Fitz In The Pitz

[NorthKCHawk]

No decent name coach that didn’t graduate from and play at Northwestern is gonna touch that job with a ten foot pole.

1) Unremarkable, boring, tiny fan base.

2) Administrators who couldn’t possibly care less if the school even has football

3) Activist faculty that hates sports and wants the only thing the program has going for it (a new stadium) stopped cold turkey.

4) Inheriting a shit show of a roster and staff after the Titsgerald saga’s dust settled.

Fat Titsgerald was NW’s only hope and he allegedly blew it.

So your position is that if NW approached Woods and offered him the head coaching job Woods would turn it down and stay a position coach at Iowa? Be serious.

I agree that it is not a great job and I agree that any established coach with better options would not consider it for all the reasons you said. But, its still a HC position in the Big10 that would pay several million a year. Most guys don't go from position coach to HC at a Power 5 school. That is crazy and he would be foolish not to take it. Unless you are an assistant that is likely to land a Power 5 HC gig in the next year or so, you take the job, make the most of it, and hope that a better job comes along sooner rather than later.

 

[okeefe4prez]

So your position is that if NW approached Woods and offered him the head coaching job Woods would turn it down and stay a position coach at Iowa? Be serious.

I agree that it is not a great job and I agree that any established coach with better options would not consider it for all the reasons you said. But, its still a HC position in the Big10 that would pay several million a year. Most guys don't go from position coach to HC at a Power 5 school. That is crazy and he would be foolish not to take it. Unless you are an assistant that is likely to land a Power 5 HC gig in the next year or so, you take the job, make the most of it, and hope that a better job comes along sooner rather than later.

Yeah, I would have to think NU will have $4-5 million per annum and a 6 or 7 year contract to throw around. You get that thing up to $35 million and it would be really hard for all but the most promising coordinator level coaches to pass up.

 

[haydensly]

Eight former players have retained a civil rights attorney and are pursuing legal action. Northwestern will be writing some checks in the near future.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

No decent name coach that didn’t graduate from and play at Northwestern is gonna touch that job with a ten foot pole.

1) Unremarkable, boring, tiny fan base.

2) Administrators who couldn’t possibly care less if the school even has football

3) Activist faculty that hates sports and wants the only thing the program has going for it (a new stadium) stopped cold turkey.

4) Inheriting a shit show of a roster and staff after the Titsgerald saga’s dust settled.

Fat Titsgerald was NW’s only hope and he allegedly blew it.

Yeah it feels like for a guy like Woods or Leonard to take it would be career suicide. You'd be done before you even start. Coach 3-5 yrs and get fired with a terrible rep as a bad coach when it most likely isn't even the case.

It's just a terrible job. It's not like KF taking over Iowa for Fry when we were down. Iowa job has so many plusses to it compared to Northwestern at any point let alone now it's not even comparable. A guy like Woods as smart as he is can cherry pick his situation. He'd be better off going to a MAC school then taking the Northwestern gig.

The next Northwestern coach if it's not the DC/Intern they have in there now sticking around longer will not be a younger inexperienced 1st time coach looking to use it as a stepping stone. It'll be an older guy looking for a paycheck/just get his foot back in the door.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

So your position is that if NW approached Woods and offered him the head coaching job Woods would turn it down and stay a position coach at Iowa? Be serious.

I agree that it is not a great job and I agree that any established coach with better options would not consider it for all the reasons you said. But, its still a HC position in the Big10 that would pay several million a year. Most guys don't go from position coach to HC at a Power 5 school. That is crazy and he would be foolish not to take it. Unless you are an assistant that is likely to land a Power 5 HC gig in the next year or so, you take the job, make the most of it, and hope that a better job comes along sooner rather than later.

