2024 College Football Thread

[MU82]

Pardon the Interruption's Michael Wilbon is a very proud Northwestern graduate. He has been on the school's board of trustees (might even still be), he regularly touts his alma mater's athletic achievements (when there are any), and he has spoken very highly of "Fitz."

I'll be tuning in today to check out what he has to say. (PTI was pre-empted by tennis yesterday.)

[WhiteTrash]

Is there any question now that the president of NU will be fired? The guy had to know what was going on, and if he didn't he should have known.

[RJax55]

Is there any question now that the president of NU will be fired? The guy had to know what was going on, and if he didn't he should have known.

The problem he has was the original two week suspension and his comments in the Friday release. But, he moved on Pat quickly after more came out over the weekend. So, I think he survives.

He started at NU in September of last year. So, no, I don't think he knew (nor should have) about the issue until the complaint in Nov. 2022, which was seemly handled correctly.

[Pakuni]

Total guess, Lovie as 2023 interim coach at NW.

It's going to be the new DC.
Long term, Mike Kafka would be the dream, but he's probably in line for an NFL head coaching job sooner or later, so I don't know why he'd come back to NU.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Green Bay Packers wanted Pat Fitzgerald to replace Mike McCarthy as head coach in 2019

[RJax55]

It's going to be the new DC.
Long term, Mike Kafka would be the dream, but he's probably in line for an NFL head coaching job sooner or later, so I don't know why he'd come back to NU.

I'm not sure hiring a former player from the Fitz era is the right move either.

[WhiteTrash]

The problem he has was the original two week suspension and his comments in the Friday release. But, he moved on Pat quickly after more came out over the weekend. So, I think he survives.

He started at NU in September of last year. So, no, I don't think he knew (nor should have) about the issue until the complaint in Nov. 2022, which was seemly handled correctly.

Apparently, according to radio reports, nothing new came out over the weekend, the only new part was the public knowledge of the details. He as had all the information for some time and thought two weeks was appropriate. NU must remove this president if they hope to save any face and respect.

Also, how does NU keep the assistants who have been there for years? They are even more guilty in my book because they would have better access to the incidents than Pat would. Logically, they must go too.

And are not some/most of the players guilty of violating university policies? How can they continue as full-ride athletes? There is something blatantly unjust if they can get away with conduct that would never be tolerated for regular student. This goes way beyond the typical football player privilege.

We are at the tip of the iceberg of this s**t show.   

[MurphysTillClose]

I'm not sure hiring a former player from the Fitz era is the right move either.

It'll be Tommy Rees after his one year stint in Tuscaloosa.

[RJax55]

It'll be Tommy Rees after his one year stint in Tuscaloosa.

Lake Forest Tommy. Honestly, if he's successful at Bama, he can and should do much better than the NU job.

David Braun is in a good position here as an interim. He has no ties to the past and takes over a 1-11 team in turmoil. Expectations will be zero. If he can steady the ship, win some games and develop a post-Fitz clean-up plan, he could be in a strong position to get the job.

[MurphysTillClose]

Lake Forest Tommy. Honestly, if he's successful at Bama, he can and should do much better than the NU job.

David Braun is in a good position here as an interim. He has no ties to the past and takes over a 1-11 team in turmoil. Expectations will be zero. If he can steady the ship, win some games and develop a post-Fitz clean-up plan, he could be in a strong position to get the job.

If successful at Bama this year, I would agree with you. I just think ADs might be a bit reluctant at the P5 level with a first year HC that young. That being said, it'll be interesting to follow the rumors throughout the year.

[Jockey]

Green Bay Packers wanted Pat Fitzgerald to replace Mike McCarthy as head coach in 2019

Reports that I have heard say he was never a serious candidate for any NFL head coaching job. Stories to the contrary were pushed by Fitzgerald’s team. He’s a very good politician as a head coach.

Maybe hecan be the new Tommy Tuberville and become Senator Fitzgerald. Hang out with white nationalists and undermine the military.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Maybe hecan be the new Tommy Tuberville and become Senator Fitzgerald. Hang out with white nationalists and undermine the military.

Why are you derailing this?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Why do schools continue to run these sham investigations?

OH, Yeah.   $$$

It's a vast minority of them that are "sham investigations". The reality is that the legal bar for hostile environment is very high. Most cases fall well short. We can debate if that bar should be lowered, but investigators can only follow their policies (which are largely based on federal regulations). Though if it's true that they didn't interview any of the baseball players during the investigations, that is seemingly negligent

Why is there not a police investigation going on. There was institutional sexual assault (doesn’t ‘hazing’ sound so much more innocent?) going on for decades with the tacit approval of Fitz.

Just think if even one of these sexual incidents happened in a regular student dorm. The police would have been called and charges would be issued.

Why should the football program be insulated against this?

This is incorrect. Universities are only required to inform complainants of their right to involve the police. They are actively discouraged from calling the police on behalf of the complainant except in specific circumstances (though they do provide de-identified reports to law enforcement through the Clery Act). The best practice is to empower the Complainant to make the best choice for their own self. Complainants should not be forced to speak to the police if they don't want to. They've already had choices stripped from them by the assault, why add to it? Going to the police is the right for some but for others it is the absolute last thing they want to do.

