Mea culpa: Fitz blames himself for Duke debacle
- Thread starter lou v
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Perhaps he is just so tired of the problem that he is numb about it or has made up his mind about how to proceed but it is not a public thing so he rightly represses his feeling about it in front of the press. Just guessing but he did't look to good in the forth quarter either.
The only helpful way a change could be made this season is if someone very excellent becomes available and that would be mostly helpful next year. meanwhile, midseason it would only be disruptive.
They kept showing him away from everyone else squatting down. Perhaps that was just the coverage. But I don't recall him doing that before. I also don't recall very many times when he put in the number two QB in so maybe it is kind of a white flag.
Seriously, this is year 12 of his tenure.
Was 2015 an aberration? NU's three losses that year were by over 30 points.
Two years in row with crap starts. Is that a trend?
Is the administration handcuffing him on his staff because of the new practice facility and the basketball arena? Don't know.
It was stated on this site by Corbi that Vitabile lacked fundamentals when he went to the pros. Smart people on this board defend PF. Unfathomable.
Was 2015 an aberration? NU's three losses that year were by over 30 points.
Two years in row with crap starts. Is that a trend?
Is the administration handcuffing him on his staff because of the new practice facility and the basketball arena? Don't know.
It was stated on this site by Corbi that Vitabile lacked fundamentals when he went to the pros. Smart people on this board defend PF. Unfathomable.
I support Pat Fitzgerald and believe he is the ideal head coach for NU but I disagree with his handling of his staff. FItz is clearly a loyal and stubborn guy who was certain that "his guys" could grow into their positions of responsibility. In the case of Cushing, that clearly hasn't happened and it is unlikely to happen if it hasn't occurred by now. The lack of player development over a number of years and the resulting poor performance of the OL is holding the program back and this year could be the reason an otherwise very talented team does not contend for a Big Ten title. That is unfair to the players, the coaching staff, the school, the administration and the fans. A change is needed and I really hope that FItz sets his pride aside and makes a change this upcoming offseason for the good of the program.
Really? His record is at least reasonably defensible within the context of the program's history, right? It's a reasonable debate.
I am neither defending nor pillorying PF when it comes to staff and performance, especially early in a season. I look at the season records and make judgments based on those results. I don't think I know enough about the college game and how coaching works to pass judgment on this. I think the vast majority of posters are in the same boat. Most of the opinions on this matter are like recti, IMO.
Easy. "If things don't improve soon, I will make the necessary changes in staffing"
One other thing that plays into this discussion: all colleges will be adding an assistant coach in 2018. It will be interesting to see who Fitz adds and what his role will be.
I remember a story Glen Mason told at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Minneapolis about his days on Woody Hayes staff. He was an assistant coach on defense. One of his players made a mistake in a critical game, which infuriated Hayes. In the heat of that game, Hayes called Mason over, grabbed him by the lapels, apparently very firmly and shouted, "don't you ever let that happen again." Maybe we need a little more of that.
Why not? It did just happen at Missouri. Maybe a few other heads should roll as well.
Using the programs past history of failure isn't a good gauge. Under Fitz, NU has not won or come close to a conference championship and that's how. a program should be judged.
Well, Missouri went 9-15 overall and 3-13 in the SEC over the last two years, too.
Yeah, but Missouri loves company
Within the context of the only program history Fitz knows or that anybody cares about any more because it's not ancient history? When it comes to firing incompetent staff, actually, no.
Seriously? That would be a terrific environment to work in. Bet you would love it if in your career the boss man publicly called you out in front of your peers in a threatening like manner!
None of us know what he has said to any of the staff privately. I guess it will make a lot of people happy if he publicly spit nails with a fire and brimstone speech about change or else. The thing that matters is taking action to fix it not what he says to make disgruntled fans happy.
So Willy, who did Mizzo hire to replace the guy they fired? The answer is no one. Good coaches typically aren't sitting on their sofa eating Bob Bons in September. The question becomes would we be better off jettisoning Cushing and stretching a current coach thinner? We missed the chance to do something in the offseason (s), this will very likely stay the way it is through this season. You can lead the torch and pitchfork crew after the season ends. It won't be hard finding following after 10,000 post bitching about it between now and December.
I really hope this is Pat's mindset. And we will see what happens the rest of this season.
But if NU finishes below .500 and no changes are made, we will know Fitz cares more about keeping his staff/bros employed than truly winning championships.
It has happened twice in the last 4 years, so don't be surprised if he stands pat (pun intended) again......
Corbi, you probably know a heck of lot more about football than I do. I would agree with you about PF as the face of the program, but question the coaching. You mentioned our center not knowing the necessary elements/techniques expected of a B10 lineman after 4 years within the program. Should not that lapse be apparent to the OC and the head coach? Should not that failure or the lack of skill set be apparent to an ex linebacker who played against well coached B10 lineman, was an assistant under Walker who produced good lineman, and also by watching film of Iowa and Wisconsin year after year and looking at film of our guys?
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Fair enough, but many here seem to be judging him on press conference demeanor and how he manages his staff after two games.
Barnett apparently advises Fitz. They talk. He's the reason Hankwitz is here.
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Hankwitz. For some reason, I have always been inclined to call him Hankinson?? Tonight, maybe too much red wine.
Missouri fired their defensive coordinator last week. Apparently, the HC felt that the "read and react" scheme which the outgoing D.C. tried there was just never going to work. The problem with their defense was such that the HC felt the disadvantages of a mid season firing were less than the advantages of creating a real lesson in accountability to the team and staff.
I am sure it was but Vitabile was the best center they had so he played. Let me be clear, the implication of the story is not that Vitabile was not capable of learning the necessary techniques it's that he was never taught. For the most part the NFL is not a teaching league. They expect the fundamentals to be mostly in place by the time a player gets to the league. They reinforce, fine tune and teach their respective schemes.
Missouri was already in the process of phasing the DC out. The HC was the former DC and took over many of the DC duties and he brought in his son in the off-season as an "assistant." The HC at Missouri saw the writing on the wall and had a plan in place. Apparently he decided now was the right time to pull the trigger. It will be interesting to see whether a midseason change which was basically planned lights a fire under his staff and players.
... and because he himself was the Mizzou D.C. before being named head coach and the guy he fired was actually co-coordinator, making the in-season much more straightforward.
If you liken it to, say, a performance review, I'd have to say that I wouldn't get the opportunity to have 7 below average reviews. I would have one that said "get your shit together and another one would be a pink slip.
When I had my own business, I had more than one customer dress me down when my company failed to perform. They were not shy about it. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, boot up your ass"
Oh, and I always tried to avoid having disgruntled customers. Mostly they were gruntled
