Since the facility was built to retain him, Is Fitz the highest compensated coach in history?

[CatManTrue]

Hear me out: one of the reasons I’ve been more on edge about our standard rough start to the season is the detailed behind-the-scenes tale shared by the announcers on Saturday’s telecast. If my logic holds, Fitz may be the highest compensated coach of any sport, all-time.

During one of the (several) segments featuring the new athletic facilities by the lake, the announcer shared more intimate details about Pat Ryan’s pledge. The Michigan AD offered Fitz a 6 year deal to make him the second-highest paid coach in the Big Ten. Fitz reached out to Phillips & Ryan letting them know that he needed to speak about an “very urgent” matter, Ryan flew his private plane back from his wife’s birthday celebrations in Florida, and committed to raising the $250M for the Taj MaFitz on Lake Michigan. It looks to be money beautifully spent so far and I’m happy it’s there.

But if you consider the facility as a signing bonus used to retain Fitz - and assume he’ll make at least $50M over his career at NU - it means that Fitz will be theoretically compensated over $300M when all is said and done. The facility was built solely to retain him - and of course for the entire NU athletic population to enjoy - and would not have been done had he left for Ann Arbor (where he probably would have been fired when Hairbag became available, for better or worse).

What bothers me - and note I love Fitz and never want him to leave - but he was willing to risk his NU future for a world class facility, in order to lure elite talent and build camaraderie amongst his troops. He knew that NU needed a massive upgrade to be competitive in the future and retain his services, and when he retired I’m sure the entire thing will be renamed after him as “the House that Fitz built”.

Why doesn’t he demand the same of his coaches, particularly on offense? If money is an issue, he could have easily demanded a significant upgrade to assistant coaching salaries and brought in top tier talent. Every year we have the same crappy start - predictable playcalling, sloppy routes, and poor blocking on the OL. And we lose winnable games that cost us premier bowl games and the potential to compete for championships.

If I started my job every year as poorly as our offensive staff does, I’d be placed on a PIP and gone the next quarter or two. How can somebody whom we respect so much make such a big thing happen and ignore his staff’s consistent failings? What is the breaking point, I.e. how long will it be before Fitz demands the same excellence from all of his coaches?

</mid-afternoon iPhone rant over> Back to work before I get canned.

 

[thewildcat2011]

 

[zeek55]

Wat?

 

[HawkCat]

Hear me out: one of the reasons I’ve been more on edge about our standard rough start to the season is the detailed behind-the-scenes tale shared by the announcers on Saturday’s telecast. If my logic holds, Fitz may be the highest compensated coach of any sport, all-time.

During one of the (several) segments featuring the new athletic facilities by the lake, the announcer shared more intimate details about Pat Ryan’s pledge. The Michigan AD offered Fitz a 6 year deal to make him the second-highest paid coach in the Big Ten. Fitz reached out to Phillips & Ryan letting them know that he needed to speak about an “very urgent” matter, Ryan flew his private plane back from his wife’s birthday celebrations in Florida, and committed to raising the $250M for the Taj MaFitz on Lake Michigan. It looks to be money beautifully spent so far and I’m happy it’s there.

But if you consider the facility as a signing bonus used to retain Fitz - and assume he’ll make at least $50M over his career at NU - it means that Fitz will be theoretically compensated over $300M when all is said and done. The facility was built solely to retain him - and of course for the entire NU athletic population to enjoy - and would not have been done had he left for Ann Arbor (where he probably would have been fired when Hairbag became available, for better or worse).

What bothers me - and note I love Fitz and never want him to leave - but he was willing to risk his NU future for a world class facility, in order to lure elite talent and build camaraderie amongst his troops. He knew that NU needed a massive upgrade to be competitive in the future and retain his services, and when he retired I’m sure the entire thing will be renamed after him as “the House that Fitz built”.

Why doesn’t he demand the same of his coaches, particularly on offense? If money is an issue, he could have easily demanded a significant upgrade to assistant coaching salaries and brought in top tier talent. Every year we have the same crappy start - predictable playcalling, sloppy routes, and poor blocking on the OL. And we lose winnable games that cost us premier bowl games and the potential to compete for championships.

If I started my job every year as poorly as our offensive staff does, I’d be placed on a PIP and gone the next quarter or two. How can somebody whom we respect so much make such a big thing happen and ignore his staff’s consistent failings? What is the breaking point, I.e. how long will it be before Fitz demands the same excellence from all of his coaches?

