Glad the school has been so diligent tracking down and holding to account the people who perpetrated the “hazing”.
Tomorrow is one year anniversary of PF firing
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USA Today has an article in their Sports section today. It mentions filing of 9 new former player lawsuits last week, bringing the total to 40.
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Football hazing scandal, one year later: NU, Pat Fitzgerald dealing with fallout
One year ago, Pat Fitzgerald was fired as Northwestern football coach after hazing accusations. Where things stand between sides and player lawsuits.
www.usatoday.com
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Don’t want to dig into all the off the field and legal stuff, but from a purely football standpoint this may end up being a good thing for the NU program in the long run. Would have been tough for them to ever let Fitz go based on performance record wise, but he seemed to be stale and burnt out at the end. Braun brings some much needed energy and fresh outlook to things. I was a huge fan of Fitz, but sometimes change is needed.
One could easily argue that the necessary change was made.
Fitzgerald hired David Braun as defensive coordinator to replace the inept Jim O'Neil.
"We are thrilled to officially welcome David, Kristin, Lucas and Andrew, to our football family," Fitzgerald said. "His record on the field speaks for itself during a decorated leadership tenure with one of the most successful programs in college football. The innovative ways he thinks about defense, and his passion for creating relationships with players immediately stood out during a comprehensive search process. His enthusiasm for the game is obvious and infectious, and we already are beginning to see the impact he's having on our student-athletes and staff."
It is pretty obvious, isn't it? I mean, seriously. Logic is a stubborn thing.
If I recall correctly, Fitzgerald and the Cats had a crap season in 2019, going 3-9 with 5-star transfer Hunter Johnson handed the reins.
Fitzgerald publicly declared "That will never happen again."
Then Covid came along, we ran a "gold standard" program, finished 7-2 and kicked Auburn's ass in the Citrus Bowl.
Hankwitz retired. Fitzgerald made the biggest mistake of his career and hired Jim O'Neil to replace Hankwitz.
Seasons of 3-9 and 1-11 followed, with the defense cratering.
Fitzgerald fired O'Neil and brought in Braun.
Things improved immediately.
The hard truth is that the football program was on solid footing when Fitzgerald was (wrongfully?) terminated.
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Solid footing? Not sure about that. I just think Fitz was way too stubborn and set in his ways. He would only ok change when it was way overdue and then he’d limit it- keep the OC because can’t have too much change…. As a season ticket holder he presided over 3 years in 4 that were pretty much unwatchable football.
I just think things had sort of passed Pat by, and he had grown somewhat complacent with his fat contract and thinking he was always safe.
Maybe NU will struggle moving forward with the new era of NIL, portal, etc. I just see a guy like Braun being way more quick to adjust and adaptive than I think Fitz could ever be, especially at this time in his career
I'm not going to agree or disagree about Fitzgerald's ability to adapt to NIL and the portal. He always sold something different - go to a prestigious school, get your degree, become an adult, succeed at life. If you're good enough you can pursue the NFL. He would not have done a 180 and started "shilling" to the best available players in the portal. I'm sure of that. But "old school" works for a lot of young guys. We sort of have to stick to our message. We can't just be another non-descript school throwing money at kids - it won't work.
Last I checked, Fitzgerald brought in Peyton Ramsey as a grad school QB and that worked. He brought in Henning and Bryant as well. Without them we probably don't win 6 games last year. He was adapting, but sure, he was probably slow to do so. And the defense first/conservative offense used to drive me nuts at times.
Fitzgerald was a great representative of Northwestern - the face of the university.
He was more dependent on his coordinators than I realized.
NU football was a joke for Fitz’s final two seasons.
NU football is almost certainly the only program where 4-20 (2-16) in year 17(!) doesn’t get the head coach fired.
Fitz didn’t acknowledge the problems in the 3-9 and 1-11 seasons. He lost me with his arrogant and snippy attitude during the press conferences. I also sense he knew about some of the hazing and tried to laugh it off as good clean American fun - which it wasn’t. He was great for Northwestern, and then he wasn’t.
