Oso planning to go pro
Oh, and not that it matters in the context of this ugly shyte, but I was surprised to see how piss-poor Fitzgerald's team has been for years now.Northwestern is 14-31 the last 4 seasons -- including 3 last-place (1-8) finishes. The program is back to being completely irrelevant nationally ... except when scandal elevates it to relevance.
Not excusing any hazing, but that’s not entirely fair. They were terrible this year, sure, but among those 3 1-8 seasons was a season in which they won their division and made the B10 championship game and won a New Years Day bowl game against an SEC team to finish in the top 10. And the 4 year window cuts off another division win and B10CG berth and top 20 finish the year before the first 1-8 finish.Those were the first 2 division titles in school history and the first time they finished on top of any part of the B10 in 20 years and 2 of only 6 bowl wins in program history. Regardless of the scandal, they needed to turn stuff around in the next year or two, but it’s not like they plummeted to irrelevancy. They were up and down, as they’ve been all of Fitz’s tenure. That’s the nature of NW football in the B10 and current landscape
Nah, 82 is right. The program is going very much in the wrong direction. 2020 was an outlier.The Big Ten West is hardily a murderer's row, so going 1-8 in conference play 3 out of the last 4 seasons is bad. Really bad. Fitz has been unable to fill two key positions and it is killing the program.First, the QB position has been a complete train wreck since Clayton Thorson graduated in 2018. Fitz has been unable to recruit and develop a QB in the period since. It was only decent in 2020 because he was able to get Peyton Ramsey to grad transfer from Indiana, but a program can't live on grad transfer QBs. The double punch came when DC Mike Hankwitz retired after the 2020 season. Hankwitz was a terrific DC and NW's defense had become the team's calling card. When you look at the Fitz era, the offense had been trending worse over his tenure, but the defense was getting better and better. 2020 was its peak. Well, that ended when Hankwitz retired. Fitz hired his buddy Jim O'Neil and defense collapsed. O'Neil was canned after last season's debacle. This is a sinking ship.
Sorry Wags, when you go 1-8 in three out of four years, your program sucks. Even without hazing taking place right under your nose.But I will admit that I shouldn't have implied that Northwestern had ever been nationally relevant during Fitzgerald's time as coach. Barnett's program got there briefly but otherwise, by any definition of "nationally relevant" that I can think of, that hasn't been Northwestern football in our lifetimes.Look, Fitzgerald did OK in a difficult job, with a few decent years that ended in minor bowl wins, some really horrible years (including the aforementioned three 1-8 BT showings the last four seasons), and mostly mediocrity. Northwestern brass seemed fine with that, and that's cool ... until the scandal arrived. He's Dead Coach Walking now.
Look, Fitzgerald did OK in a difficult job, with a few decent years that ended in minor bowl wins, some really horrible years (including the aforementioned three 1-8 BT showings the last four seasons), and mostly mediocrity. Northwestern brass seemed fine with that, and that's cool ... until the scandal arrived. He's Dead Coach Walking now.
He did a decent job for a Big Ten program. For Northwestern, he was absolutely incredible. People forget how awful NW football was for ages.NW has finished in the top 20 9 times in the post WWII era. Fitz has 5 of those.NW has won 6 bowl games in its history. Fitz has 5 of those.NW has 9 9+ win seasons in its history. Fitz has 7 of those.He did a fantastic job there given the program history, its restrictions, etc... The fact that 1-8 in conference and a bottom of the division finish is an outlier and not the norm like it was for 40+ years, speaks to that. But none of that matters if you can't control the program like this.
Geez, what is wrong with the Northwestern Athletic Department?https://www.insidenu.com/2023/7/10/23790160/jim-foster-accused-of-toxic-workplace-environment-nine-players-and-staffers-tell-670-the-scoreAlleged quote from their AD: "sometimes the right thing to do is not always the best thing to do."
Full text of NU Presidents Letterhttps://www.northwestern.edu/leadership-notes/2023/decision-to-relieve-head-football-coach-pat-fitzgerald-of-his-duties.html
Amazing that a student newspaper broke this. Wonder how many media members close to the program were at least somewhat aware but didn’t want to risk access.
First, kudos to the Daily Northwestern for some impressive work.I don't think there's anything insidious behind the Tribune, Sun-Times or TV outlets not getting this first. I don't think many in the professional media are "close to the program" and privy to all kinds of inside information -- nothing like those who cover the Bears or other pro teams. Student reporters, who might be classmates and even friends with athletes and who prioritize Northwestern sports, are more likely to be close to the program IMHO.In the Chicago media hierarchy, Northwestern football ranks well behind the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks, and also behind Notre Dame and Illinois. In the summer, it ranks behind offseason news regarding pro sports teams and golf (as well as baseball, of course). During the season, each newspaper will have a reporter cover games and maybe go to the midweek coach's press conference, but even that reporter has other beats and doesn't focus exclusively on Northwestern. During the summer, the papers completely ignore Northwestern (obviously). The Tribune and Sun-Times have been cutting staff for 20+ years, too.I'm not making excuses; there probably is some embarrassment in those outlets about being beaten on such a big story by student reporters. You wondered, and I'm just providing what I believe the facts are.
And now the Daily Northwestern is reporting that Fitzgerald's program was rife with racism.https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/07/10/sports/former-nu-players-describe-racist-environment-in-football-program/?source=pulsenewsletter&campaign=7205668Three former players, including one who agreed to let his name be used, were the sources.