[NU Sports] Re: OK, now what?

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> My heart, which is thrilled and excited to see a
> NU-all-the-way guy in charge, especially a legend
> like
> Pat Fitzgerald, is a lot more excited about Pat
> Fitzgerald than my head, which nags at me about

True - but I liked what I heard when I watched the
news conference on NUSports.com -- he is certainly
someone who is a fast learner, was being groomed and
is 31 in age only. That's not to say he's ready -- and
he realizes this isn't ideal -- but if he can learn on
the fly this year, the rest will seem easy by
comparison!

> Does the current staff stay intact? I would imagine
> it would almost have to. Will anybody leave? 
> 
I don't think anyone would leave right away - but
watch for any defections after this year to see who
might have been ticked about being passed over. I hope
no one is, but it'd be natural to be upset if a
31-year-old gets a job you put in years for ... still,
the coordinators had to like what Fitz said about
letting the coaches coach.

> What is Fitz's first big task? Where does he start?
> What will he change, if anything?
> 
Recruiting and keeping coaches is probably the biggie
right away -- it sounds like a plan for camp is in
place, so then it gets down to the Xs and Os of this
season. I'm sure we'll see our share of rookie
mistakes with timeouts called early, miscommunications
among staff and offensive sputters ... but it seems
like Fitz has the motivation and team aspects down --
the adjustments, nuances in gameplans, cohesiveness
among the staff, etc. will come with time.

> And what do we think of what this means for this
> season? I could see this season going any which way
> imaginable.

Definitely -- this season is just a tossup at this
point. Looking at it a month ago it was still a tough
climb -- all the home games save for OSU look
winnable, but we could lose 2-3 of those as well. The
road is tough -- Nevada will be tough, and the Big Ten
is brutal with Happy Valley, Madison, Iowa City and
the Big House.

The Miami game -- which will be filled with emotion --
would be a nice one to win for Walker and one we need
for any bowl hopes. After that, it's going to be a
question of how well Fitz and his staff can keep the
team focused one game at a time and keep spirits up
after a loss. The key game for the season may become
Purdue. After the brutal three-game road trip, we
could be 3-3 and those next two at home could tell
where we go this season.

But it's really a year when anything can happen -- new
OC, new QB, new coach ... I'll just be looking for the
little things on how Fitz motivates the team and keeps
emotions in check. It was a daunting schedule for a
returning coach and for a new coach it's gonna be
rough.

> It will be an adventure, and, as I said, my heart
> says Fitz is the way to go. 
> 
Yeah - I like it and it's a nice decisive, bold move
from Murphy. It might have some bumps and bruises at
the start, but it has the potential to be a huge hire
that could shape the NU program for decades to come if
we make it through the rough transition. Not ideal,
not a sure thing - but lots of upside if you believe. 

I liked Fitz' line about going from consistent winning
to the next step - consistent championships. If the
team and coaches can survive a trying year and start
building something with an energetic, charismatic and
bright/rising star leader on the sidelines as the face
of NU football for a long time, it could really have
the potential to take the Wildcat program to that next
level.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!

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