[NU Sports] Fitz tells Michigan he's not interested!

[Beamsley, Jeff]

I think it is a cautionary tale for NU too.
 
Michigan had a thrity+ year unbroken string of coaches who could trace themselves back to Bo.  They chose to break that string with Rodriguez because they were afraid what OSU had in Jim Tressel.  Now they are paying the price of being just ordinary for a while until they can find someone to either pick that string back up, or start a new one.
 
Hopefully PSU is watching and will gacefully transition to Bradley rather than respond to the pressures of groups who feel that JoePa's brand of football is out of style.
 
We're in the very early stages of building an enduring tradition here at NU.  Fitz is the one who will lead this program to the promised land BECAUSE he bridges the gap between our two great prophets - GB and RW.  I think he knows that he has the ability to become the next JoePa, but at Northwestern, not PSU.
 
So we as faithful have to also be careful to treasure the tradition that he is building and remind folks, when the program has a down year, that it is the traditions that make football programs special and not last year's won-loss record.
 
Jeff 
 
 


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From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com on behalf of Eric West
Sent: Fri 1/7/2011 10:58 AM
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Fitz tells Michigan he's not interested!



On 1/7/2011 9:05 AM, Beamsley, Jeff wrote:
> I'm happy that Fitz is staying, but I am sad at how this is playing out for what had been a premiere college football program.
>
> Michigan is supposed to be a "dream" job virtually any coach in the country would jump at.  Iinstead it is becoming another tawdry side show where the rest of the sporting world gets to watch as a whole series of coaches tell Michigan that they aren't interested.

I suppose it is sad for Michigan, but they aren't the first "premiere
college football program" to learn the hard way that times have changed.
Notre Dame, USC, Nebraska, Miami (and I could go on) have all been
there. It's a symptom of what is otherwise a good thing: increased
competition in top-level college football.

It may have started with scholarship restrictions, so the big programs
can't pad their depth chart with top athletes the way they used to --
and now those athletes are playing against them week after week -- but
some ADs (and plenty of alumni) still act like it's 1975 and have the
same expectations. As a result, good coaches are fired, their
replacements generally don't do much better, and other coaches start to
wonder what the upside is to working at a place where "success" is now
virtually impossible.

There are other factors -- increased media attention, infusion of cash
and pressure, etc. -- but at the center lies a simple fact: the big
programs aren't what they used to be and never will be again. Schools
that refuse to adapt to this reality will suffer the way Michigan has
(and other schools have before them). For me, that's fine; I certainly
would prefer not to turn back the clock.


Eric West
e-west at northwestern.edu

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