</mid-afternoon iPhone rant over> Back to work before I get canned.

No.

 

[CatManTrue]

No.

Ok gocatsgo2004. Do you care to share other coaches, at any level, who had their quarter-of-a-billion dream facility built in order to retain them? I’ve only followed sports in general for the past 20 years or so, but have never heard of that happening before.

 

[hdhntr1]

Hear me out: one of the reasons I’ve been more on edge about our standard rough start to the season is the detailed behind-the-scenes tale shared by the announcers on Saturday’s telecast. If my logic holds, Fitz may be the highest compensated coach of any sport, all-time.

During one of the (several) segments featuring the new athletic facilities by the lake, the announcer shared more intimate details about Pat Ryan’s pledge. The Michigan AD offered Fitz a 6 year deal to make him the second-highest paid coach in the Big Ten. Fitz reached out to Phillips & Ryan letting them know that he needed to speak about an “very urgent” matter, Ryan flew his private plane back from his wife’s birthday celebrations in Florida, and committed to raising the $250M for the Taj MaFitz on Lake Michigan. It looks to be money beautifully spent so far and I’m happy it’s there.

But if you consider the facility as a signing bonus used to retain Fitz - and assume he’ll make at least $50M over his career at NU - it means that Fitz will be theoretically compensated over $300M when all is said and done. The facility was built solely to retain him - and of course for the entire NU athletic population to enjoy - and would not have been done had he left for Ann Arbor (where he probably would have been fired when Hairbag became available, for better or worse).

What bothers me - and note I love Fitz and never want him to leave - but he was willing to risk his NU future for a world class facility, in order to lure elite talent and build camaraderie amongst his troops. He knew that NU needed a massive upgrade to be competitive in the future and retain his services, and when he retired I’m sure the entire thing will be renamed after him as “the House that Fitz built”.

Why doesn’t he demand the same of his coaches, particularly on offense? If money is an issue, he could have easily demanded a significant upgrade to assistant coaching salaries and brought in top tier talent. Every year we have the same crappy start - predictable playcalling, sloppy routes, and poor blocking on the OL. And we lose winnable games that cost us premier bowl games and the potential to compete for championships.

If I started my job every year as poorly as our offensive staff does, I’d be placed on a PIP and gone the next quarter or two. How can somebody whom we respect so much make such a big thing happen and ignore his staff’s consistent failings? What is the breaking point, I.e. how long will it be before Fitz demands the same excellence from all of his coaches?

</mid-afternoon iPhone rant over> Back to work before I get canned.

Cannot count the facility as part of FItz pay.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Hear me out: one of the reasons I’ve been more on edge about our standard rough start to the season is the detailed behind-the-scenes tale shared by the announcers on Saturday’s telecast. If my logic holds, Fitz may be the highest compensated coach of any sport, all-time.

During one of the (several) segments featuring the new athletic facilities by the lake, the announcer shared more intimate details about Pat Ryan’s pledge. The Michigan AD offered Fitz a 6 year deal to make him the second-highest paid coach in the Big Ten. Fitz reached out to Phillips & Ryan letting them know that he needed to speak about an “very urgent” matter, Ryan flew his private plane back from his wife’s birthday celebrations in Florida, and committed to raising the $250M for the Taj MaFitz on Lake Michigan. It looks to be money beautifully spent so far and I’m happy it’s there.

But if you consider the facility as a signing bonus used to retain Fitz - and assume he’ll make at least $50M over his career at NU - it means that Fitz will be theoretically compensated over $300M when all is said and done. The facility was built solely to retain him - and of course for the entire NU athletic population to enjoy - and would not have been done had he left for Ann Arbor (where he probably would have been fired when Hairbag became available, for better or worse).

What bothers me - and note I love Fitz and never want him to leave - but he was willing to risk his NU future for a world class facility, in order to lure elite talent and build camaraderie amongst his troops. He knew that NU needed a massive upgrade to be competitive in the future and retain his services, and when he retired I’m sure the entire thing will be renamed after him as “the House that Fitz built”.

Why doesn’t he demand the same of his coaches, particularly on offense? If money is an issue, he could have easily demanded a significant upgrade to assistant coaching salaries and brought in top tier talent. Every year we have the same crappy start - predictable playcalling, sloppy routes, and poor blocking on the OL. And we lose winnable games that cost us premier bowl games and the potential to compete for championships.