Not to answer for him but yeah I think Woods would gladly interview but I don't think he'd take it. I'd mentioned earlier that yeah it'd be a legit paycheck but man there's a good chance the new coach there may not win 4 or 5 games a yr there for the foreseeable future. Woods can wait hell take a MAC job first even. It'd be delusional with the layout of college football now to think Northwestern has a future worth diving into as a HC. I think Woods has more then cashing a check as a reason for wanting to become an HC.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Not to answer for him but yeah I think Woods would gladly interview but I don't think he'd take it. I'd mentioned earlier that yeah it'd be a legit paycheck but man there's a good chance the new coach there may not win 4 or 5 games a yr there for the foreseeable future. Woods can wait hell take a MAC job first even. It'd be delusional with the layout of college football now to think Northwestern has a future worth diving into as a HC. I think Woods has more then cashing a check as a reason for wanting to become an HC.

NW is a dumpster fire, so they are going to have to pay good money with a long contract to attract anyone. So, if you are Woods, an d NW offers you 6 years at 4 mill per, you would turn down 25 million guaranteed in the hopes you get a MAC job in a couple of years that pays you a quarter of that? Are you insane?

Take the money. You can always get a MAC job after you are done squeezing NW for all its worth. And who knows, if you somehow turn NW around, Alabama might come calling when Saban is done.

You can't count on a successful ladder climb. No coach can. You take the money and the opportunities when they present themselves, and a guy like Woods cannot turn down that sort of position and money at this point in his relatively young career. No way.

I appreciate your thinking, and maybe you would bet on yourself so hard that you would ignore 25 million guaranteed in the hopes that in the long run you will do better. Not me.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

Eight former players have retained a civil rights attorney and are pursuing legal action. Northwestern will be writing some checks in the near future.

I agree checks will be written, but not by NW. By their insurance carriers.

NW has plenty of money. All Big 10 schools do. Money is not the issue with NW. Its academic requirements, a crap fan base, and a shit stadium. They are addressing the third issue. As for the first two, NW has been successful in the past and Stanford has also had success with a similar yoke. Not saying it is an easy rebuild, but it can be done.

 

[Hawkboys]

NW has plenty of money. All Big 10 schools do. Money is not the issue with NW. Its academic requirements, a crap fan base, and a shit stadium. They are addressing the third issue. As for the first two, NW has been successful in the past and Stanford has also had success with a similar yoke. Not saying it is an easy rebuild, but it can be done.

This is why I see them throwing some big cash at David Shaw. Will also smooth over some of the racial tensions.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

NW is a dumpster fire, so they are going to have to pay good money with a long contract to attract anyone. So, if you are Woods, an d NW offers you 6 years at 4 mill per, you would turn down 25 million guaranteed in the hopes you get a MAC job in a couple of years that pays you a quarter of that? Are you insane?

Take the money. You can always get a MAC job after you are done squeezing NW for all its worth. And who knows, if you somehow turn NW around, Alabama might come calling when Saban is done.

You can't count on a successful ladder climb. No coach can. You take the money and the opportunities when they present themselves, and a guy like Woods cannot turn down that sort of position and money at this point in his relatively young career. No way.

I appreciate your thinking, and maybe you would bet on yourself so hard that you would ignore 25 million guaranteed in the hopes that in the long run you will do better. Not me.

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That's certainly a way to do it too. I bet you're not far off with the $ figures either. More folks are probably are in your corner then the one I'm putting out there for what I feel like Woods would do. But he could prove me wrong. But that's what he'd have to do. I think a guy as good of a coach as he is that's stayed at Iowa and stayed a position coach/special teams coach for as long as he has isn't looking to take a terrible HC job just for a check. He could've already went places to become a coordinator and turned down overtures I would bet. He's really well thought of in the coaching community and I think he's picky about what he's looking for in a next job. Be it coordinator HC or whatever.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

This is why I see them throwing some big cash at David Shaw. Will also smooth over some of the racial tensions.

Hadn't thought of him for it but that makes a ton of sense. He seems like a west coast guy but I could certainly see that. Northwestern would be nuts to not reach out and gauge his interest.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

Almost every assistant out there who hasn't been a head coach before (or even a D or O coordinator) would take the Northwestern job.

