An article online from Saturday Down South touched on many SEC coordinators from both sides of the ball that could be up for the NU job. The majority were DCs like the DC from Georgia, but the one that stuck out with me was Tommy Rees, the OC from Bama. I guess he hails from the Chicago area. That would be very interesting if he came on board. With that offensive scheme, he would attract better talent at QB and WR. I know it is idle speculation, but if the boys down south can see those coaches mentioned taking a shot, maybe we can score a real winner after all. There might be a silver lining after all in all this ugliness!
Saturday Down South mentions potential Fitz replacements from the SEC.
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Rees is the OC from Alabama but has never coached a game there yet. Would be a good candidate, though.
All the coaches the article mentioned were SEC coordinators that would be newbies as HC, but all would be great candidates.
anybody from down south cannot even imagine that someone NOT form the SEC can even coach football let alone take a head coaching job......Im surprised they didnt conclude that equipment managers from the SEC would be in line for the NU job.
I could like having Rees or the DC from Georgia as our new HC. Both would be huge upgrades to anyone on the current staff. Face it, with the exception of Hankwitz, Fitz brought in a lot of dead weight.
This all means the university would have to commit to sizeable salaries for both the head coach and staff. No one will take this job being hand tied in terms of packages for top notch staff.
They already have academic hurdles to deal with.
They already have academic hurdles to deal with.
I'm sorry, but fan perspectives on coaching searching are just...maddening.
Tommy Rees is 31 years old. Think about what NU football is dealing with right now. It's not a f*cking scheme problem (well...it's not *only* a scheme problem).
Georgia DC is younger than Taylor Swift. Playing and coaching experience from Alabama and Georgia. Yes I'm sure both of those programs are beacons of light when it comes to anti-hazing and I'm sure his experience at those two programs would fit like a glove with NU's culture.
My forehead is read from the number of facepalms that have come from reading these coaching threads.
Tommy Rees is 31 years old. Think about what NU football is dealing with right now. It's not a f*cking scheme problem (well...it's not *only* a scheme problem).
Georgia DC is younger than Taylor Swift. Playing and coaching experience from Alabama and Georgia. Yes I'm sure both of those programs are beacons of light when it comes to anti-hazing and I'm sure his experience at those two programs would fit like a glove with NU's culture.
My forehead is read from the number of facepalms that have come from reading these coaching threads.
Georgia DC is the same age as Lincoln Riley was when he was named Oklahoma HC. He has been on the staff of 6 national champions, and DC for 2 of them.
The other coach who was promoted to co-DC alongside him in 2019 is now the HC at Oregon.
The other coach who was promoted to co-DC alongside him in 2019 is now the HC at Oregon.
Funny that their most successful coach of recent years — Saban — had a Big 10 coaching background.
Yes well obviously if Lincoln Riley had just picked Northwestern instead of OU or USC then we'd be churning out conference championships and Heisman Trophy winners.
Or...maybe there's something different about those places and here...
There are numerous instances of young head coaches succeeding from the NFL to major college football, including right here at Northwestern. Age won't be a disqualifying factor.
He was a QC at NU under Fitz and his dad Bill was a longtime staffer under Fitz. I don’t see us hiring anyone with previous ties to Fitz or NU given the current circumstances.
Besides, I don’t think I would leave the Bama OC job for the NU HC job at the moment anyway. The dude is making ~$2MM/year at Bama, don’t walk away from that to jump in the middle of a shit storm.
If he wants to be a HC sooner than later he would. My uncle(Earle Bruce) took the Iowa State HC job in 1973 after his 10-2 season with the University of Tampa. Iowa State at the time was the Northwestern of the Big Eight. You really want to show your prowess as a coach, turn a bad program around. NU is a top flight university and yes you can win without lowering your standards by installing innovative schemes/ systems along with like-minded coaches. Earle brought in a young OC named Pete Carroll in and changed the program around in 4 seasons, with back to back takedowns of mighty Nebraska at the end of his tenure there. He brought in Pete with him at OSU and came within 2 points of a national title. Innovation+ ambition= winner. Fitz just got way too comfortable/complacent over time and ended up a mediocrity. It is sad what happened, but there is hope if the administration and big money alumni grow some balls and get a young guy that is hungry to win. I think any coordinator from a power 5 conference, especially from the SEC would fit that bill.
