Pat Fitz

NCHawker

NCHawker

Well-Known Member
Does anyone think Fitz will coach again? I've wondered if he might replace Phil Parker if he retires while his son is still on the team.

His son is a walk on. I've often thought that he's a walk on beause he does not need a schollly as his dad is quite well to do. No need to tie up a scholly there.
 


He's only 50 years old. He was an excellent coach during his time at NW. The hazing allegations, while disgusting, did not implicate him directly. In fact, they specifically found he did not know about the hazing, but was fired as the captain of the ship. I would not think that would make him too toxic. That said, I could see being fired from your dream job under those circumstances as chilling his desire to coach again. If he is smart and invested, he should be sitting on 50 million. So, he doesn't have to work.

I don't see Parker retiring in the next three years.

Honestly, had not thought of this guy in a couple years.
 


Not sure what Fitz wants to do. Despite the hazing scandal and how it ended at NW. He is highly respected in the football world, and jobs in the NFL and college are there if he wants them.
 


NCHawker said:
Does anyone think Fitz will coach again? I've wondered if he might replace Phil Parker if he retires while his son is still on the team.

His son is a walk on. I've often thought that he's a walk on beause he does not need a schollly as his dad is quite well to do. No need to tie up a scholly there.
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Hard to say maybe not at the D1 level. I don't see Fitz coming onto Iowas staff.. I think if that was in play he may already have done so.

Schollys/walkons aren't such a huge deal anymore. The only number that matters is 105. How you get to 105 kinda does and each school will be a little different with that. I will be curious how the son looks. It's so tough for a walk on qb to get a scholly once he's walked on. They have to stumble into the starting job and not only do well but look like they deserve it for the following season before that'd be considered. So it's a good thing $ isn't a factor for his family.
 


I think he has one kid left in high school. I know he was very invested in the local community, even while still at Northwestern. I have a couple colleagues in Evanston with similar age kids and they said he was always at pizza parties, school events, birthday parties, everything....even from when the kids were really young. My guess is maybe he stays in Evanston until the last kid is done with high school.

But I've always thought that his re-entry into college coaching might be through Kirk or part of the Ferentz tree. (I think he's been volunteer coaching his kid's team recently).

If his kid is still at Iowa in a couple years, I could see empty nesters Fitz and Mrs. Fitz getting a place in Iowa City and Fitz taking on a special assistant role for the Hawks. Something that lets him get back on the field during practice. Depending on how things fall out post Kirk - say Woods is named head coach and Wallace leaves - maybe Fitz would be interested in DC.

Or maybe he wants to be a head coach again very soon. Who knows. I do think he'll coach college football for many, many years still. It's who he is. (Just a guess).
 


He didn’t get to play in the rose bowl because of a broken leg suffered during the Iowa game. They won that game but word is he really has held animosity against Iowa ever since. I think he’s a good coach but doubt he would coach here unless to sabotage.
 


HawkeyeHypnosis said:
He didn’t get to play in the rose bowl because of a broken leg suffered during the Iowa game. They won that game but word is he really has held animosity against Iowa ever since. I think he’s a good coach but doubt he would coach here unless to sabotage.
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I mean Kirk is one of his closest friends in the business, he's been on the Iowa sidelines for a game, and his kid is now on the team...
 


No way in HELL if I had his money would I get back into coaching in the NIL era. You have to be a salesman first and football coach second in 2025.
 


HawkeyeHypnosis said:
He didn’t get to play in the rose bowl because of a broken leg suffered during the Iowa game. They won that game but word is he really has held animosity against Iowa ever since. I think he’s a good coach but doubt he would coach here unless to sabotage.
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This is not a serious take. The guy sent his kid to Iowa as a walk-on. He and KF get along very well. Fitz always said that when he took over the NW job, Iowa was the school that he wanted to beat because Iowa was a consistent winner and the program he was trying to get NW to be.
 






NorthKCHawk said:
When KF hangs them up, he would be on my short list of HC candidates to interview.
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I think he is a great coach, but out of curiosity I looked up his conference winning percentage. A little rough. 46% vs. 59% for Kirk. That's a pretty significant gap and would be a tough sell. I get Northwestern is a tough place to win, but Iowa isn't easy either. I think you'd hope to see a gap half that size if you are hiring Fitz to Iowa.

