The Problem of Fitz
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Ultimately Fitz is the problem. Why the hell would you bring a guy that wants to put in a 3-4 defense in a hard nosed running conference? Plus his stint in the NFL was abysmal. Sort of flies against the essence of the culture he helped create that made the program special! Fitz plays it real safe with his assistant hirings and I wonder if he is worried if he hires an up and comer, that he will be overshadowed. If that somehow is the case, the program is in trouble. All the best coaches in NCAA Div 1a have some really great coaching trees. Seventeen years in and does Fitz have one? Does Hankwitz count? A HC is only as good as his coordinators and other assistants for the most part. Seriously, why do we always start out a season always flat. The Duke loss should have put a fire in the belly of everyone, but we looked ho hum. We are looking at something worse than last season of things stand pat. If they do, that is squarely on Fitzgerald. After the Holiday Bowl victory, it seemed as if Fitz had a vision where he wanted to take the program. His execution of trying to make that vision a reality is horrendous!!! Innovate man!!! Innovate!!!! Only way to get quality recruits in here and set the West on fire.
He was trying to innovate. The "read and react" approach is something new, rather than the same old Hank stuff. I can only think that Fitz thought Hank's approach is inadequate for modern offenses.
How many are going to bolt if Fitz can't turn this around? Adjustments are needed badly. Right now it will be hard to match last season's record.
Probably right, but thus far it has been a disaster. The players aren't responding very well. Maybe if JON can get the right guys it can work out, but when will that happen?
I don't know.
Hank's defense pretty much shut down Ohio State's spread offense, at the hands of the current Bears QB.
Only reason they won that game is they went back to old school ground and pound and their linemen were too good for our D-line.
I thought the koolaiders like to claim lack of talent when trying to diffuse coaching arguments. So, I guess, who cares - they recruited inferior players 🤷♂️
The current recruiting class was ranked top 5 at one point. It could be JON’s saving grace.
HJ was ranked five stars. How many highly rated recruits have we brought in over the last few years - yet we have a team devoid of B1G talent?
Oh, this time it’s different. Unless they suit up and keep losing…
So, do we have sufficient talent on this team to succeed in the B1G? Time to take a stance. Not many scapegoats left. The fans?
You can't really point to one person or thing as the problem. Can't just blame Fitz either, but he is the head honcho and is making a ton of $$$$$ to bring in a winner and simply not producing as of late. The reality is that like every aspect of life in America and the world at large, everything boils down to $$$$$. With that in mind, it is going to be more of a challenge for Northwestern to get exposure with such a small tv market, etc. The best talent will go with the bigger named schools who will give them more exposure to get to the next level. In short, Northwestern is still hampered by its losing past and the fact that it is a smaller private school compared to the big names of the BIG.
Zero accountability. I should have tried to become an NU sports coach. Can do no wrong.
I DO NOT agree with that. Hank produced one of the best defenses in the country for several years, only TWO years ago. We had decent offenses in 2018 and 2020, enough to win the B1G West. It is not as though that is ancient history. Something else is wrong, but it is not that NU is a smaller private school with a small TV audience, that the ballers don't want to come to. If we were winning, we would have a large TV audience and the ballers would come. That something else is COACHING. There is at least one big problem with coaching, combined with an apparent short sightedness and stubbornness at the top.
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Don't think the switch to the 3-4 is the problem as much as the type/execution of the 3-4 scheme.
Aranda switched Wisky's scheme to the 3-4 and they not only didn't miss a beat, they got better.
But Aranda installed an attacking 3-4, where backers and even DBs would blitz the QB.
In JON's 3-4 scheme, the D-line looks like they are playing on their heels and the DBs are running around like headless chickens.
As I've stated all along, Fitz (and othrr coaches like Franklin) are CEO-type HC's who need to make the right co-ordinator hires.
Case in point, IU averaging 443.6 yards per game under DeBoer, who was the OC.
DeBoer turned that into a HC gig at Fresno St, where the quick turn around got him the job at UDub - which has a 3-0 start, including handily beating Sparty.
The scuttlebutt is that the difference has been coaching (and getting Penix as a transfer); DeBoer had won 3 NAIA championships early on in his HC career.
Didn't Colby run a r&r cheese D scheme?
After that and years of experience w/ r&r on the O side of the ball, one would have thought that Fitz would be done w/ the whole r&r garbage, but sadly no.
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It's pretty simple. NU struggles to recruit the same level of talent consistently. A great recruiting year for us still usually lands us ranked around 10th or 11th in the conference. Every once in a while, the coaches catch lightening in a bottle and NU has a special season, but to think that is the norm is asking for disappointment.
The problem for me is not that we aren't competing for the BIG West every year, it's that we are starting to have years again where we are just awful. This is a bad football team right now and it's depressing to watch. There is a huge difference between a 3-win team and a 6-win team. I want us to be more like a 6-win team with an occasional lightening strike.
The problem for me is not that we aren't competing for the BIG West every year, it's that we are starting to have years again where we are just awful. This is a bad football team right now and it's depressing to watch. There is a huge difference between a 3-win team and a 6-win team. I want us to be more like a 6-win team with an occasional lightening strike.
Wait, didn’t we win two B1G West titles and several Bowls with that lack of real talent?
So was it talented team, or good coaching leading to overachieving or every other team just laid down?
It weird how the koolaiders will point to the recent two B1G titles and then defend the coaches as simply not being able to bring in real talent…
Rose Bowl. But Ten titles. Coaching = identify true coachable talent, sign said talent, teach that talent, implement systems and plays to beat the opponent optimizing that talent.
