Sorta OT: NW coach Pat Fitzgerald suspended 2 weeks due to hazing incidents
Apparently Pat Fitzgerald has been suspended for 2 weeks after the school investigated claims of hazing on the team during preseason camp. It doesn't seem that Fitzgerald or the other coaches directly knew of the hazing (though the only reporting around the findings is an executive summary and since NW is a private school it's likely they won't publish the rest any time soon, if at all), but as the head of the program he's still being held accountable.
Fitzgerald is an institution at NW but (a) they've been terrible the past couple of years and don't look to be much better this season, and (b) when off-the-field issues like hazing come up it can be the impetus to move on from a guy. Outside of the COVID season when NW had one of the oldest, most experienced teams in the country and went 7-2, their last 4 seasons have been 3-9, 7-2, 3-9, and 1-11. And while UM won't see them on the calendar until at least 2025 (I think) I wouldn't be totally shocked if he's not there at the helm.
Anyway, interesting bit of conference news on a slow Friday.
I'd also add that I generally doubt when coaches claim they don't know about thinks like hazing on their team. College coaches are the definition of micro-managers; staffs know the bowel movement patterns of that entire team. So somebody who should know knew what was likely happening and while perhaps there may be methods in place to provide plausible deniability for the HC I have my doubts that this behavior went on without at least tacit approval of somebody on the staff.
And by "tacit approval" you mean nothing more than some staffer not putting an end to it. Not one person would have agreed to approve the actions - but nobody stopped it. If you know and refuse to stop it, you have approved it.
I'm with you here - someone on the staff knew about what happened, and probably had an idea something would be happening beforehand, but did nothing to stop it.
Yeah. I assume some of those coaches, maybe even Fitzgerald, had heard rumors of the behavior (the summary notes that it was well-known amongst the players) if not witnessed it and didn't stop it. And not to play too much in cliches but Fitzgerald is a pretty "old school" coach in his outlook so wouldn't be a big surprise if he viewed the hazing as a part of the team dynamic/expected behavior.
Pat Fitzgerald is NOT the kind of old school coach who would condone hazing. Certainly not when I knew him anyway. I doubt he’s gone backwards on that any time recently.
Northwestern’s women’s soccer team got exposed on ESPN for hazing years ago. I was hazed a few different ways as part of my team. But I never heard a word about hazing on the football team and I lived in the same small house as 3 football players and hosted many football parties.
I mean, they talked to 50 current and former players and they largely corroborated the claims that hazing was a thing on the team since at least 2014. Again, it's probably not egregious and maybe not everyone experienced it, but anecdotal evidence about 3 people in a house not talking about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
One finding they noted in that report is that opinions varied on the level of hazing that went on. So perhaps Fitzgerald and others didn't view it as "hazing" the same way other did, and again it's unlikely to be at the level of NM State or even the NW women's soccer team. So maybe he didn't view it was hazing, which is understandable but doesn't negate the fact that a lot of people on the team apparently knew it existed.
The level of hazing is probably part of it. When I was in the military several E4's taped a few new privates to a bench for like a minute. I probably wouldn't have considered this hazing but the CO, the XO, the 1st Sgt and Battalion certainly did. All of the E4's involved got article 15's an extra duty. So it could be as little as that.
Yeah, I would bet his opinion was that it wasn't much in the way of hazing. Also remember "blood wings" and jump pins. That was known by everyone, but when the story came out brass acted like Captain Renault in Casablanca--"I'm shocked..."
I am sure Pat Fitzgerald "was aware, but not fully aware" of the hazing.
Assume, based on what exactly?
The fact that the executive summary noted
While the investigation did not uncover evidence pointing to specific misconduct by any individual football player or coach, participation in or knowledge of the hazing activities was widespread across football players.
If hazing has been going on since 2014 and of the 50 people you talked to there was broad consensus that it was well known on the team, I'd be pretty shocked if the coaches didn't hear stuff. You can make a different assumption based on that information but that's my take.
Quite vague and generic.
True. Ask Gym Jordan about knowing and not stopping behavior.
"Did you order the code red?!?"
"Your god damn right I did!"
*You're*
Who's gonna do it? You!? You Lt. Weinberg?
I auditioned for the part of Col. Jessup in a community theater production several years ago. Didn't get it, but this monologue was a lot of fun to read. The hardest part was trying NOT to sound like I was imitating Jack Nicholson. His delivery was so perfect that it's an easy habit to fall into.
"Major, read Coach Fitzgerald his rights."
Code red? Or a case of Purple hazing?
'scuse me while I kiss the sky
Oh! I always thought the lyrics were "'scuse me while I kiss this guy."
