2025 College Football Thread

[JWags85]

He had 1 whole conference win in 3 of his last 4 years. That's an entire recruiting cycle. And he oversaw Hazing U.

Barnett won a lot at Northwestern, Walker did A-OK, and yes, Coach Hazy did well before the wheels fell off, too. Since the mid-90s, NW hasn't been the Rick Venturi Mildcats.

You're doing an absurd overselling of Fitzgerald's extreme fade at the end of his run. Not just 2 years. 3 of 4 + Hazing.

Randy Walker was 37-46 and had 1 season over .500...definitely A-OK. Gary Barnett was 35-45, had 2 really good years and then faded. Had 2x as many 3 or less win seasons as winning years in 7 years in Evanston. Definitely won A LOT. His last year he was 0-8 in the B10 and still got hired by Colorado and was in consideration for Texas.

That 1995 Barnett team was probably the best NW team of all time, an absolute thunderbolt out of nowhere.  But everything about Fitz's total resume at Northwestern completely eclipses both Walker and Barnett, it's not even a debate without a bias pushing the agenda.

Again, how you feel about the hazing colors the argument but I was speaking to specific on field results.  Fitz had bad/underachieving 2 year stretches followed by a great year multiple times in his career.  That last 1-11 team still had multiple young future NFL players that helped them to 8-5 the next year and he got a MAJOR DC hire to finally replace Hankwitz after a few years.    But I get it, you feel the hazing should have banned him from coaching forever and thus he's only rehired cause he's white (cause we really needed another thread to go there) not cause his resume could have gotten the MSU job easily anytime post Dantonio. At least be honest about it.

[Pakuni]

Randy Walker was 37-46 and had 1 season over .500...definitely A-OK. Gary Barnett was 35-45, had 2 really good years and then faded. Had 2x as many 3 or less win seasons as winning years in 7 years in Evanston. Definitely won A LOT. His last year he was 0-8 in the B10 and still got hired by Colorado and was in consideration for Texas.

That 1995 Barnett team was probably the best NW team of all time, an absolute thunderbolt out of nowhere.  But everything about Fitz's total resume at Northwestern completely eclipses both Walker and Barnett, it's not even a debate without a bias pushing the agenda.

Fitzgerald did fine work at Northwestern, but I wouldn't go nearly as far as to suggest his resume matches Barnett's.
Fitz took over an entirely different Northwestern program than the one Barnett did, from facilities, to the stadium, to record of success, to the support of the university, alumni and fans. Northwestern was easily the worst major-conference program in the country when Barnett took over, and perhaps the worst program overall. They'd won 24 conference games in the previous 20 seasons combined, under five different coaches. In 13 of those 20 seasons, they won two games or fewer. They hadn't had a winning record since 1971 and hadn't played in a bowl since 1948.

Fitzgerald took over a program that had gone to a bowl 5 of the previous 10 years, and finished the season .500 or better five times over that span. He won more consistently than Barnett, but that was only made possible by Barnett's resurrection of the program. Twenty years from now, if someone asks who was the coach that had the most impact on Northwestern football in modern history, Barnett will be the correct answer.

I'd liken it to O'Neill, Crean and Buzz at MU. Buzz had the most sustained success of the three, but the other two rescued the program from potential irrelevancy and made Buzz's success possible.

[MU82]

Randy Walker was 37-46 and had 1 season over .500...definitely A-OK. Gary Barnett was 35-45, had 2 really good years and then faded. Had 2x as many 3 or less win seasons as winning years in 7 years in Evanston. Definitely won A LOT. His last year he was 0-8 in the B10 and still got hired by Colorado and was in consideration for Texas.

That 1995 Barnett team was probably the best NW team of all time, an absolute thunderbolt out of nowhere.  But everything about Fitz's total resume at Northwestern completely eclipses both Walker and Barnett, it's not even a debate without a bias pushing the agenda.