Matt Campbell is at 56% at Iowa State, another tough place to win.
 






SwirlinLingerie said:
I think he is a great coach, but out of curiosity I looked up his conference winning percentage. A little rough. 46% vs. 59% for Kirk. That's a pretty significant gap and would be a tough sell. I get Northwestern is a tough place to win, but Iowa isn't easy either. I think you'd hope to see a gap half that size if you are hiring Fitz to Iowa.

Matt Campbell is at 56% at Iowa State, another tough place to win.
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Not as tough as it used to be. The "big"12 is a lot softer and TV money has leveled the playing field within the conference.
 


SwirlinLingerie said:
I think he is a great coach, but out of curiosity I looked up his conference winning percentage. A little rough. 46% vs. 59% for Kirk. That's a pretty significant gap and would be a tough sell. I get Northwestern is a tough place to win, but Iowa isn't easy either. I think you'd hope to see a gap half that size if you are hiring Fitz to Iowa.

Matt Campbell is at 56% at Iowa State, another tough place to win.
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Fat Pitzgerald hates the Hawks, but I don't know if there's anyone on planet Earth or beyond who hates the Hawkeyes as bad as Matt Campbell. And I love it.
 


SwirlinLingerie said:
I think he is a great coach, but out of curiosity I looked up his conference winning percentage. A little rough. 46% vs. 59% for Kirk. That's a pretty significant gap and would be a tough sell. I get Northwestern is a tough place to win, but Iowa isn't easy either. I think you'd hope to see a gap half that size if you are hiring Fitz to Iowa.

Matt Campbell is at 56% at Iowa State, another tough place to win.
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I don't agree that Iowa is a tough place to win. We have had 40 years of mostly winning football under Coach Fry and KF. We have a great stadium, fan support, donor support, resources, a top conference and facilities. For most of that time we have owned our relatively low populous state, although The Clowns have made some inroads here and there. The biggest downside is geography, but that is challenge for all Midwestern schools. All and all, Iowa is a pretty good platform for winning.

Compare that to NW. Start with the rigorous academic requirements that probably wipe out 70% of recruits that other schools can go after. They play in a high school stadium. They have very modest history of success. They have tepid fan support demonstrated by the fact that Iowa fans made up 80% of the crowd in the Wrigley game two years ago. They play in the second toughest conference in the country and their primary recruiting ground, Chicago, is hit hard by every team in the Midwest. NW is a shit place to win.

A near 50% winning percentage at NW is not terrible. And consider, Fitz has some stinkers, but also won the West and had a couple seasons where NW was marginally relevant on a national scale. Fitz can coach. I would be fine if he was Iowa's next coach.
 


Iowa is no doubt an easier place to win than Northwestern. But you could also argue Gary Barnett and Randy Walker laid the groundwork for Fitz. They won as many Big Ten titles as Hayden in fewer years. At Northwestern! Something you certainly can't say about places like Minnesota or Indiana (among others).

I do think Fitz is a very good coach. My main point is that the 13% gap in winning percentage with both playing in the Big Ten West probably makes Fitz a pretty tough sell to most Iowa fans. That and he went 1-8, 1-8 and 1-8 in the Big Ten in 3 of his last 4 seasons.

I do think he'd do pretty well at Iowa - but mostly looking at how the hire would be perceived by fans/donors.
 


SwirlinLingerie said:
Iowa is no doubt an easier place to win than Northwestern. But you could also argue Gary Barnett and Randy Walker laid the groundwork for Fitz. They won as many Big Ten titles as Hayden in fewer years. At Northwestern! Something you certainly can't say about places like Minnesota or Indiana (among others).

I do think Fitz is a very good coach. My main point is that the 13% gap in winning percentage with both playing in the Big Ten West probably makes Fitz a pretty tough sell to most Iowa fans. That and he went 1-8, 1-8 and 1-8 in the Big Ten in 3 of his last 4 seasons.

I do think he'd do pretty well at Iowa - but mostly looking at how the hire would be perceived by fans/donors.
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