If I started my job every year as poorly as our offensive staff does, I’d be placed on a PIP and gone the next quarter or two. How can somebody whom we respect so much make such a big thing happen and ignore his staff’s consistent failings? What is the breaking point, I.e. how long will it be before Fitz demands the same excellence from all of his coaches?

</mid-afternoon iPhone rant over> Back to work before I get canned.

Fitz can go 1-11 this year and he is still the greatest coach in Northwestern history and a fan favorite of mine. Fitz is a gold mine and we are lucky to have such a bright mind. Now,all my wacky posts with exclamation points? Totally needless shameless self promotion deserving of all the wrath of King Louey Vacher!

 

[Hungry Jack]

"The facility was built solely to retain him."

Hard to agree with this per se. Fitz effectively demanded this as part of his condition for not going to Michigan, but even if PF bolts for maize and blue (yuck), I think the facility gets done--though perhaps as much as a decade later. Any new coach would very likely have lobbied for new facilities given how subpar ours were. Fitz could have simply squeezed more pay out of NU, but he's obviously bright enough that new digs were essential to winning at NU.

 

[CatManTrue]

Cannot count the facility as part of FItz pay.

Not necessarily as income or payments, no. But when Jack Welch retired from GE he received something north of $400M in “compensation” including lifetime use of jets, corporate cars, offices, et al. It was only revealed during his divorce and GE caught heat for the incredibly rich retirement comp package.

In terms of a simple thought experiment: if Fitz demanded a world class facility in order to stay and was granted it, isn’t that part of his overall compensation? He’s beautifully changed the shore of Lake Michigan and NU’s campus, and improved his alma mater’s prospects indefinitely. I don’t see how that happens without his demand (and I’m glad he did; Pat Ryan can’t take that cash with him).

 

[CatManTrue]

"The facility was built solely to retain him."

Hard to agree with this per se. Fitz effectively demanded this as part of his condition for not going to Michigan, but even if PF bolts for maize and blue (yuck), I think the facility gets done--though perhaps as much as a decade later. Any new coach would very likely have lobbied for new facilities given how subpar ours were. Fitz could have simply squeezed more pay out of NU, but he's obviously bright enough that new digs were essential to winning at NU.

This is the only logical counter-argument to the thought experiment so far. However I disagree that it would have eventually been built no matter what: Ryan loves Fitz and I don’t know if anyone else who was hired to replace Fitz could have compelled him - or the other rich donors - to get this done.

Do I think the facilities would have new upgraded eventually beyond that crappy astroturf that sucked to practice on? Sure, but not to this extent and not on the Lake Michigan shore. Given the ins and outs of Evanston’s dislike of NU, I bet Ryan & friends had to put some elbow grease in behind the scenes to accomplish this. And I’m glad they did, but unless I’m provided direct evidence to the contrary I’ll always consider this part of Fitz’s Comp package.

 

[villox]

If Fitz were to leave tomorrow, and another school were to buy him out of his contract, they would not have to pay $300M to do so. Fitz would not get a dime of it either. Doesn't that on its face counter the idea that the facility is somehow part of his compensation?

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

This is the only logical counter-argument to the thought experiment so far. However I disagree that it would have eventually been built no matter what: Ryan loves Fitz and I don’t know if anyone else who was hired to replace Fitz could have compelled him - or the other rich donors - to get this done.

Do I think the facilities would have new upgraded eventually beyond that crappy astroturf that sucked to practice on? Sure, but not to this extent and not on the Lake Michigan shore. Given the ins and outs of Evanston’s dislike of NU, I bet Ryan & friends had to put some elbow grease in behind the scenes to accomplish this. And I’m glad they did, but unless I’m provided direct evidence to the contrary I’ll always consider this part of Fitz’s Comp package.

Not following the logic on this. If you count a $250M facility as part of his individual comp, don’t you have to add facilities costs in all coaches comp? Did you add ND’s facility cost in Kelly’s comp or Illinois new facility in Lovie’s. Both occurred after they beat the drum for it. What about the pristine facilities at Oklahoma State. Does that not count for Stoops because it was in process? Clemson with Dabo? You think any of those guys are hanging around with facilities like we used to have?

 

[JournCat]

This is the only logical counter-argument to the thought experiment so far. However I disagree that it would have eventually been built no matter what: Ryan loves Fitz and I don’t know if anyone else who was hired to replace Fitz could have compelled him - or the other rich donors - to get this done.