Again, how you feel about the hazing colors the argument but I was speaking to specific on field results.  Fitz had bad/underachieving 2 year stretches followed by a great year multiple times in his career.  That last 1-11 team still had multiple young future NFL players that helped them to 8-5 the next year and he got a MAJOR DC hire to finally replace Hankwitz after a few years.    But I get it, you feel the hazing should have banned him from coaching forever and thus he's only rehired cause he's white (cause we really needed another thread to go there) not cause his resume could have gotten the MSU job easily anytime post Dantonio. At least be honest about it.

Buried his head in the sand while his players were getting brutalized. PLUS he won 1 conference game 3 of his last 4 years. At least be honest about it, Wags!

[MU82]

From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken:

This is the product of an ecosystem where players changing jobs on a whim or for a paycheck is a crisis that needs to be dealt with immediately and regulated through a literal act of Congress, while coaches getting paid $10 million a year wrecking their own teams gets met with a shoulder shrug.

[Billy Hoyle]

Convenient to go the last 4 years instead of a normal 5 cause that cuts out a year they went 8-1 in the B10 and Fitz won COY.

And yes his last 2 years were really bad but he won national COY in the 2020 going 7-2 (6-1).

The hazing situation, regardless of his legal absolution, is an understandable black cloud to the hiring.  But chalking him up as another "white retread" because of those last 2 years (when any other 3-4 year snapshot of his time at NW captures really good results for the job) is an absurd underselling of the coaching he did at one of the most unwinnable jobs in the country historically.

And of course MSU fans are mad.  They are delusional about their place in the B10/CFB world and have been since Saban left.  They weren't happy when Dantonio was hired either.

Incorrect, they were happy because of Dantonio's ties to MSU and Saban. Many preferred him over the other finalist, Bo Pelini.

Also, Dantonio led them to the CFP, multiple Big Ten title games, a Rose Bowl victory (first since 1987), a Cotton Bowl victory, four top ten rankings, six ten-win seasons, and an 8-5 record against Michigan. They were a top-tier Big Ten program. He just stuck around too long.

Fitz also led NW to not only their first bowl wins in program history but 5 wins - 5-5 record in bowl games, and two Big Ten title games, and played the most competitive conference game against OSU all season, actually leading at the half (the only team to do that other than Alabama in the national title game). His last two seasons coincided with the start of NIL and players not having to sit out after a transfer.

But, he is joining a different Big Ten with Oregon, USC and Washington. I think the realistic expectations for Sparty should be a 7-9 wins max with Fitz as the HC.

[The Sultan]

Randy Walker was 37-46 and had 1 season over .500...definitely A-OK. Gary Barnett was 35-45, had 2 really good years and then faded. Had 2x as many 3 or less win seasons as winning years in 7 years in Evanston. Definitely won A LOT. His last year he was 0-8 in the B10 and still got hired by Colorado and was in consideration for Texas.

That 1995 Barnett team was probably the best NW team of all time, an absolute thunderbolt out of nowhere.  But everything about Fitz's total resume at Northwestern completely eclipses both Walker and Barnett, it's not even a debate without a bias pushing the agenda.

Again, how you feel about the hazing colors the argument but I was speaking to specific on field results.  Fitz had bad/underachieving 2 year stretches followed by a great year multiple times in his career.  That last 1-11 team still had multiple young future NFL players that helped them to 8-5 the next year and he got a MAJOR DC hire to finally replace Hankwitz after a few years.    But I get it, you feel the hazing should have banned him from coaching forever and thus he's only rehired cause he's white (cause we really needed another thread to go there) not cause his resume could have gotten the MSU job easily anytime post Dantonio. At least be honest about it.

I think Fitzgerald is a decent coach. But I am not sure what made him good at Northwestern translates necessarily to a place like Michigan State, who is going to have much different expectations than Northwestern had.  And David Braun has pretty much matched what Fitzgerald has done there when you consider he doesn't have a Big Ten West to feast upon like Fitzgerland did.

I don't think the hazing incidents should disqualify him for future jobs. However I do think he should have to answer questions about what he learned and what he is going to do to prevent that from happening again. Did that happen? Who knows?

Finally, I am not sure if he is going to be a guy who can translate to the NIL / transfer portal era, but who knows...

