[NU Sports] Question re Fitz's contract

[Jonathan Hodges]

Whomever made the comment that Fitz was a "placeholder" may very well
be one of the least-informed people in football.  It was obvious by
putting Fitz into this role (which he was definitely being groomed for
and was working towards) that the administration made a long term
commitment.  Murphy and Bienen both concurred during the press
conference - directly addressing the "interim" question by saying that
Fitz is their guy and that he is definitely NOT interim.

Maybe if they had promoted one of the coordinators or Jerry Brown, the
situation would be much different, but the "PTB" stated that they want
to continue the stability that Walker built and therefore went with
Fitz.  It was a risk, but bold move, and all of us hopes it pays off.

Jonathan

On 8/7/06, John Labbe <johnl at mac.com> wrote:
> Mike's assessment hits the nail on the head.
>
> Whether Fitzgerald will be around for a little or a long time has little to do with the terms of his contract.  Since when has the terms of a coach's contract prevented him from either being fired or leaving?
>
> The consensus view on this List and around town is that Fitzgerald is the man for the job.  If he's a placeholder for anyone, I'd say he's a placeholder for himself---i.e., hopefully, he'll be a better coach after a few years of experience.  His committment to Northwestern is more than we could hope for from any coach, and he has a strong record as a leader.  His abilities as a head coach may remain to be seen, but by all accounts, he was tabbed to be Walker's successor, although that day came a bit sooner than anticipated.
>
> Does this Wolverine understand that Fitzgerald was named the best defensive player in the country for two years?  And his team beat Michigan both of those years.  Maybe you can just remind the Wolverine of that and let the future play itself out.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Monday, August 07, 2006, at 02:05PM, Mike Nolan <nolan at romaine.tssi.com> wrote:
>
> >> Well, two questions, actually.  What is its duration, and did the PTB
> >> release a dollar figure?  I got into it a bit with a Wolverine over the
> >> weekend, who is of the opinion that Fitz is actually a placeholder, and that
> >> his being named head coach without the "interim" qualifier is mere window
> >> dressing.  I sputtered, but didn't have the info to back it up.  Please
> >> advise!
> >
> >All coaches are 'interim' coaches, it's just a matter of time before they
> >are fired, quit, retire or move on.  :-)
> >--
> >Mike
> >
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> >
> >
>
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Jonathan W. Hodges
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