Better recruits and better coaching (was [NU Sports] Who cares about bias?)

[Jeff Beamsley]

When you sell out big football stadiums, you can afford to spend a lot of
money on the program.

As we all know, though, money doesn't buy you happiness.

In the case of NU, happiness comes from recruiting the kids who don't want to
go to OSU.  OSU is going for the kids with the stars after their names on the
rating charts.  NU is going for the kids with the "stars" after their names
on the academic charts.  When we find them, NU has the recruiting advantage.


Fortunately football is a team sport and we've seen NU put teams of "no name"
kids on the field that can win because they believe in the program and they
believe in each other.  That means good coaches and good recruiting.  

As best as we've been able to figure in past years, NU has been willing to
pay at least RW a competitive salary, but I suspect that Fitz is probably the
lowest paid coach in the BT right now.  That is likely going to make it more
difficult to attract "star quality" assistants because their salary to some
degree is set by what you are paying the HC.

I also suspect the current problem with attracting "star quality" coaching is
that Fitz is so young and inexperienced, and at the same time also coach for
life.  Assistants with ambition have two ways to advance, either they move up
when the head coach leaves, or they move out when they have demonstrated
success at their current job.  Fitz isn't going to be fired any time soon, so
NU isn't going to attract guys ready to make the next step to HC.  But it
appears that it is those sorts of guys that Fitz really needs right now.

Fitz also hasn't demonstrated, yet, that he knows how to win.  So any new
coaching blood is really going to have to be convinced that Fitz is the guy
that can get them to the next level.  He doesn't have the network or the
track record that RW did when he came here, so he doesn't have many of those
"experienced" hands to call on either.  So Fitz's only options are to work
with what he has, or look to take bigger chances with unproven assistants who
are willing to take a chance on him.  The former strategy doesn't appear to
be working.  It will be interesting if we start to see some evidence of the
later strategy.

Jeff


-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On
Behalf Of Arthur Miller
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 8:17 AM
To: 'Dennis W. Brandt'; nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] Who cares about bias?

Rants are boring, Dennis--and too easy after a day like yesterday.  So what
is your proposal?  Drop out of the Big Ten?  Throw more money into trying to
build a competitive program in the face of so many inherent disadvantages?

And what does Wofford have to do with the Big Ten?  Did they play a Big Ten
team yesterday?  Don't apply the Law of Transitivity; that doesn't work in
football.

Those watching the telecast yesterday heard the comment that the Buckeye
football team's annual budget exceeds the that of the entire NU athletic
department.  As if to reinforce the point, yesterday Ohio State announced a
raise for Thad Matta, so they are now paying their BASKETBALL coach $2.5M a
year.  Personally, I am starting to despair that we can ever be consistently
competitive in this conference.  Money is everything in this game, people,
and frankly we just don't have the numbers.




-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On
Behalf Of Dennis W. Brandt
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 6:00 AM
To: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Subject: [NU Sports] Who cares about bias?


No one mentioned the game.  Perhaps that is because there was no game.
There was Thermopylae with wimpy Spartans; Pickett in need of a charge.  We
were unqualified to be on the same field as Ohio State.  Speed and quickness
they have; we don't.  Size and strength they have; we don't.  Athleticism
they have; we don't.  Depth they have; we don't.  It doesn't matter who is
making the in-game coaching decisions.  As I posted earlier this week,
recruiting charts show it's not going to change in the near future.  Tyrell
Sutton's absence was no factor even if he had been upbeat along the
sidelines.  (You were hang-dogging it, Tyrell.)  This was a disgraceful but
likely inevitable performance that points out the inadequate talent on the NU
football team (as if Duke, losers yesterday to Navy and allowing 46 points,
hadn't done that already).  I fully expect the same treatment next week.
Hart will run for 200+ yards in less than three quarters, and whoever plays
quarterback will humiliate our defense.  We will be lucky to score one
offensive touchdown against Michigan's first-string defense.  Again, I would
dearly love to be wrong, but I don't think I will be.

RECRUITING!!!!  RECRUITING!!!!  RECRUITING!!!!  But do we even have a chance
at the best players with our ancient, rarely filled stadium, losing
tradition, and academic requirements?

On an unrelated note, how 'bout them Wofford Terriers!  More reason to doubt
the quality of Big 10 football.


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