That clears up a LOT of confusion. Thanks
Yeah he can keep track of all 120 teenage boys, sure….not excusing the hazing but having coached a team of 47 I can say it ain’t easy monitoring everyone. Heck, the incidents may not have even happened in a football facility, could have been at a house party…
It's not a monitoring issue; it's a cultural issue. You don't control 120 of anyone; you lead them. Young men are particularly impressionable, and this isn't like a classroom where you're stuck with what's thrown at you -- he has full control over who comes, stays, and leaves. So, the HC has a lot of power, and how he uses it sets the tone for these sorts of things. It's not like coaches don't know what hazing is, so there's no excuse to not take measures to prevent it.
I don't expect him to know what every player is doing, but it's not unreasonable to hold the HC accountable for player behavior. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't want that responsibility, you're not cut out for leadership (which I'll admit rules out most leaders, but principle and reality are often different things).
one hundred percent.
kirby smart is taking some flak for the crap that has been surfacing lately around georgia football. not enough flak, but it’s out there. and he should. as you say, you can’t possibly know what everyone is doing, and every single team has idiots. as a coach, you lead, try to stay in touch, and take responsibility. that’s the job.
Yes, but (a) he has a staff of assistant coaches, assistants, etc. that mentor and watch over those 120 guys and build them into football players, and (b) knowing what's going on with your team is part of the job. You can't get paid almost $6M a year and also claim that you can't be held responsible for hearing about incidents that apparently went back at least since 2014. It doesn't sound like they could find evidence that he knew specifically about events, which probably means they were egregious displays of abuse or anything. And there's a good chance he didn't view this as hazing, which is maybe why he didn't step in to stop it. But I don't buy the defense that there's no way any of this didn't get back to him or his coaches. If there's evidence of that then I'd like NW to share the full report because otherwise these teams are run like little kingdoms and the guy at the top, out of necessity and personality, tends to know a lot about his players.
The report said hazing was "widely known." So, yeah, that's something the coach should know.
I used to think that Fitzgerald had the safest job in the world since NW didn't really care about sports that much. But now they are investing in updating the football stadium and other sports facilities. Perhaps expectations have risen some?
When you’re going 1-11 or 3-9 most years, with the occasional good year sprinkled in, I don’t think that’s raising expectations per se.
I think that’s just about allowing yourself to have expectations, period. It’s about having some respect for yourself as a program, and wanting others to respect your program in turn.
I don’t think the brass at Northwestern will ever make the mistake of having the expectation of competing for national championships. They won’t ever make the mistake of seeing OSU or Michigan line up across from them and saying to themselves “Yeah, we’re beating these guys, no biggie.”
But they certainly don’t want to be embarrassed. And save for the COVID season, the last few years Northwestern football has largely been an embarrassment.
Also, with the 12-team playoff coming it's not beyond the pale to expect you might get in once in a while. They finished in the top 10 of the final AP poll in 2020 and have multiple 10-win seasons semi-recently. Yes divisions are changing and it'll be harder but Fitzgerald is somewhat a victim of their own (relative) success in that he's given them a proof-of-concept around being more than a mediocre "smart kids" school. And so when you've sucked for a while plus you're letting hazing go on under your nose for years then that's not a good sign.
Didn't think about the expanded playoff aspect, so that's a good point. Northwestern would still likely not be a candidate for it eight or nine years out of ten, but Fitzgerald has occasionally had those strong, fundamentally sound, upperclassmen-laden teams that make their way inside the top-20, so Northwestern is certainly a school that 1-2x/decade can get within striking distance of the CFP. They'd probably still need to have some things break their way and win a game they're not supposed to win, but I wouldn't say its impossible.
"They won’t ever make the mistake of seeing OSU or Michigan line up across from them and saying to themselves “Yeah, we’re beating these guys, no biggie.”"
Too Soon...
Perkis,
I completely disagree about NU’s confidence to beat M and OSU. Besides the fact that NU did beat OSU when they were ranked #3 in the nation and coming off a recent national championship, I have seen the NU kids believe.
Back in the Marlin Jackson era M played a night game in Evanston. I remember NU QB Brett Basanez in my house breaking down the game plan to explain how they could exploit M’s weaknesses. I remember the offensive linemen talking about M’s front 7 were more talented than skilled and physically lacked the endurance of Ohio State’s front.
They also had a series of trick 2 point conversions up their sleeve that they were really excited about.
part of the genius of college coaching is convincing these kids they are likely to win any game every time they step on the field. I saw it all the time in 5 years at NU and once in a great while it worked.
I wasn't talking about the players and coaches so much as I was talking about the decision-makers at Northwestern. More specifically, the "brass" as I referred to them in my original post. I definitely get the players and coaches thinking they will make it happen (otherwise what in the heck are you playing the game for?), and maybe I phrased my statement poorly, but I don't think its far-fetched for a lot of them to sit there before that game and not expect Northwestern to win. I don't think its far-fetched to say that most, if not all of them are not really expecting Northwestern to be the kind of program that goes and competes for national championships in football.
But with coaches and players, its different, sure.