At 20 years of service, Coaches typically get evaluated on their full body of work. NU is not exactly a desirable job for Coaches that are appealing to the Blue Bloods. They were always going to get a perceived up and comer as a replacement. Hopefully, Braun can navigate the land mines the university throws his way.
I really don't understand why the coach of a team that perennially struggles to attract a fanbase would respond to the press telling him that fans were concerned with the direction of the program with "hashtag Idon'tcare". It just comes across as incredibly tone-deaf and arrogant.
Nailed it.
ALL of this excrement explosion is about a CRIME, sexual assault. How CAN the perps walk away as if nothing had happened, nobody notices?
Any day NU fans don't have to read more about any of it is a good day.
Wasn't that quote from like 2011 or 2013? I agree that Fitz was stubborn and ultimately too complacent, but I think he at least did a better job of reigning in the snarkiness in the later years of his tenure.
My point was that despite the two horrible years with Jim O'Neil as DC, Fitz fired him, brought in Braun and Henning and Bryant and we were back on solid footing when Schill fired Fitzgerald.
I don't see how anybody can dispute that. The results last year prove my point.
Whats the counter-argument? Some convoluted nonsense about Fitz having lost the locker room?
I did some data analysis around this, and here's what I found:
There have been 40 coaches who have coached for 15+ years at the same school while having at least one season coached in the last 40 years (i.e. were still coaching in 1984). For these coaches, I set a beginning limit of 1973 when the first scholarship limits were put in place. Five coaches are still active in the only CFB HC job they've had - Kirk Ferentz (Iowa), Mike Gundy (Ok St.), Kyle Whittingham (Utah), Troy Calhoun (Air Force) and Dabo Swinney (Clemson). For 31 of the other 35 coaches, it was either their only head coaching job in CFB or their last one. Rich Brooks (Oregon, first job, went to NFL), Mark Richt (Georgia, first job, went to Miami after being fired), Mack Brown (Texas, UNC before and after) and Johnny Majors (Tennessee, went to Pitt after) were the four who didn't fit the criteria.
I used Sports Reference's simple rating system (SRS) to look at each coach's seasons, and highlighted their top and bottom seasons (3 for 15-19 years, 4 for 20-24 years, 5 for 25+). I also did not include the 2020 COVID season for those coaches who were active given the uniqueness of that year.
Looking at coaches who had back to back seasons that were in their bottom 3/4/5 years after they had already coached 10+ seasons:
Joe Paterno (PSU) - 2000-01 (10-13, 8-8), 2003-04 (7-16, 3-13). Somehow managed to survive both of these runs and coach for another 7 years until, well, you know.
Bobby Bowden (FSU) - 2006-07 (14-12, 7-9). These seasons were the beginning of the end, as he was fired after the 2009 season.
Tom Osborne (NEB) - 1988-91 (39-9-1, 24-3-1). A bit of a caveat needed here, as these were not bad seasons by any stretch, given that they made two Orange Bowls and won two conference titles. They were four of his worst five seasons though.
Fisher DeBerry (Air Force) - 2005-06 (8-15, 6-10). Retired following the 2006 season after 23 years.
Grant Teaff (Baylor) - 1987-88 (12-10, 5-9). Had some leeway after winning bowls in 1985-86, but this was the beginning of the end for him. He coached four more years, finishing with a bowl win in his final game before resigning to become the AD.
Terry Donahue (UCLA) - 1989-90 (8-13-1, 6-9-1). Another coach who had leeway from winning 7 bowl games in a row and being ranked as high as #1 in 1988. Coached five more seasons, including making the '93 Rose Bowl after starting the year unranked, before resigning to go into broadcasting.
Hayden Fry (Iowa) - 1992-93 (11-13, 7-9). Rebounded with Sun Bowl and Alamo Bowl wins in 1995-96, but retired after the worst season of his career in 1998.
Barry Switzer (OK) - 1983-84 (17-6-1, 11-3). Much like Tom Osborne, these were not bad seasons per se. Switzer declined a lesser bowl bid in 1983 and made it to the Orange Bowl in 1984 before winning the national championship in 1985. He resigned following the 1988 season under scandal due to players getting paid and one player attempting to sell coke to an FBI agent...