[WhiteTrash]

From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken:

This is the product of an ecosystem where players changing jobs on a whim or for a paycheck is a crisis that needs to be dealt with immediately and regulated through a literal act of Congress, while coaches getting paid $10 million a year wrecking their own teams gets met with a shoulder shrug.

I don't know who Dan Wolken is, but maybe he doesn't follow US sports?

The Kiffen story is a million miles away from being "met with a shoulder shrug", it is absolutely the biggest story in American sports right now, with people weighing in on both sides.

Also, the concept that coaches and players should be treated the exact same way is foolish considering the myriad of differences. Anyone who takes and honest and informed review of the two situations knows it's 'apples and oranges'; yes both fruits (college sports), but different.

[MU82]

I don't know who Dan Wolken is, but maybe he doesn't follow US sports?

The Kiffen story is a million miles away from being "met with a shoulder shrug", it is absolutely the biggest story in American sports right now, with people weighing in on both sides.

Also, the concept that coaches and players should be treated the exact same way is foolish considering the myriad of differences. Anyone who takes and honest and informed review of the two situations knows it's 'apples and oranges'; yes both fruits (college sports), but different.

I believe he's talking about the NCAA "establishment" shrugging its collective shoulders about coaches while going ape-shyte about athletes. It might be apples and oranges ... but should it be? You say yes, others likely say no.

[WhiteTrash]

I believe he's talking about the NCAA "establishment" shrugging its collective shoulders about coaches while going ape-shyte about athletes. It might be apples and oranges ... but should it be? You say yes, others likely say no.

I actually think most people would, after thinking it all the way through, would not want the coaches and players working under the same rules. I think most people, like myself, think they should both be treated fairly, but differently.

[The Sultan]

I don't know who Dan Wolken is, but maybe he doesn't follow US sports?

The Kiffen story is a million miles away from being "met with a shoulder shrug", it is absolutely the biggest story in American sports right now, with people weighing in on both sides.

Also, the concept that coaches and players should be treated the exact same way is foolish considering the myriad of differences. Anyone who takes and honest and informed review of the two situations knows it's 'apples and oranges'; yes both fruits (college sports), but different.

He actually mentions how SEC commish Greg Sankey is lobbying Congress about the perils of the NIL and portal era and how it impact students, but doesn't say a peep when one of its schools is poaching the coach of another one its schools right before the playoffs.

[WhiteTrash]

He actually mentions how SEC commish Greg Sankey is lobbying Congress about the perils of the NIL and portal era and how it impact students, but doesn't say a peep when one of its schools is poaching the coach of another one its schools right before the playoffs.

I get that. Sankey is doing the bidding of his bosses and maybe it or isn't fair what they are pushing for, but I just think people need to be careful comparing coaches and players as if they are interchangeable. I don't think the players would like some of the contract issues and work demands that coaches have.

Again, I'm in favor of treating players and coaches fairly, but not necessarily the same.

[Pakuni]

Sounds like UCLA is hiring James Madison's Bob Chesney.
So, maybe two teams heading to the playoff team with a different coach than the one that got them there.

[The Sultan]

Sounds like UCLA is hiring James Madison's Bob Chesney.
So, maybe two teams heading to the playoff team with a different coach than the one that got them there.

Hmmmm...

I thought that's who PSU has been targeting. They have been very quiet which leads me to believe they have someone all but locked up?

[cheebs09]

Sounds like UCLA is hiring James Madison's Bob Chesney.
So, maybe two teams heading to the playoff team with a different coach than the one that got them there.

UClA seems like an odd fit. Feels like he could have gotten a higher profile job and doesn't really have west coast ties.

[Pakuni]

Hmmmm...

I thought that's who PSU has been targeting. They have been very quiet which leads me to believe they have someone all but locked up?

There's been some chatter about DeBoer, but that didn't make sense unless he really hates it at Bama, and probably makes less sense now that they seem headed for the playoffs and has another top 5 recruiting class lined up.

Kalani Sitake's name has been out there, but would he leave his alma mater, especially now that it's shown to be a player in the NIL world?

Manny Diaz makes sense, but will they be happy in State College with a guy who flamed out at Miami?

[Pakuni]

https://x.com/JoePompliano/status/1995527907481882906?s=20