[NU Sports] New Defensive Coordinator

[Mike Nolan]

> I guess my only question is why Wisconsin is reporting that he was fired?

Well, if you believe the media, he was relieved of his duties after two 
years at Wisconsin because of the level of talent they were putting on 
the field, ie recruiting.  

That strikes me as odd because:

1.  Two years (probably less than that from a recruiting perspective) 
    isn't long enough to have really affected the starters much.

2.  The head coach is ultimately the person who makes the decisions on
    recruiting.

I think what it really means is that he and Bielema weren't on the
same page.  (Bielema is also someone whose background is in coaching
defenses, having been the DC at Kansas State and Wisconsin before 
replacing Alvarez, so the juniors and seniors at Wisconsin are people
he helped to recruit, not Hankwitz.)

However, I do have to say that I don't quite get this hire.  The guy is 60, 
he's a well-travelled coach, it looks to me like this is a stopgap move, I
just don't see this guy being the DC for more than a few years.  Perhaps
his biggest strength is that he's been nearly everywhere (Michigan,
Western Michigan, Purdue, Colorado, Texas A&M, Kansas, Arizona, 
Wisconsin) so he should have contacts all around the country.  

If this hiring is (also) based on a recommendation from Barnett, I'd have 
to wonder when Pat Fitzgerald is going to listen to his own inner voice
on coaching hires, not to that of his former coach.  

Or maybe he's just a placekeeper DC and Fitz plans to take (or keep) an
active role in that?
--
Mike Nolan