Do I think the facilities would have new upgraded eventually beyond that crappy astroturf that sucked to practice on? Sure, but not to this extent and not on the Lake Michigan shore. Given the ins and outs of Evanston’s dislike of NU, I bet Ryan & friends had to put some elbow grease in behind the scenes to accomplish this. And I’m glad they did, but unless I’m provided direct evidence to the contrary I’ll always consider this part of Fitz’s Comp package.

I actually think we never would have upgraded the facilities without someone like Fitz. It was the smart move and makes our program more attractive to his potential successors when that day comes. But it's not like Fitz is living in the building or driving it to work.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

A head football coach is a very tough job emotionally. Why? These kids are risking debilitating knee,shoulder,and other injuries. Hard to cope with. I imagine it's very hard for any head college football coach to sleep ,knowing that 10-15 of their 100 players will have surgery and psychic pain each year. Further,an estimated 60-80 percent of pro football players get addicted to painkillers after their career's end. Hard for any coach to cope with that fact ,while continuing to motivate players to be more aggressive. Sort of like a general at the battle of Verdun,France in WW1 where 3 million soldiers died in trench warfare. Football is hard on everyone. Especially college coaches tasked with recruiting young players while sidestepping the dangers of concussions, rehab,physical taxing of the bodies,and long practices,all taking away from studies

 

[NJCat]

A head football coach is a very tough job emotionally. Why? These kids are risking debilitating knee,shoulder,and other injuries. Hard to cope with.

You do sarcasm very well.

 

[villox]

Wait a minute - was this entire thread just a convoluted but thinly veiled attempt to complain about the offensive coaching staff?

 

[FanatiCat]

It’s a ludicrous premise to say the cost of the facilities is equivalent to monetary comp for Fitz. Does he get to live in them or use them every day if he leaves NU? Does he get to sell the buildings or rent them out for personal income?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Wait a minute - was this entire thread just a convoluted but thinly veiled attempt to complain about the offensive coaching staff?

Yes.

 

[hdhntr1]

I actually think we never would have upgraded the facilities without someone like Fitz. It was the smart move and makes our program more attractive to his potential successors when that day comes. But it's not like Fitz is living in the building or driving it to work.

Or that he can sell it or take it with him

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

Hear me out: one of the reasons I’ve been more on edge about our standard rough start to the season is the detailed behind-the-scenes tale shared by the announcers on Saturday’s telecast. If my logic holds, Fitz may be the highest compensated coach of any sport, all-time.

During one of the (several) segments featuring the new athletic facilities by the lake, the announcer shared more intimate details about Pat Ryan’s pledge. The Michigan AD offered Fitz a 6 year deal to make him the second-highest paid coach in the Big Ten. Fitz reached out to Phillips & Ryan letting them know that he needed to speak about an “very urgent” matter, Ryan flew his private plane back from his wife’s birthday celebrations in Florida, and committed to raising the $250M for the Taj MaFitz on Lake Michigan. It looks to be money beautifully spent so far and I’m happy it’s there.

But if you consider the facility as a signing bonus used to retain Fitz - and assume he’ll make at least $50M over his career at NU - it means that Fitz will be theoretically compensated over $300M when all is said and done. The facility was built solely to retain him - and of course for the entire NU athletic population to enjoy - and would not have been done had he left for Ann Arbor (where he probably would have been fired when Hairbag became available, for better or worse).

What bothers me - and note I love Fitz and never want him to leave - but he was willing to risk his NU future for a world class facility, in order to lure elite talent and build camaraderie amongst his troops. He knew that NU needed a massive upgrade to be competitive in the future and retain his services, and when he retired I’m sure the entire thing will be renamed after him as “the House that Fitz built”.

Why doesn’t he demand the same of his coaches, particularly on offense? If money is an issue, he could have easily demanded a significant upgrade to assistant coaching salaries and brought in top tier talent. Every year we have the same crappy start - predictable playcalling, sloppy routes, and poor blocking on the OL. And we lose winnable games that cost us premier bowl games and the potential to compete for championships.

If I started my job every year as poorly as our offensive staff does, I’d be placed on a PIP and gone the next quarter or two. How can somebody whom we respect so much make such a big thing happen and ignore his staff’s consistent failings? What is the breaking point, I.e. how long will it be before Fitz demands the same excellence from all of his coaches?

