Northwestern Football Hazing/Pat Fitzgerald Let Go

[Jiggafini19Deux]

There are plenty of guys who would take the job as it could be their one and only time a HC opportunity presents itself to them. Besides, there are plenty of students and alumni at schools that think their current president and AD are idiots.

So? It isn't their careers that are going to be ruined. Schill and Gragg have done nothing in the last few days to lead any rational person to believe they're capable leaders. This is in no way relevant to Mike Kafka if NU brass are approaching him about leaving an NFL coaching career to come coach there. Their competence has been on full display. It ain't great. I don't know how Gragg survives this.

Fitzgerald was HC for 17 years. This isn't a stepping stone job and they don't have a football tradition. It's the Big Ten, there is money to be made, they have upgraded facilities and the potential for more renovations therein but it isn't Penn State.

Suppose Pat Fitzgerald stepped down abruptly due to health reasons or to take an NFL job. You're still walking into a 1-11 team. Thirtysomethings like Mike Kafka and Tommy Rees would really need to measure what it would take to be successful there if it is nothing more than a stepping stone job. A guy like Lance Leipold has already done a job similar to this in KU. He could make more money at Northwestern, cash in and be in a bigger market.

 

[greyhammer90]

This known in Bird Culture as a dumb move.

 

[Giddyup]

Not sure I’d want to work at Northwestern if uncredited allegations are getting you fired.

 

[Giddyup]

I bet $100 no charges come out of this. Just unverified slander.

 

[Blazers46]

This will definitely be a sticking point when Pat Fitzgerald sues the University for his buyout/salary

 

[stlnd01]

I bet $100 no charges come out of this. Just unverified slander.

You don't need criminal charges to justify firing Fitzgerald here, if what was described is accurate. It's hard to tell what would even be criminal.
But I'm sure there's some sort of no-harassment clause in his contract to oversee a group of 100 young men, and even if he wasn't doing the harassing personally, he was clearly either aware or willfully blind to it, and that's plenty of cause to fire him.

Northwestern would do itself a big favor by releasing the report and being clear about what they know. But they've done themselves no favors yet so I doubt they'll start now.

 

[Grahambo]

So, the HC gets fired because he should’ve known but the rest of the staff get a pass?

Am I understanding that correctly?

 

[Chicago Domer]

Eh Bill O’Brien did similar and it worked out for him. If Kafka goes there and gets them to .500 by year 2 or 3 he’ll probably have NFL HC offers

But NW is not Penn State.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

So, the HC gets fired because he should’ve known but the rest of the staff get a pass?

Am I understanding that correctly?

Judging by that team letter of support they’re probably trying to make sure they can field a team for the fall. I thought the same thing. This has been fascinating to watch over the last couple of days.

 

[stlnd01]

So, the HC gets fired because he should’ve known but the rest of the staff get a pass?

Am I understanding that correctly?

Well, Fitzgerald is the CEO. He's ultimately responsible. The rest of them will be gone by Christmas when a new coach is hired either way. And meantime you do need SOMEONE to coach the team.
I'd imagine that's the thinking anyway.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

So, the HC gets fired because he should’ve known but the rest of the staff get a pass?

Am I understanding that correctly?

I don't think we are aware of what time period the allegations have come from. Fitzgerald's been HC since 2006 and they recently turned over a lot of assistants. So perhaps there's just not overlap for them. But it does raise eyebrows.

 

[NorthDakota]

Huge W for the interim guy. NW brought him in from North Dakota State. Happy for him to get a taste of running the show

 

[Irishdrunk]

But NW is not Penn State.

Sure but its not a hell hole either. Dennis Green got an NFL job thereafter and Barnett got a more lucrative job in Colorado. Its not a dead-end job. It is a turnaround on a P5 job that likely will never be elite. They have upgraded the facilities a decent amount.

 

[IrishLax]

Judging by that team letter of support they’re probably trying to make sure they can field a team for the fall. I thought the same thing. This has been fascinating to watch over the last couple of days.

If those players had any balls they would boycott the season. If not, they didn’t mean a word of what they said in that letter.

 

[Luckylucci]

So, the HC gets fired because he should’ve known but the rest of the staff get a pass?

Am I understanding that correctly?

Bizarre.

Assistant coaches, GA's, nutrition/training staff spend substantially more time with the players than the HC does.

As Jigga has been saying, a fully clean house is what they truly need to do.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

Not sure I’d want to work at Northwestern if uncredited allegations are getting you fired.

A (probably very high priced) law firm investigated and found evidence of the allegations. Fitz only real defense would be to plead ignorance, which doesn't really work for keeping his job when it could be considered a lack of institutional control, which would be an NCAA violation good enough to get him fired.

 

[Irish#1]

So? It isn't their careers that are going to be ruined. Schill and Gragg have done nothing in the last few days to lead any rational person to believe they're capable leaders. This is in no way relevant to Mike Kafka if NU brass are approaching him about leaving an NFL coaching career to come coach there. Their competence has been on full display. It ain't great. I don't know how Gragg survives this.