Been done successfully at NU and many, many other non-blue blood schools. The problem is coaching. PF has gotten worse. Time has passed his stubborn area and he has brought in a bad group of coaches.
What PF rarely does is play freshmen as a whole. So when would this magical 'savior' class get B1G ready as starters. What was criminal last season was PF keeping Seniors on the field when it was CLEAR that the season was lost. That was time to help evaluate underclassmen and gain them experience. That tells me he doesn't know how to run a program. Look at Clemson a year back. They pulled the plug on Seniors when the season was unsalvageable.
Fitz need to leave and go coach 8 man football in rural Iowa or something. He is over his head and is being out-coached by all who oppose him. He is going to save Brian Ferentz' career.
Fitz need to leave and go coach 8 man football in rural Iowa or something. He is over his head and is being out-coached by all who oppose him. He is going to save Brian Ferentz' career.
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Take note - I have called the koolaiders about ‘lack of talentz’ repeatedly and none respond on point. They can’t - it’s a bulls t excuse. It starts and ends with the coaches - from identifying to game day execution. And PF is accountable for the coaches on staff. That simple.
Anyone still supporting either of the two revenue programs with donations, purchases, attendance or positive comments are enablers. Those really that care should bombard the AD, the Prez, even PF himself with calls and e-mails announcing unhappiness and withdrawal of any financial support until enough changes are made that the results drastically improve.
The more and more this happens, the more unavoidable those voices become. The more they heard. And those among you that say no best never participate in any of those protests re abortion, environment, and whatever unless you are simply an open hypocrite.
So I take it you’re not flying to Happy Valley for the Ped State game?
I think the Cats can pull that one off if the secondary gets healthy.
You don't think all signs point to their stud freshman RB Singleton averaging 20yds/carry in a 2021-like blowout? My thinking is more along the lines of take care of business vs Miami, then the B1G season will really resume vs UW at home the next week. At PSU and vs OSU don't feel very different to me.
The Cats won’t be competitive until Fitz figures out a way to fix the defense. The way he wants to win is strong defense and a ball control offense. Our offense is never going to generate many big plays which means they aren’t going to score a lot of points.
I don’t see him firing his friend after just two seasons.
I don’t see him firing his friend after just two seasons.
Unless things improve drastically we have no chance against Penn State and frankly maybe any other team that we play the rest of the year
If Illinois plays like they are playing tonight against Chattanooga they will blow us off the field. How did they get so much better offensively and defensively just in a year or so. They annihilated us last year on the same could happen this year based on the way the two teams are playing. It really sucks for me since I went to Northwestern and my wife to Illinois.
Illannoy destroyed us last year and could again if we play piss poorly again.
Bielema hired a bunch of quality coaches and turned that program around quickly. As predicted.
Amazing what good coaches can do I guess. Their defense looks fantastic and they have great speed at the wide receiver position, fantastic running back and a quarterback that makes quick decisions and gets the ball to the right place.
He may be a good coach, but it scares me just watching him walk up and down the sideline.
The other thing he's done which few people know about, (and is an extremely smart move) is to make serious in-roads to the Illinois High School football coaches. Before he came to Illinois, my overall impression of Bielema was pretty negative. I didn't think he was very smart or innovative - and he still may not be.
But, he made a very smart move by hiring Pat Ryan as his Director of Illinois High School Relations. Pat Ryan was an extremely successful Illinois hall of fame high school coach at Metamora. His teams played in 7 state champioship games, won 2 state titles, -his record is 268-75 over 30 seasons. Not only was he successful, but is also respected by his peers, and well liked by them. He's a smart, personable guy that has started to make serious inroads in selling Illinois to Illinois high school coaches and players. Where Illinois was not much of a threat to NU in recruiting this state (we pretty much got whoever we wanted out of Illinois and very seldom lost a recruit to Illinois) - they are now more of a serious threat because of Ryan. He has really taken a page out of the Fitzgerald recruiting book by creating very freindly and accomodating relationships with Illinois high school coaches. Where NU could pick cherries in this state in the past, it's not going to be that easy anymore. Illinois may have been percieved as "little brother" before, but I suspect that they are now perceived as a program on the rise. It's my opinion that they will be a tough out on the recruiting trail in this state.
Why would that scare you? He looks like a big fellow looking for a drink, but relatively harmless.
So they have their own Pat Ryan now? We’re F’ed.
I also like the way they run their offense.Quick up tempo,the QB gets the ball out quickly .Back it up with a potent running game.
Add in a very good looking defense under Ryan Walters who will be a head coach in the not to distant somewhere and I am afraid they will be a tough out for years to come.
No more Turner,Zook ,Beckmann or Lovie coached teams anymore.I miss the old days.
Add in a very good looking defense under Ryan Walters who will be a head coach in the not to distant somewhere and I am afraid they will be a tough out for years to come.
No more Turner,Zook ,Beckmann or Lovie coached teams anymore.I miss the old days.
The worrisome thing about Bert Bulimia is that he likely isn't going anywhere. He is unlikely to be wildly successful to the point that he is poached, especially after his stint at Ark. But he will likely be successful enough that this long-suffering program will keep him. I could see him averaging 6-7 wins a year in our crappy division. That means IF Fitz gets his head out of his ass and IF we return to competitiveness, we still have an annual dogfight instead of winning 75% of the time.
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