</mid-afternoon iPhone rant over> Back to work before I get canned.

as Turk has note, the problem of Fitz is loyalty to coaches that have fulfilled the peter principle. Turk also noted that loyalty isnt necessarily a virtue. But Fitz isnt overpaid. He does well with the marginal talent he recruits and im not sure losing to Duke was a clunker. We were only 3 pt favs. Fitz has proven himself and he isnt the problem. Actually a pretty awesome coach.

 

[Fitz51]

If Fitz were to leave tomorrow, and another school were to buy him out of his contract, they would not have to pay $300M to do so. Fitz would not get a dime of it either. Doesn't that on its face counter the idea that the facility is somehow part of his compensation?

Untrue. Fitz holds the deed. You can trade it for Park Place and Boardwalk, though.

 

[Bwm57]

psychic pain

This entire thread is giving me “psychic pain”.

 

[FloridAlum]

as Turk has note, the problem of Fitz is loyalty to coaches that have fulfilled the peter principle. Turk also noted that loyalty isnt necessarily a virtue. But Fitz isnt overpaid. He does well with the marginal talent he recruits and im not sure losing to Duke was a clunker. We were only 3 pt favs. Fitz has proven himself and he isnt the problem. Actually a pretty awesome coach.

It is so nice to see you agreeing with Turk. You two get along pretty well.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

It is so nice to see you agreeing with Turk. You two get along pretty well.

Almost like it’s not a surprise at all.

 

[MRCat95]

But if you consider the facility as a signing bonus used to retain Fitz - and assume he’ll make at least $50M over his career at NU - it means that Fitz will be theoretically compensated over $300M when all is said and done.

If you consider something that isn’t so, I suppose what you’re saying could have merit.

Alas, you’re full of crap so it does not.

 

[DkeCat]

It is so nice to see you agreeing with Turk. You two get along pretty well.

Did you all get together at the tailgate? Pics? Hope you two had a chance to meet.

 

[CatManTrue]

Wait a minute - was this entire thread just a convoluted but thinly veiled attempt to complain about the offensive coaching staff?

Not necessarily - I have never been thrilled with our special teams, particularly the punting unit or the calls on when to kick a FG or not. Genyk may improve it eventually but currently our punting methods are still strange. I think Fitz needs some assistance on time & score management as well.

But yes, the continuous offensive issues at the start of each season is frustrating.

 

[CatManTrue]

This entire thread is giving me “psychic pain”.

If you consider something that isn’t so, I suppose what you’re saying could have merit.

Alas, you’re full of crap so it does not.

Okie dokie, keep thinking inside the box - meant as an interesting thought experiment in how to quantify NU’s total investment in Fitz, which is totally warranted given what he’s accomplished over the past 25 years here.

I think wrassler’s responses were the most fun, so maybe I’m just losing it a bit.

 

[CatManTrue]

I actually think we never would have upgraded the facilities without someone like Fitz. It was the smart move and makes our program more attractive to his potential successors when that day comes. But it's not like Fitz is living in the building or driving it to work.

If he tires of his mansion in Northfield, I’m sure he’s got plenty of space in his office to snooze. Didn’t Tom Hanks have a flick where he lived in an airport terminal for a year? The Taj MaFitz is much more appealing to stay at.

 

[MRCat95]

Okie dokie, keep thinking inside the box - meant as an interesting thought experiment in how to quantify NU’s total investment in Fitz, which is totally warranted given what he’s accomplished over the past 25 years here.

I think wrassler’s responses were the most fun, so maybe I’m just losing it a bit.

Sometimes, the box you see is there to separate bullshit from reality.

Nobody spends $250 MM merely to keep a football coach as an employeee. Fitz was smart enough to use his position of strength as an opportunity to pitch a program-changing facility to Ryan. Ryan and Phillips bought into his vision of how the facility could transform the program, and they were able to sell it to NU’s board.

The notion that a facility is a signing bonus for a coach is completely absurd. The facility was built for the long-term benefit of NU’s football program and not to retain/placate a good coach.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Ok gocatsgo2004. Do you care to share other coaches, at any level, who had their quarter-of-a-billion dream facility built in order to retain them? I’ve only followed sports in general for the past 20 years or so, but have never heard of that happening before.

It's still not compensation to him. You can change the conditions of the job or environment to enable them to succeed in order to retain someone, but that isn't compensation. For instance, having the ability to remove/fire someone whose performance heavily impacts your own. That's not pay.

