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

[johnadeg at comcast.net]

NU can't peg the salaries of assistant coaches to what Fitz is earning.  NU will have to pay them more than he is making, but so what.  I knew of a number of situations in the corporate world where people were making more than their bosses.  

John DeGroat
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Jeff Beamsley" <jeff.beamsley at hilgraeve.com>
> 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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