 70% of his yards were after contact last year. That ain't right.
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View it as a metaphor for the entire season. For me, it's still 1995.
You guys do realize that judging a coach based on what he says and emotes during a presser is a fool's errand, right?
Right?
Right?
And you'd like him to discuss specific schematic adjustments in an open press conference? Without looking it up, he essentially said "we got our asses walloped. We've got to coach better, play better, do everything better. So it's nose to the grindstone this week to try to get better." Not sure what else you'd like him to say in that setting.
Serious question... do you have a source on that or just making a "gut call?" Would be very interested in seeing his percentage of yards after contact compared to other backs if there's a source available.
I just googled him and "yards after contact". I think it was an NU article, actually. Something like 1052 out of 1543 or something like that.
Actually, I just googled it again. It was an Inside NU article from this May.
I don't expect that anyone would be let go during the season. But "showing improvement from the Duke performance" is setting a pretty low standard. Sure, they improve after (what I would imagine would be) considerable hands-on by Fitz (or McCall, or Heffner), but why aren't they up-to-snuff at the beginning of the year?
I don't expect him to hang his assistants out to dry at a press conference, either (nor would I think him a very good boss if he did), but "I take responsibility for this" is tired and worn-out unless it implies "and I, as the head honcho, will take some decisive action to fix the problem permanently -- when the time is right".
