I’ve also figured we wouldn’t get rid of Ahen. If he’s back he needs to be surrounded with veteran coaches with dc experience
Coaching Carousel (Football)
- Status
I’ve also figured we wouldn’t get rid of Ahen. If he’s back he needs to be surrounded with veteran coaches with dc experience
After completely fumbling the last two, this is a nice hire.
Michigan State plans to hire Pat Fitzgerald as next football coach
Michigan State football intends to hire former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald after firing Jonathan Smith after two seasons.www.freep.com
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
John Talty @JTalty on Twitter has some interesting video of Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss and the crowd reaction. I would post but I don't want banned. Lots of middle fingers seen.
If you have to surround someone with caretakers they aren't fit for the job.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
This is like the NFL team that signs a well-respected backup for the hotshot young QB. What always happens at the first sign of the young QB struggling?
If you have multiple defensive coordinators, then you don’t have a defensive coordinator.
I don’t know when we had Walter’s, we also had Kane and Buh who had dc experience.
he won the lawsuit and a lot of $ and they found no proof that he knew of any of the stuff that was happening... I'm not saying he didn't do anything wrong- I have no idea- but at least in this situation- they found nothing that was an indictment against him. I'm not even saying he should have another job.. the stuff that happened under his watch is gross and horrific..
Last edited:
They just got a new AD that didn’t hire Smith
Regarding MSU as a university, they have struggled mightily do what is right in sports. Larry Nassar and numerous football/basketball player scandals over the years which I'm too polite to go in great detail. I don't know Fitz the person/human, I would guess that he is a good person overall. But he had a major failing in what occurred at NU. Every organization has had a "zero tolerance" for hazing, to allow it and promote it is a significant error in judgement.
I don't know how he will do at MSU. But I have learned that culture eats stratedgy, I don't know if new recruits would trust that this coach has changed. If Beiliema is seriously recruiting against Fitz in Illinois, please refer those kids parents to past news events.
I don't know how he will do at MSU. But I have learned that culture eats stratedgy, I don't know if new recruits would trust that this coach has changed. If Beiliema is seriously recruiting against Fitz in Illinois, please refer those kids parents to past news events.
The Chicago media is heavy with Northwestern graduates. That probably accounts for the Fitz love. I doubt Fitz will get the same love when he is coaching Sparty. Also, much of Fitz's success can be attributed to his defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz (played and coached for Bo Schembechler). After Hankwitz retired after the 2020 season Northwestern went 3-9 in 2021 and 1-11 in 2022 under Fitz. Sparty can do better.
A significant role of coordinators and positon coaches in college is to recruit. Illinois this year struggled on defense against the better teams (Washington, OSU, Indy) and overall defensive rating was low among D-1 colleges. Same goes for the O-Line, we just didn't have the Jacas type athletes on the D line and better OL players. We need a DC that will not consistently get beat out for the best instate DL/Edge rushers. Illinois overacheived the last 4 years with talent rated in the 60-70 range among D1 colleges. We are often below Rutgers, Maryland, Minnesota, and NU. This year recruiting class is significantly better than the past, similar to what Nebraska and Iowa get. We need to keep this level of recruiting for the next 4 years to see a jump in the results IMHO (consistant 8-9 wins, close losses to top teams).
Bret and Fitz are extremely close. Bret’s not going to bash him.
yup
I’ve never been a fan of negative recruiting or sales tactics .
some guys swear by it - PJ Fleck comes to mind
At the time it was said: Though the university said there was no "sufficient" evidence that coaches knew about the misconduct, its president said Fitzgerald "should have known."
The school settled because they messed up in not firing him to begin with and only did so after they were crucified in the media. How is that being cleared?
'Many of the acts included forced nudity, touching and "dry humping," the lawsuit says, alleging that Fitzgerald "took part in the harassment, hazing, bullying, assault and/or abuse of athletes."'
Attachments
Needless to say that Leonhard would be a home run. As the Wiscy DC from 2017-2021, four of those five seasons they were top 10 in defensive efficiency: #4, #7, #1, #2 (2018 being the lone outlier).
Last edited:
Guardrails?
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Got to give up on Leonhard, he has a good NFL gig on a stellar defense. He is the same boat as Scheelhaase if not better.
https://www.denverbroncos.com/team/coaches-roster/jim-leonhard
I can’t imagine Leonhard being a realistic option, is he? Seems like he’s on a good trajectory in the NFL.
To set the record straight: Henry was named DC in Dec of 2022. Leonhard was hired as a senior analyst in July of 2023.
My 2 cents: After the 2023 season - where it was clear the defense was costing us games - I think we should've upgraded right then and there when he was still in your building.
- Status