But I think a 3-9, or worse, every once in awhile comes with the territory at a place like Northwestern. There is just so little margin for error with recruiting.
I think a few years ago, Northwestern had the most stable staff in America--possibly by quite a margin. I know a few guys have left over the last half decade or so and I wonder if that's a big part of their issues the last few seasons.
Eh I feel like Northwestern is in the same boat as Indiana. The top level knows they're not a powerhouse and never will be. Fitzgerald can still claim several division titles and B1G Championship appearances. I think NW knows that anybody they hire after Fitz is just as likely to struggle and at least with Fitz, you know he's not looking at other gigs or giving less than 100% effort to the team.
This story certainly implies he's not giving 100%.
Don't be surprised if Fitzgerald is gone soon.
He's circling the drain, IMO. Similar to David Shaw.
My thoughts exactly. If hazing (not that I think it's acceptable) is the harshest of crimes NW can dig up it appears that a head coach vacany is on the horizon.
Meanwhile, there's a different culture at some schools where malicious acts of violence are somewhat tolerated as long as the programs are producing wins/championships.
Without a doubt, I'd say. The AD at NU wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't start putting the pressure on Fitzgerald to start winning, soon. All those donors putting out big $$ for their new facilities will definitely be expecting to see some kind of "return" on their investment. Yeah, probably getting to the Big Ten title game might be a longshot going forward and they know it, but 1-11 isn't going to cut it.
I think winning is important and I'm sure alumni and donors are griping to the AD about their performance but the new facility they're building is more about having concerts and other events there than it is about making the football program more competitive. The money will get recouped through events. The stadium is going to be smaller than the current one.
I would note that their athletic director, Derick Gragg, is relatively new (hired in June of 2021). He may look at this as an opportunity to put his stamp on the football program.
One of Gragg's predecessors, Jim Phillips, was AD for the vast majority of Fitzgerald's time at Northwestern (2008 to 2021). Gragg is less likely to have
Gragg was hired after his immediate predecessor, Mike Polisky, resigned after about a week and a half in the job because of a scandal involving a sexual harassment lawsuit from a cheerleader. Which in turn could mean that Gragg and the Northwestern administration may be less likely to put up with a football scandal.
I have always got the feeling that Pat Fitzgerald is probably very Shooter-McGavin like. Has that public smile with the do-gooder attitude and then kicks his dog and yells at his wife that dinner is cold. I might be totally wrong but that is the vibe I get.
I get more of the Gator vibe.
Fitzgerald comes out to my club every summer to do a Northwestern fundraising golf event every year. I had the opportunity to play with him one time and he still remembers my name many years later. He really is a salt-of-the-earth guy and he doesn't take shortcuts. Most of his players seem to love him and I really doubt that Northwestern would ever replace him simply due to his win-loss record. His record would be a lot better if he had better facilities and was able to recruit players that only want to play football and not go to class.
I agree that he seems like a decent guy even if I disagree with, for example, his views on player autonomy.
I will say that NW crying poverty and having sub-par facilities is almost offensive in its cynicism. NW gets about $60M/yr from the Big 10's media deals. It fields 19 varsity sports (Michigan fields 29, OSU 33 (!), ND and MSU field 23, Purdue fields 18), which is pretty low for a P5 school and is really low for this conference. Fitzgerald makes close to $6M a year. NW has the money to have top-notch facilities and take advantage of their relative proximity to a huge city with a ton of resources. The fact they don't is a choice, and if Fitzgerald really cared he'd likely throw his weight around a bit more and get what he feels is lacking with his program on that front. So no, I won't cut him much slack on that front.
Also, NW absolutely has an academic standard that is higher than, say, Alabama or Clemson. But their academic profile isn't much different than UM or Notre Dame, and certainly isn't more demanding than a place like Stanford. Yes, those two prior schools have certain systemic advantages but most schools require guys to attend classes regularly and maintain eligibility, and that's the same standard at NW as it is at basically every other Big 10 school. For example, UM had 60 guys make all-academic Big 10 this year; NW had 67. Their majors look not unlike those for most guys at UM. Their recruiting classes look like those of a lower-tier P5 program but they have guys who are getting offers from big-name programs; this isn't a class full of brainiacs who just happen to be big or fast.
It's harder to be successful at NW than it is at other schools but it also seems like maybe the game is starting to pass him by a bit.
According to plans announced in 2022, just three more seasons in Northwestern's old football stadium, then their brand new 35,000 seat stadium is scheduled to open in 2026.
I don't recall, however, seeing anything about them also putting money into their practice facility or anything else football-related.
How much this will help their program is anybody's guess, but I'd expect the new stadium will help their revenue stream despite capacity being reduced by some 11,000.
They just opened a new practice facility in 2018 that looks incredible.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/4/10/17219292/northwestern-new-practice-facility
Then yeah, I really don't buy the argument that NW doesn't have facilities to compete for football players.