Sonny Lubick (CSU) - 2005-07 (13-23, 8-16). Lubick was fired after the 2007 season and opened a steakhouse in Fort Collins.
Fitz (NU) - 2021-22 (4-20, 2-16).
So only DeBerry and Lubick left their jobs immediately following back to back bottom seasons, though the record for both was better than Fitz's.
Also looked at 5-year averages, which showed me that 24 of the 35 coaches on this list left their jobs following a real slide in the quality of their programs compared to past performance. The only coaches who did not leave due to the declining quality of their teams were:
Tom Osborne - Retired after 25 seasons following three national championships in four years (1994, 95, 97)
George Welsh (UVA) - Retired after 19 seasons due to health issues. Took Virginia out of their 30-year-long dark ages, won 2 ACC championships, was ranked #1 in 1990 briefly, and handed FSU their first ACC loss after 29 straight wins since joining the conference. Retired as the winningest coach in ACC history before being passed by Bowden.
Don James (Washington) - Resigned just prior to the 1993 season under controversy following back-to-back-to-back Rose Bowls due to allegations of paying players and a lack of institutional control on recruiting visits.
Rich Brooks - Left Oregon following their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1957 to become the head coach of the St. Louis Rams in 1995. Lasted two years before being fired.
Rick Stockstill (MTSU) - Despite winning bowl games in 2021-22, he was fired after 18 seasons last year.
Bo Schembechler (Michigan) - Retired after the 1989 season due to health concerns following 3 Rose Bowl appearances in 4 seasons (1986, 88, 89).
Barry Switzer - See above.
Johnny Majors - Forced to resign following heart surgery after 16 seasons. Speculated that his assistant and interim head coach, Phil Fulmer, engaged in backroom shenanigans to force Majors out.
Barry Alvarez (UW) - Retired following a Capital One bowl game win in 2005 after 16 seasons to become the AD.
Frank Solich (Ohio) - Retired due to health reasons in 2021 after 16 seasons, having taken Ohio to bowl games in 10 of 11 seasons, winning their last 3.
Gary Pinkel (Mizzou) - Retired due to cancer in 2015 after 15 seasons, including back-to-back SEC division titles in 2013-14 including wins in the Cotton and Citrus bowls.
The other coaches who made this list but didn't meet any of the previous criteria: Frank Beamer (VT), Lavell Edwards (BYU), Gary Patterson (TCU), Don Nehlen (WVU), Bob Stoops (OK), Nick Saban (Bama), Phil Fulmer (Tennessee), Bill Snyder (KSU), Jeff Bower (S. Miss.), Jim Sweeney and Pat Hill (Fresno St.), Vince Dooley (UGA), Ken Niumatalolo (Navy), and Herb Deromedi (C. Michigan).
I hope you enjoyed wasting your time reading this as much as I did in researching this.
@CappyNU, you are a brilliant, dedicated, bored man.
The closest analog would seem to be Lubick, who did get three bad seasons followed by the ability to retire with dignity, but was also much older.
But also, …
None of those teams had anything as bad as Fitz’s 2022, which was the most hopeless team I’ve ever followed.
Home losses to SIU and Miami (Oh).
Outscored 104-17 in their three home conference games (because they gave up the fourth to Ireland).
Closed the season with a 5-turnover, 41-3 loss to their rival in a game started by a freshman walk-on.
Sunday’s the anniversary of Braun getting the interim tag.
The closest analog would seem to be Lubick, who did get three bad seasons followed by the ability to retire with dignity, but was also much older.
But also, …
None of those teams had anything as bad as Fitz’s 2022, which was the most hopeless team I’ve ever followed.
Home losses to SIU and Miami (Oh).
Outscored 104-17 in their three home conference games (because they gave up the fourth to Ireland).
Closed the season with a 5-turnover, 41-3 loss to their rival in a game started by a freshman walk-on.
Sunday’s the anniversary of Braun getting the interim tag.
Needed to also make a change at OC, but Fitz likely would have done so after this coming season save for a miraculous turnaround from Bajakian.