However, your last point about getting all the things in place to be successful where facilities is just one thing, and your staff is just as if not more important is well taken. It's an enigma to me how a guy who underperforms for 13 years keeps his job. Coaching at NU has more job security regardless of performance than the federal government.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

It's still not compensation to him. You can change the conditions of the job or environment to enable them to succeed in order to retain someone, but that isn't compensation. For instance, having the ability to remove/fire someone whose performance heavily impacts your own. That's not pay.

However, your last point about getting all the things in place to be successful where facilities is just one thing, and your staff is just as if not more important is well taken. It's an enigma to me how a guy who underperforms for 13 years keeps his job. Coaching at NU has more job security regardless of performance than the federal government.

Because reasonable people recognize that two 10-win seasons in three years while maintaining extremely high academic and social standards is excellent job performance (especially given NU’s value proposition)?

 

[NJCat]

It's an enigma to me how a guy who underperforms for 13 years keeps his job. Coaching at NU has more job security regardless of performance than the federal government.

FWIW, Cushing is now in his 10th season as OL coach, having been SB coach previously. He's in his 14th year at NU overall.

BTW, Eric Washington, who was the NU DL coach for the first 2 seasons under Fitz, is now the Defensive Coordinator for the NFL Carolina Panthers.......

 

[gocatsgo2003]

You are an idiot aren't you?? No one is talking about Fitz.

Fitz values continuity and has won a lot of games. Not exactly a difficult one to figure out.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Fitz values continuity and has won a lot of games. Not exactly a difficult one to figure out.

Maybe he could win a few more games and perhaps even a title if he valued continuity a just a little less. Not exactly that difficult to understand.

 

[CatManTrue]

Because reasonable people recognize that two 10-win seasons in three years while maintaining extremely high academic and social standards is excellent job performance (especially given NU’s value proposition)?

We all agree that Fitz’s results are impressive, but his own stated goal is to compete for championships. The only year we even came close under Fitz was 2012, and it looks like we’ll be even further away from competing with the likes of Wisconsin this season.

Again, nobody will be happier than me if I’m wrong and I will eat all my doubtful words if we make it to Indianapolis, or at least come close with our NFL QB prospect under center. Or hell, if we land elite recruits due to the facilities and our staff develops them to a championship level the next couple of years. I’d love to be wrong but we’re spinning our wheels each season.

While our defensive coaches (Long, Washington) have been hired away for new opportunities and we’ve hired fresh new talent on that side of the ball, our offense and special teams remain stale and stagnant and not nearly championship caliber.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Maybe he could win a few more games and perhaps even a title if he valued continuity a just a little less. Not exactly that difficult to understand.

I’m inclined to trust the dude who’s actually won those games a little more than a keyboard warrior.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I’m inclined to trust the dude who’s actually won those games a little more than a keyboard warrior.

Ah yes, the coach is infallible and can't possibly do any better even though he has no titles to his name sycophant approach. That's a better approach than mine to be sure. Especially here on a message board where there should be no room for opinions and rants. Got it.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

We all agree that Fitz’s results are impressive, but his own stated goal is to compete for championships. The only year we even came close under Fitz was 2012, and it looks like we’ll be even further away from competing with the likes of Wisconsin this season.

Again, nobody will be happier than me if I’m wrong and I will eat all my doubtful words if we make it to Indianapolis, or at least come close with our NFL QB prospect under center. Or hell, if we land elite recruits due to the facilities and our staff develops them to a championship level the next couple of years. I’d love to be wrong but we’re spinning our wheels each season.

While our defensive coaches (Long, Washington) have been hired away for new opportunities and we’ve hired fresh new talent on that side of the ball, our offense and special teams remain stale and stagnant and not nearly championship caliber.

...and Fitz makes all decisions in service of that goal. Just because his method is different than some might want to see doesn’t mean that he has a different goal.

In other words, no he isn’t keeping Cushing because their kids are in school together (which is just factually incorrect in any event).

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Ah yes, the coach is infallible and can't possibly do any better even though he has no titles to his name sycophant approach. That's a better approach than mine to be sure. Especially here on a message board where there should be no room for opinions and rants. Got it.

You don’t think you’ve made your point by now?

You want a new OL coach and OC, possibly WR. We get it.

Fitz likes stability and feels that it puts the program on the best footing to compete long-term, but you don’t even seem willing to admit that approach may have merit.