[NU Sports] OSU game highlighted Randy Walker's shortcomings

[John Labbe]

You'll have to remind me about the "promising moments" in the '98 season.  As I recall, we were 0-8 in the Big Ten and we were blown out at home by Duke.

Assuming a win on Saturday, Walker will be 14-10 in the Big Ten over the past 3 years.  I don't have time right now to compare that to see how it ranks among other Big Ten teams, but I'd venture a guess that it's about the middle of the pack or perhaps the upper-middle.

It's not fair to look at Walker's entire record; let's talk about what he's done the past few years.  Barnett didn't have a winning record at Northwestern, either.  His best 3-season Big Ten record was 18-6 and then the following season he was 0-8.  Hardly consistent.

My biggest question, though, is if we fire Walker, who would we hire?  Charlie Weis is spoken for.

Do we try to read the tea leaves and hire an "up and coming" coach who may or may not win, but if he does, he will promptly leave for a better program?


On Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at 12:00PM, Joe Thiegs <thiegs at umn.edu> wrote:

>quite closely.  '97 and '98 had promising moments but didn't end too well,
>as I recall.  The point is that I don't think we'll find a coach much better