This is very interesting 🤔! I just wish with all my heart that Fitz could have become our ad instead of all the bull crap that went on last summer. 😢 really sad for me. I met Fitz at a couple basketball games at nu early on in his tenure. A great dude. Loves nu. Very down to earth and humble dude. We chit-chated about the upcoming mizzou bowl game. Wish him all the best in his future. And I bet he'll be a head coach someday again
You kind of forgot to mention the facts that the offense sucked the entire time he was at the helm, and one other pretty key thing happened before things improved immediately: Fitz was fired and Braun took over
Even though your comment "the offense sucked the entire time he was at the helm" is blatantly false, I'll play along and try to make your argument for you (if you could make the argument that would be better)
It appears that you think Braun (or was it Skip Holtz) made Bajakian a better offensive coordinator than he was under Fitzgerald?
Reality says we got Ben Bryant who was a much better QB than we had the previous 2 seasons (and in my opinion better than Ramsey).
That is the primary reason the offense improved.
And it is really obvious that Braun produced a much better defense than O'Neil.
In all likelihood, just using common sense, we would have had a better season with Fitzgerald as head coach. Arguably minus the chaos and Braun's inexperience, we'd have beaten Rutgers in the opener. We were a mess in that game. The Penn State game turned into a blowout because Braun went for it twice on 4th down inside of our 35 yard line, trailing 17-10 in the 3rd quarter, reflecting his inexperience. Bryant's concussion on 3rd down on the PSU 1 yard line (attempting to pass) in the 4th quarter of that same game presumably cost us wins against Iowa and Nebraska. With Sullivan at QB for those games, the offense could do nothing and we were unable to pull out a win.
It can be argued the other way too. Would we have improved the second half the season under Fitz? Come back vs Minny? Beaten Bert? All hypothetical.
Carmody went 3-31 in big 10 play in years 6 and 7 and kept his job.
I would have had no issue with the shool
Firing Fitz after 2022 season. It was bad and it didn’t seem like he had any answers. But the man has bled purple for his entire adult life. Fire him but let him have his reputation.
Well the trials will be starting in a few months (assuming no settlement). It will be in the news but you don’t have to read it….
Frank Solich had a remarkable career. Raised in Ohio, went to Nebraska to play football, and stayed for four decades. Starring for the Huskers, coaching high school football in Lincoln, assisting at Nebraska, leading at Nebraska, getting unceremoniously dumped at Nebraska.
After a year off, returned to his home state and stayed forever, becoming the winningest coach in MAC history. (Herb Deromedi, of whom I’d never heard until reading all the way to the bottom of Cappy’s message, is second.)
Solich’s final season was 2020, so he didn’t get a proper sendoff. But he closed his career with a 52-10 win, in front of 1,182 fans in Athens the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
After a year off, returned to his home state and stayed forever, becoming the winningest coach in MAC history. (Herb Deromedi, of whom I’d never heard until reading all the way to the bottom of Cappy’s message, is second.)
Solich’s final season was 2020, so he didn’t get a proper sendoff. But he closed his career with a 52-10 win, in front of 1,182 fans in Athens the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
It seemed to me the prospective defendants are those with oversight responsibility.
I'm around NU news too much to miss the headlines - that's having to read it for me.
Of course, Lots of things can be argued.
People like to believe that "there was nothing the coach could do" or "injuries happen" or whatever...
But my mindset is that whatever happens is influenced by all sorts of things - decisions the coach makes impact the likelihood of a player getting injured, for example. The talent on the team is the same, regardless of who is coaching. How they perform is largely influenced by the coaches.
Just using logic, it seems to me that NU would have been much more prepared to start the season with Fitzgerald at the helm.
So we start (much) better and finish roughly the same.
The key to the season was Bryant getting injured against Penn State and missing 4 games. We lost to Iowa and Nebraska and almost lost to Howard with Sullivan at the helm. I think we win all 4 of those games with Bryant at QB. Guessing we blow Maryland and Howard out.
Having seen the impact first hand, I'll guess David Braun does more next year to try to keep his top QB healthy.
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