Northwestern Retaining Entire Coaching Staff

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
... and the Chicago Tribune goes all Makayla Maroney on Fitzgerald:

The definition of insanity, Pat Fitzgerald often says, is trying the same thing and expecting different results.


Fitzgerald will test that theory with his latest decision: He will retain all nine assistant coaches, including embattled offensive coordinator Mick McCall, following a second straight 5-7 season.

NU finished 12th in the Big Ten and 101st nationally in scoring offense, at 23 points per game. The Wildcats’ 4.5 yards per play was better only than Penn State’s 4.49 among Big Ten teams.

In McCall’s defense, Venric Mark left school during fall camp, and dependable receiver Christian Jones was lost to knee surgery. Northwestern played its final game without quarterback Trevor Siemian and receiver Kyle Prater due to injuries.

Still this decision will not satisfy the NU fans who believe Fitzgerald is either not operating with enough urgency or is too stubborn to make changes.
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I guess he is either going to win with his guys or go down in flames with them. Fitz will be gone if he can't produce this year.

 
I dunno why all the angst over Fitzgerald? And why does Northwestern all of a sudden have high expectations? They've pretty much sucked for as long as anyone can remember, with only a handful of successful years (see the Gary Barnett era). I'd say Fitz is doing better than most of the guys before him. Northwestern's circumstances just won't allow them to ever play up at the top of the B1G year in and year out: small, private school, low athletic budget, academic constraints, crappy fanbase. Until they change these things it doesn't matter who coaches them. They will generally suck at football most years.

 
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NUance said:
I dunno why all the angst over Fitzgerald? And why does Northwestern all of a sudden have high expectations? They've pretty much sucked for as long as anyone can remember, with only a handful of successful years (see the Gary Barnett era). I'd say Fitz is doing better than most of the guys before him. Northwestern's circumstances just won't allow them to ever play up at the top of the B1G year in and year out: small, private school, low athletic budget, academic constraints, crappy fanbase. Until they change these things it doesn't matter who coaches them. They will generally suck at football most years.
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Agree. Fitz is doing a great job there, and "coaching them up" above potential in a similar way to Snyder at KState. Disciplined football. What might take them to the next level would be a financial committment from the school and a push to improve recruiting by improving facilities.

I doubt that will happen, so they had better at least hang on to a good coach while they have him.

 
Abdullah the Butcher said:
Plus Northwestern can't afford to pay his buyout anyways.
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This is what I don't get about private schools. Northwestern is actually one of the richest schools in the country. They have a massive endowment fund. I suppose none of that money is earmarked for athletics, however. I don't actually know how endowments work.....
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Why keep your entire coaching staff after a second straight 5-7 season?

I believe in 'em. They got us to the success we have had. I am bitterly disappointed in the (2013-14) results, but it would be very short-minded to pin it on them. That may be going upstream with popular opinion from the way society thinks, but I'm pretty much non-societal. I have not gone with societal norms most of my life. I believe in our people. They know, individually, some areas where we have to be better. I'm the leader of it, and I have to be better.

Is "non-societal" code for stubborn?

If that's the worst thing you ever say about me, I won't lose sleep over it. It's funny how a couple of years ago, you were saying, "How are you keeping your staff together with all your success?" So for me to turn my back on guys who have graduated all of our players and put our guys into position to be successful men in life but have been on the short end of 14 games — 10 could have gone a different way — that would be short-minded on my end.
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No way they get rid of PF. He will get them to a bowl game once every few years and just beat SECSECSEC Miss State in a bowl a couple years ago. He'll pull off a few good/unexpected wins a year. That is good enough in Evanston.

 
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