I don’t think he will do well because of his spite for players that feel entitled and loyalty etc. The old school mentality is not good for the new reality.
Will Fitzgerald be successful in the age of NIL?
- Thread starter samuirocks
- Start date
Yes. I think the time off forced him to reevaluate.
Then why did his quarterback situation at MSU get worse when he had so much to spend?
Why did he hire the guy who got demoted at Alabama as his OC instead of someone like Chip Kelly?
Why is he still perseverating about NU when he has MAJOR challenges in East Lansing?
I don’t think he’s adapted that much and will struggle at MSU.
I PREDICT… he’ll last 3 seasons at most - they won’t tolerate 5-7, 3-9, 1-11 like we did.
Fitz lives in your head, rent free.
Nah not at all. I literally never think about him aside from this board and the MSU fans’s mixed bag take on Reddit (which are entertaining).
It has been entertaining to follow MSU but he is being such a baby about the hazing it is unbecoming. If he dropped it and focused on his new job, then the scandal would rather come up.
He is not a good head football coach and will be exposed quickly in East Lansing.
The overall documentary on hazing has intrigued me for a while.
Why does hazing in sports exist, particularly at elite private institutions that already have so many barriers to entry?
Why did it take decades to come to light in Evanston?
Will this continue to happen?
I’ve talked with a few folks who can help on it and may just yet.
He also lost their best WR soon after he joined. I think he went to Indiana.
If his first priority wasn’t to quickly find a B1G QB that could win games, then he didn’t have his priorities in order.
Braun & Chip Kelly identified their man quickly and scooped Chiles up. Excited to see what he can do in purple.
This is a valid question given that Fitz clearly fancied himself JoePa 2.0 (sans the bad parts) and wore the "old school" tag like a badge of honor.
...but I think his desire to succeed in East Lansing supersedes his loyalty to being "old school" by a very wide margin. I think he's ready to play the NIL game as well as he can, and will do his best to retrofit his coaching values into this new normal, but winning will be the priority.
Then again...Bajakian...
Bajakian left MSU after 4 weeks for a job with the Browns.
Their fanbase’s reaction to his temporary hiring was pretty funny.
“Every coach needs a van buddy!”
Bajakian left MSU after 4 weeks for a job with the Browns.
Their fanbase’s reaction to his temporary hiring was pretty funny.
“Every coach needs a van buddy!”
I know he flew the coop, but his hiring suggests "Old School Fitz" is alive and well. I still think Fitz is willing to let some of his stubborn self go because he knows he's got a lot to prove, and the sport has changed whether any of us like it or not - he can either move with it or get left behind.
I think Fitz will show up to spring practice with a neck roll, a smelly gray sweatshirt, and some smelling salts.
I think his old school recruiting philosophy was in part an adaptation to manage expectations from NU’s recruiting restrictions. He knew NU couldn’t even get most kids through screening, and the “hat dance” kids had too many good options. He then had to maximize on the “4 years for 40” academic distinction.
Speculation is always fun and that's all we've got right now. I have no idea what he'll do. He's had time to consider, reconsider, and study up on his own coaching successes and failures, and he has a lot fewer limitations and more money with which to work.
I suspect he will at least start by eschewing the offensive air and going hard on the ground and pound. My question is whether he can afford to make it a successful system with MSU's money and standards.
I suspect he will at least start by eschewing the offensive air and going hard on the ground and pound. My question is whether he can afford to make it a successful system with MSU's money and standards.
One advantage that he will likely have that past MSU coaches have not had is that with the BIG now having 18 teams and no East division, he will not have to face all of the BIG 4 in conference each year. Just a couple years ago it would have been dOSU, Mich, PSU and now IND every season
MSU’s 2026 is fairly easy.
Their 2027 schedule is brutal - worse than our 2026 slate even.
I think Fitz was a “sacrificial lamb” hire to get their $400M major donation, and he will be gone after 2-3 seasons.