You are talking about $700k vs. $25M. It's not even a question. Plus it is in the Big Ten.

I think Northwestern has some challenges, but so do about half of the Big Ten schools. Northwestern can still compete just fine with the bottom half of the conference.

Say a guy like Woods took the gig. Even with a losing record, he'd certainly raise his profile. And if he ran a clean program, found creative ways to be semi-competitive, and recruited above expectations, he'd do far more to help his career than hurt it.

That plus he'd have $25M, so he could go coach high school for the rest of his life and live pretty comfortably.

 

[Fryowa]

So your position is that if NW approached Woods and offered him the head coaching job Woods would turn it down and stay a position coach at Iowa? Be serious.

Yes. He has much better places he can go. If they approached him like that his agent would make several phone calls and he’d have more than one better offer before the day was over. I know the guy and his family, and he’s had attractive offers he’s turned down. If NW offered him you’d see one of two things happen…it’d speed up his ascension with a sweeter deal at Iowa, or he’d be gone somewhere with way more of a future and following than NW.

You are also severely underestimating how bad he wants to stay in Iowa City. Whether you believe it or not ain’t no thang to me.

 

[Fryowa]

Almost every assistant out there who hasn't been a head coach before (or even a D or O coordinator) would take the Northwestern job.

You are talking about $700k vs. $25M. It's not even a question. Plus it is in the Big Ten.

I think Northwestern has some challenges, but so do about half of the Big Ten schools. Northwestern can still compete just fine with the bottom half of the conference.

Say a guy like Woods took the gig. Even with a losing record, he'd certainly raise his profile. And if he ran a clean program, found creative ways to be semi-competitive, and recruited above expectations, he'd do far more to help his career than hurt it.

That plus he'd have $25M, so he could go coach high school for the rest of his life and live pretty comfortably.

That’s a huge (and totally false) assumption that a coach worth NW offering “$25M” wouldn’t have other offers as soon as it became known. You don’t keep those things under wraps.

 

[Fryowa]

NW is a dumpster fire, so they are going to have to pay good money with a long contract to attract anyone. So, if you are Woods, an d NW offers you 6 years at 4 mill per, you would turn down 25 million guaranteed in the hopes you get a MAC job in a couple of years that pays you a quarter of that? Are you insane?

Take the money. You can always get a MAC job after you are done squeezing NW for all its worth. And who knows, if you somehow turn NW around, Alabama might come calling when Saban is done.

You can't count on a successful ladder climb. No coach can. You take the money and the opportunities when they present themselves, and a guy like Woods cannot turn down that sort of position and money at this point in his relatively young career. No way.

I appreciate your thinking, and maybe you would bet on yourself so hard that you would ignore 25 million guaranteed in the hopes that in the long run you will do better. Not me.

View attachment 10189

You’re projecting a cookie cutter personality on LeVar Woods, lol. That ain’t him.

It’s actually kind of funny how far off base you are.

I’ll come right out and say it, he wants to be the next Hayden Fry and he’s not a money chaser. His wife isn’t that way, his kids aren’t that way, and I don’t know how to tell you that so you understand. There’s a reason the guy had such a glowing article written about him in the Atlantic. His personality and ethics are built different. But keep on keep on’ on lol.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

That’s a huge (and totally false) assumption that a coach worth NW offering “$25M” wouldn’t have other offers as soon as it became known. You don’t keep those things under wraps.

It raises an assistant coach's profile to be interviewed for a head job, but in no way assures him of getting a head coach offer from another school. Especially not in P5, and definitely no guarantee it'd be an offer in the Big Ten. A bit like winning the lottery to get that offer.

Especially for a Black man. Lots of instances of always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Both in the NFL and college. But I'm not really talking about Woods specifically. I hope he gets a shot at Iowa.

