[NU Sports] What needs to be said...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> We all want Fitz to succeed, but at this point it
> really does seem  that he's 
> in over his head. Cats have been out-coached in 

What's important to remember, though, is Fitz was
pretty clear at the start of the year that he'd let
his coaches coach. It's a great philosophy, IMO ... if
you have the personnel in the coaching ranks to do
that.

>From what I saw yesterday, Fitz is doing his job of
firing up the kids and keeping the team motivated --
but the offensive coordinator is not doing his job.
Now McGee is new as well, but I would say he's clearly
the one in over his head right now and if he keeps
performing like this, Fitz needs to step in and become
more hands-on.

> done.  With our schedule, we 
> will be lucky to win one more game and that  may be
> a stretch (MSU desperate now 

I still think we can get two more W's if we open up
the offense. The defense was trying new things
(blitzes, bump coverages on the fades, etc.) - let the
O try as well and we can get those W's or at least set
up for next season. This season was going to be tough
anyway and probably a loss -- but it's a total loss if
we keep failing to use it to improve for next year.

> Of course, Fitz's job is secure for now (anybody
> know length of his  
> contract??), but if the team is performing at the 
> same level at midpoint next season, 
> then his future will really be  under serious

I want Fitz on the sidelines in Evanston for a long
time. He is the right man for the job. Yes, there will
be growing pains, but he gets at least five years
before he's even thought of as "under review," IMO.
The coordinators, OTOH, have really gotta show that
they deserve this freedom Fitz is giving them and so
far they have not. I've at least seen Colby trying new
things - I need to see McGee open up that offense.

> will not suppress my  
> disappointment with the play of a Wildcat team that
> had most starters  returning 

Well, losing a head coach, offensive coordinator,
offensive leader and defensive leader would be
devastating for most teams regardless of whether or
not the rest of the team returned.

I'm willing to give Fitz a lot of slack and think he's
doing most of what he should this year as a head coach
- represent the program well, recruit hard, not have
his team quit and motivate them through hard times.
But if he's giving his coordinators this much freedom
(again, a good idea in most circumstances), they
really need to show that they've earned it and Fitz'
biggest mistake may be not having his coordinators
prove themselves worthy. If he needs to become more
hands on, I'm sure he will, but I won't blame him for
trying the other way and while I'm frustrated and
disappointed, there's no way his job is even in
jeopardy of being in jeopary for a long time. This is
our guy and I expect to see Coach Fitz in purple for
decades in Evanston.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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

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