[Jockey]

It's a vast minority of them that are "sham investigations". The reality is that the legal bar for hostile environment is very high. Most cases fall well short. We can debate if that bar should be lowered, but investigators can only follow their policies (which are largely based on federal regulations). Though if it's true that they didn't interview any of the baseball players during the investigations, that is seemingly negligent

This is incorrect. Universities are only required to inform complainants of their right to involve the police. They are actively discouraged from calling the police on behalf of the complainant except in specific circumstances (though they do provide de-identified reports to law enforcement through the Clery Act). The best practice is to empower the Complainant to make the best choice for their own self. Complainants should not be forced to speak to the police if they don't want to. They've already had choices stripped from them by the assault, why add to it? Going to the police is the right for some but for others it is the absolute last thing they want to do.

Thanks for the info.

I should have been more specific that the sham investigations that I was referring to are the high profile cases - not those that schools deal with on a regular basis.

[Herman Cain]

Green Bay Packers wanted Pat Fitzgerald to replace Mike McCarthy as head coach in 2019

Buzz always went by the mantra is to get while the gettins good. Too bad Fitz didn’t go by that tbeory

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Thanks for the info.

I should have been more specific that the sham investigations that I was referring to are the high profile cases - not those that schools deal with on a regular basis.

The vast majority of high profile cases aren't sham investigations either. They do exist but they are few and far between.

[MU82]

Also, how does NU keep the assistants who have been there for years? They are even more guilty in my book because they would have better access to the incidents than Pat would. Logically, they must go too.

This was my reaction, too. The article on racism in the program included references to several assistants. It's a toxic program; gotta get out the bleach.

[Pakuni]

This was my reaction, too. The article on racism in the program included references to several assistants. It's a toxic program; gotta get out the bleach.

All those accusations date back 10-15 years. It appears nobody on the current coaching staff has been there that long.

[WhiteTrash]

All those accusations date back 10-15 years. It appears nobody on the current coaching staff has been there that long.

If the assistants and players remain on the team while the head coach is fired, this whole process screams 'sham' and looks like NU only saw a way to bail on a $50M contract.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

If they bring in a new coach from the outside, they will hire their own staff.  They aren't going to gut the current staff at this point in the year.  Unless of course there are serious allegations against any of them.

[WhiteTrash]

If they bring in a new coach from the outside, they will hire their own staff.  They aren't going to gut the current staff at this point in the year.  Unless of course there are serious allegations against any of them.

They fired the head coach for allegations that were not serious?

There is a gap in logic here that I don't understand. The players who actually acted in the hazing are not punished (as every other student would be) and the assistants who are far, far more likely to have known about this than Fitz are left in place?

Is this a serious matter or not? The actions by NU clearly point to it not being serious and they took a chance to get out from a huge contract. NU is only looking to save money; morals and ethics do not appear to be a factor in this decision.

NU is making a big mistake and the courts will give Fitz his money and damages. And I think the courts will be correct in that decision.

[MU82]

All those accusations date back 10-15 years. It appears nobody on the current coaching staff has been there that long.

Very fair point. Thanks.

But it's hard to believe that the assistants weren't in on the whole hazing "secret" even more than Fitzgerald was. I know it would hurt the program to launch all the assistants, but I think it's gotta be done. The program's already in deep doo-doo.

At the very, very least, a thorough institutional investigation into each assistant needs to be made, one would think.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

They fired the head coach for allegations that were not serious?

There is a gap in logic here that I don't understand. The players who actually acted in the hazing are not punished (as every other student would be) and the assistants who are far, far more likely to have known about this than Fitz are left in place?

Is this a serious matter or not? The actions by NU clearly point to it not being serious and they took a chance to get out from a huge contract. NU is only looking to save money; morals and ethics do not appear to be a factor in this decision.

NU is making a big mistake and the courts will give Fitz his money and damages. And I think the courts will be correct in that decision.

Do we know this? I honestly don't remember reading that but may have missed it.

Universities can't publicly discuss discipline for students so no announcement does not necessarily mean no punishment. Also this sounds like it goes back years. Any alleged perpatrators who have already graduated or transferred are largely beyond the universitys reach.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

They fired the head coach for allegations that were not serious?

There is a gap in logic here that I don't understand. The players who actually acted in the hazing are not punished (as every other student would be) and the assistants who are far, far more likely to have known about this than Fitz are left in place?

Is this a serious matter or not? The actions by NU clearly point to it not being serious and they took a chance to get out from a huge contract. NU is only looking to save money; morals and ethics do not appear to be a factor in this decision.

NU is making a big mistake and the courts will give Fitz his money and damages. And I think the courts will be correct in that decision.

Like it or not, the head coach is ultimately responsible for what happens in the program. He is the highest profile figure, and therefore is going to take the fall when these things occur. 

I don't know if any complaints have been filed against the other student athletes.  I don't know what other coaches were involved or what they knew.

The standard for the head coach getting a big salary is that the standard for their dismissal is oftentimes lower than for an assistant. Oftentimes they don't have contracts with similar language as the head coach, which can make their dismissal more difficult.

[wadesworld]

Why would NW have suspended him for just a couple games if they were just looking to get out of a big contract and save money?  Seems like they actually knew they had a serious problem but were hoping to sweep it under the rug and keep their guy there.