 

[kicker22]

So your position is that if NW approached Woods and offered him the head coaching job Woods would turn it down and stay a position coach at Iowa? Be serious.

I agree that it is not a great job and I agree that any established coach with better options would not consider it for all the reasons you said. But, its still a HC position in the Big10 that would pay several million a year. Most guys don't go from position coach to HC at a Power 5 school. That is crazy and he would be foolish not to take it. Unless you are an assistant that is likely to land a Power 5 HC gig in the next year or so, you take the job, make the most of it, and hope that a better job comes along sooner rather than later.

I think you're way off base. You're right that most guys don't go from position coach to HC at a Power 5 school, but if Woods were to go and failed, which the writing is on the wall that it will happen, in that dumpster fire of a situation you ruin any chance you had of finding a legitimate HC position when it opens up. If you need the money that bad your essentially taking a paycheck now rather than investing in the future where you'll most likely get a worthwhile opportunity without committing career suicide diving into a dumpster fire.

 

[kicker22]

Yeah it feels like for a guy like Woods or Leonard to take it would be career suicide. You'd be done before you even start. Coach 3-5 yrs and get fired with a terrible rep as a bad coach when it most likely isn't even the case.

It's just a terrible job. It's not like KF taking over Iowa for Fry when we were down. Iowa job has so many plusses to it compared to Northwestern at any point let alone now it's not even comparable. A guy like Woods as smart as he is can cherry pick his situation. He'd be better off going to a MAC school then taking the Northwestern gig.

The next Northwestern coach if it's not the DC/Intern they have in there now sticking around longer will not be a younger inexperienced 1st time coach looking to use it as a stepping stone. It'll be an older guy looking for a paycheck/just get his foot back in the door.

Agreed, it's going to be years before they're bringing in any worthwhile recruits, let alone the type to fit a system or build a team around. So you suck for multiple years then in 3-4 years when you start getting the those players into the system they let you go because you're not winning games. Thanks but no thanks. I'd much rather go outside the power 5 then play with those odds.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Not to answer for him but yeah I think Woods would gladly interview but I don't think he'd take it. I'd mentioned earlier that yeah it'd be a legit paycheck but man there's a good chance the new coach there may not win 4 or 5 games a yr there for the foreseeable future. Woods can wait hell take a MAC job first even. It'd be delusional with the layout of college football now to think Northwestern has a future worth diving into as a HC. I think Woods has more then cashing a check as a reason for wanting to become an HC.

Damn. Just think of the special teams they'd have!

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Agreed, it's going to be years before they're bringing in any worthwhile recruits, let alone the type to fit a system or build a team around. So you suck for multiple years then in 3-4 years when you start getting the those players into the system they let you go because you're not winning games. Thanks but no thanks. I'd much rather go outside the power 5 then play with those odds.

Woods is in the drivers seat. If a younger guy looking to become a first time HC is serious about having a HC coaching career you don't take that job. KF and anyone that's anyone would advise him as such too. Yeah if you wanna get paid like Frost did and that be the end of your HC road then go for it. But Woods doesn't strike me as that type at all.

That job needs another hometown hero like Fitz was or an out of work older guy that can right the ship. I lean towards the older guy preferably that has no ties to the program at all. I'd seen Shaw mentioned and I doubt he'd take it but he'd be my first call. He'd probably rather keep cashing checks doing TV instead of taking on a dumpster fire like that but make him say no. Maybe Paul Chryst or someone like that

 

[Northside Hawk]

WSCR, the main sports radio station out of Chicago that's been all over this, is mixed on whether the Cats will punt 2023.

It has to be on the table. Or the possibility of forfeiting their games. The legal battle has just begun to begin and could take months or years. A powerful lawyer or lawyers could force the school to put Fitz back in the saddle until a verdict. Players by the dozen could transfer out of there or decommit. A plaintiff group led by at least one former player is expected to go public tomorrow with God knows what.

Meanwhile there is defeaning silence, for now, from the defendant's side of this.