[NU Sports] You saw it coming...

[John Labbe]

What the heck are you talking about?  The article I read, which I'm sure is the one you're now referring to, consisted of speculation by the reporter that with a winning season, Walker might be considered by other schools.  Walker's response was that he wasn't looking, but that like anyone else he had a price, although he wasn't sure what it was, but he suggested it would have to be high to get him to leave Northwestern.

I think your response to this article is a little out of whack.

There's no mention of any offers whatsoever anywhere in the article.  The only speculation is by the reporter, and then on this list when someone posted a thread entitled "Walker leaving," which mistated the article altogether.

Here's the link:
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/cs-041123nu,1,1892420.story?coll=cs-college-headlines

How can you possibly construe this as you do?  It looks like Walker was just asked a few questions at a press conference and he gave some answers that suggest the opposite of what you indicate he said.  What quote of his is a "fabrication?"






On Monday, November 29, 2004, at 02:17AM, <BSchooler at aol.com> wrote:

>In a message dated 11/28/2004 9:31:16 AM Central Standard Time, 
>rstetson at capps-assoc.com writes:
>
>I haven't posted to this list in nearly a year, but Roy Lamberton's recent 
>post requires a response. Roy wrote:
>
>> First off, all the talk about RW leaving is just idle talk - Randy has 
>> given no
>> indication that he plans to leave and Mark Murphy has given no indication in
>> public that he is displeased with the football team's performance under 
>> Walker.
>> Read the WGN postgame interviews on Purple Reign...
>
>I challenge Roy or anyone else to find any independent verification outside 
>Randy Walker's own quotes in the newspaper that corroborate any 
>serious/legitimate interest from anyone else in hiring Randy Walker away from Northwestern. 
>If there is such corroboration, I will publicly apologize on this List Serve. 
>But I won't have to publicly apologize because this is a Randy Walker 
>fabrication. BTW, this isn't the first time RW has pulled this stunt since he has been 
>at Northwestern. A couple years ago, he went to the newspapers to let us know 
>about alleged job offers. Let me ask all of you something. If there was 
>serious/legitimate interest from another school in hiring Randy Walker, would he 
>blab about it to the Chicago papers? Of course not. Randy Walker's self-promoting 
>claims of job offers/feelers in the Chicago papers say more about his 
>character, or lack thereof, than they do about the demand for his services as a 
>coach. This was nothing more than a cheap, transparent attempt by Randy Walker to 
>rally support for himself. If I were Mark Murphy, I'd seriously consider firing 
>Randy Walker for having gone to the Chicago papers about job offers/feelers 
>whether legitimate or not.
>
>
>> 
>> Anyway, there are few coaches out there who could actually handle all of the
>> higher standards imposed by NU on its recruiting, etc. Like him or not, 
>> Walker
>> does a good job with what he can get.
>
>If Randy Walker isn't one of the "few coaches out there who could actually 
>handle all of the higher standards imposed by NU on its recruiting", then he 
>should be fired. However, I don't believe RW falls into this category. 
>Northwestern's "higher standards" is a red herring. There are plenty of highly regarded 
>recruits who could get admitted to Northwestern, would want to matriculate at 
>Northwestern and play Big Ten football at one of the nation's premier 
>universities. No, the main problem with recruiting is that Randy Walker is a lousy 
>recruiter. He's a stubborn bully and potential recruits can see that he hasn't 
>done a "good job with what he can get".
>
>> 
>> Many penalties come from kids who are trying harder than they can normally
>> perform. They over reach, and do something that draws the flag. NU has that
>> problem.
>
>Perhaps. But what Coach Roy has described are kids who are playing without 
>discipline. One of the most important responsibilities of a Head Coach is to get 
>his players to perform within their capabilities. For six years under Randy 
>Walker, we've seen an inordinate number of stupid penalties. That's a lack of 
>discipline which is a direct result of poor coaching. For crying out loud; 
>Northwestern has earned a reputation as a dirty team under Randy Walker. And no, I 
>don't attribute the stupid penalties to over aggressiveness, either.
>
>> 
>> What was apparent last night was our lack of sheer speed. College football 
>> has
>> turned into a faster, stronger sport and NU is racing to catch up. 
>> Unfortunately
>> there are just not enough speed demons out there with the ability to get 
>> into
>> NU.
>> 
>
>First of all, Northwestern has improved overall team speed to the point where 
>we are at least average. Sure, we could use faster players. But who couldn't? 
>Lack of speed didn't seem to be an insurmountable problem against Ohio State 
>- the fastest team in the Big Ten. No, the real problem is poor coaching and 
>ineffectual schemes; not lack of speed. Good coaches design schemes that allow 
>players to be successful within their capabilities. Our defensive and 
>offensive game plans against Hawaii were pathetic. More troubling, however, is Roy's 
>contention that "there are just not enough speed demons out there with the 
>ability to get into NU". Is the implication that fast players are not as 
>intelligent as slow players? Or is the implication that fast players are Black players 
>of whom there are "not enough . . . out there with the ability to get into 
>NU". If it's the latter, I dispute this implication. There are plenty of fast 
>African American student athletes out there. If there aren't enough of them at 
>Northwestern, the problem is Randy Walker's recruiting. If Randy Walker can't 
>convince qualified black student athletes to attend Northwestern, we need to 
>replace him with a coach who can.
>
>Bob Schooler 
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