Fitzgerald was HC for 17 years. This isn't a stepping stone job and they don't have a football tradition. It's the Big Ten, there is money to be made, they have upgraded facilities and the potential for more renovations therein but it isn't Penn State.

Suppose Pat Fitzgerald stepped down abruptly due to health reasons or to take an NFL job. You're still walking into a 1-11 team. Thirtysomethings like Mike Kafka and Tommy Rees would really need to measure what it would take to be successful there if it is nothing more than a stepping stone job. A guy like Lance Leipold has already done a job similar to this in KU. He could make more money at Northwestern, cash in and be in a bigger market.

Lol….No need to try and convince me. We pretty much agree on everything except one point. I believe someone would take the job even if those two are still there.

 

[Ndaccountant]

I wonder how much the Big Ten is involved now. If NW admin went scorched earth and players left so they realistically couldn't field a team, what would happen to those schedule slots in conference play? It's in the rest of the big tens interest that NW fills a team, no matter how terrible they are.

 

[dublinirish]

The S+C coach gotta be accountable too surely


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[Grahambo]

Bizarre.

Assistant coaches, GA's, nutrition/training staff spend substantially more time with the players than the HC does.

As Jigga has been saying, a fully clean house is what they truly need to do.

I get they just can’t cancel the season but damn. Pat going to burn the walls down on the way out.

 

[Irish#1]

I wonder how much the Big Ten is involved now. If NW admin went scorched earth and players left so they realistically couldn't field a team, what would happen to those schedule slots in conference play? It's in the rest of the big tens interest that NW fills a team, no matter how terrible they are.

I can't imagine them not fielding a team.

 

[Irishdrunk]

I wonder how much the Big Ten is involved now. If NW admin went scorched earth and players left so they realistically couldn't field a team, what would happen to those schedule slots in conference play? It's in the rest of the big tens interest that NW fills a team, no matter how terrible they are.

Wow that is a dumbass take. NU is a Top 5 / Top 10 university in the US. Plenty of football players would gladly take a scholarship with a new HC. The Big 10 will not let a program not field a team due to a myriad of contractual rights and obligations. NU alum won't be okay with it either. They have invested a lot of money into facilities, too.

They might suck more the usual but not much worse than a 1 loss season.

No they will field a team and I am sure many players will stay.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

If those players had any balls they would boycott the season. If not, they didn’t mean a word of what they said in that letter.

I found that letter to be incredibly suspicious. Even for Northwestern football players, some of the language used in that letter didn't sound like it came from college students.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Lol….No need to try and convince me. We pretty much agree on everything except one point. I believe someone would take the job even if those two are still there.

No doubt.

I'm very curious as to who may actually want it, because in the end that's always the question that eliminates all the names Feldman throws into a clickbaiter.

Kafka and Rees should both be thinking bigger, and I think they both are if I had to speculate. Rees wants to get to the League. Kafka is there and on the doorstep of being an NFL HC. Going to Northwestern is a zig move when either of them should be zagging.

 

[NDdomer2]

Wow that is a dumbass take. NU is a Top 5 / Top 10 university in the US. Plenty of football players would gladly take a scholarship with a new HC. The Big 10 will not let a program not field a team due to a myriad of contractual rights and obligations. NU alum won't be okay with it either. They have invested a lot of money into facilities, too.

They might suck more the usual but not much worse than a 1 loss season.

No they will field a team and I am sure many players will stay.

where the fuck they gonna find 50-85 new players to take scholarships weeks from summer camp? talk about a dumbass take.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Northwestern's football scandal was also about hardcore racism

Coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired. That's a start. But Northwestern has to confront a terrible question: How did it allow a racist team culture to grow?

sports.yahoo.com

 

[IrishLax]

I found that letter to be incredibly suspicious. Even for Northwestern football players, some of the language used in that letter didn't sound like it came from college students.

It felt like someone presented the group a letter drafted by a lawyer and asked them to endorse it.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

I found that letter to be incredibly suspicious. Even for Northwestern football players, some of the language used in that letter didn't sound like it came from college students.

"There was never any hazing. It was all lies to take down coach Fitzgerald. Also, coach Fitzgerald was not directly involved in the hazing."

 

[stlnd01]

No doubt.

I'm very curious as to who may actually want it, because in the end that's always the question that eliminates all the names Feldman throws into a clickbaiter.

Kafka and Rees should both be thinking bigger, and I think they both are if I had to speculate. Rees wants to get to the League. Kafka is there and on the doorstep of being an NFL HC. Going to Northwestern is a zig move when either of them should be zagging.

Feldman's piece also included names like Clawson, Elko and Matt Campbell. All of whom could do vastly better if they ever chose to leave their respective (pretty good) gigs. Even by his name-droppy standards it was a pretty far-fetched list. They really should go after David Shaw or Ken N.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Bizarre.

Assistant coaches, GA's, nutrition/training staff spend substantially more time with the players than the HC does.

As Jigga has been saying, a fully clean house is what they truly need to do.

If you look at the staff that heads into this season, there are a lot of new assistant coaches. Nobody on the staff goes back further than 2018.

Interestingly enough the WR, RB, CB and DL coaches are all black.