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Position Coaching Vacancies

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Sheffielder

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
9,915
725
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Just bringing this up because I don't care about the draft or basketball and I doubt anyone else is as excited as I am for the XFL's DC Defenders to be 3-0 with the beer snake back in full force.

I was just pondering how these searches go for Fitz. Obviously, you don't want your position coaches leaving at this stage in the game with spring ball just around the corner. But do you think...

1. Any way you slice it, Northwestern is a Big Ten football program and there should be good coaches wanting to coach in the Big Ten for the second-longest tenured coach in the conference? And for as bad as we've been, there's no place to go but up?

or

2. Candidates for both positions see a bare cupboard and a coach in the hot seat with an offensive coordinator in a hotter seat and a new DC with no immediate indications next season even yields a promising hope for 6-6?
 
DaCat

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
25,648
2,049
113
My bet is that there will be no shortage of candidates for these vacancies.
 
G

Gocatsgo2003

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2006
47,001
3,357
78
Sheffielder said:
Just bringing this up because I don't care about the draft or basketball and I doubt anyone else is as excited as I am for the XFL's DC Defenders to be 3-0 with the beer snake back in full force.

I was just pondering how these searches go for Fitz. Obviously, you don't want your position coaches leaving at this stage in the game with spring ball just around the corner. But do you think...

1. Any way you slice it, Northwestern is a Big Ten football program and there should be good coaches wanting to coach in the Big Ten for the second-longest tenured coach in the conference? And for as bad as we've been, there's no place to go but up?

or

2. Candidates for both positions see a bare cupboard and a coach in the hot seat with an offensive coordinator in a hotter seat and a new DC with no immediate indications next season even yields a promising hope for 6-6?
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1) Fitz is not on the hot seat. The last two seasons have sucked, but he just isn’t.

2) There will always be good candidates who want to coach at NU.
 
S

Sheffielder

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
9,915
725
113
gocatsgo2003 said:
1) Fitz is not on the hot seat. The last two seasons have sucked, but he just isn’t.

2) There will always be good candidates who want to coach at NU.
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I generally don't disagree with you on the first point, but if I'm a position coach on the rise looking to increase my stock with no intimate knowledge of NU, I exist in a universe where anyone with Fitz's record of the past few years is in some danger, and I'm also naturally skittish about a school with high academic standards with no obvious NIL commitment.

On the second point...our actual hires from the past X years might tell a different story (not referring to the most recent ones).
 
X

xxxbobxxx

Sophomore
Mar 12, 2005
10,812
169
43
Rebel II said:
You should apply, Mr. Obvious!
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Probably - my inability to read, lack of experience combined with obstinate attitude makes me a great fit.

But I care about winning, have self respect and, unfortunately, error on the side of customer satisfaction so that it might make my hire problematic.
 
S

Sheffielder

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
9,915
725
113


He did one season each at these schools, I won't say in which order so you can speculate if there is a "trajectory" between them and landing at Northwestern, which might not even be the best football program on his resume at this point.
 
Z

zeek55

Junior
Nov 21, 2010
3,651
277
83
Sheffielder said:
I generally don't disagree with you on the first point, but if I'm a position coach on the rise looking to increase my stock with no intimate knowledge of NU, I exist in a universe where anyone with Fitz's record of the past few years is in some danger, and I'm also naturally skittish about a school with high academic standards with no obvious NIL commitment.

On the second point...our actual hires from the past X years might tell a different story (not referring to the most recent ones).
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Fitz has Ryan (and the other donors) squarely in his corner, and he's about as tied to the program as anybody in CFB history is tied to their program.

Fitz's seat is cool; he will have a long runway to rebuild.

On the other hand, Bajakian's seat is very hot (as hot as JON's was last offseason). He has to prove he can field a workable offense with the players he has or he won't be here.

So yeah, if you want to be focusing on performance this upcoming year, Bajakian is the one to look at...
 
F

Fanaticat98

Senior
May 29, 2001
9,076
692
113
Going to be a tough job for Bajakian to improve the offense with no proven QB. Hilinski hasn’t panned out and coming back from significant injury, Sullivan has some promise but is prone to getting banged up and may have a lower ceiling as far as his arm, Richardson is in portal, Lausch was a baseball draft prospect a year ago, Cole Freeman doesn’t appear to be an FBS QB. And we have no transfer QB. That is the entirety of our QB room. Yikes, it’s scary when you list it out like that isn’t it?
 
P

PZAZ

Redshirt
Jul 5, 2014
268
11
0
We do have Aidan Gray coming in. Will be interesting. I think Sullivan will do well though.
 
M

mkilla

Redshirt
Sep 29, 2018
309
0
0
Frank Covey (#6) is currently playing QB in spring ball based on the instagram reel. No Hilinski or Sullivan highlights so doubt they’re playing.
 
DaCat

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
25,648
2,049
113
FanatiCat said:
Going to be a tough job for Bajakian to improve the offense with no proven QB. Hilinski hasn’t panned out and coming back from significant injury, Sullivan has some promise but is prone to getting banged up and may have a lower ceiling as far as his arm, Richardson is in portal, Lausch was a baseball draft prospect a year ago, Cole Freeman doesn’t appear to be an FBS QB. And we have no transfer QB. That is the entirety of our QB room. Yikes, it’s scary when you list it out like that isn’t it?
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Not a comforting list. A depth chart (I swear I heard those things exist) might look like this, not factoring in injuries:

1. Sullivan
2. Lausch
3. Hilinski
4. Gray
5. Freeman

It seems Bajakian and Fitz are betting on Sullivan. I wonder if they can sleep at night.
 
Z

zeek55

Junior
Nov 21, 2010
3,651
277
83
FanatiCat said:
Going to be a tough job for Bajakian to improve the offense with no proven QB. Hilinski hasn’t panned out and coming back from significant injury, Sullivan has some promise but is prone to getting banged up and may have a lower ceiling as far as his arm, Richardson is in portal, Lausch was a baseball draft prospect a year ago, Cole Freeman doesn’t appear to be an FBS QB. And we have no transfer QB. That is the entirety of our QB room. Yikes, it’s scary when you list it out like that isn’t it?
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Fair, but finding/developing a QB is the most important part of the job of OC given how instrumental that position is.

Bajakian's now going on his 3rd year attempting to find one since Ramsey's 2020 campaign.

He has to get the offense working better this year. I highly doubt Fitz gives him a 4th year if we don't see some improvement at least.

Bajakian knows he's in a "prove it" year this year.
 
DaCat

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
25,648
2,049
113
zeek55 said:
Fair, but finding/developing a QB is the most important part of the job of OC given how instrumental that position is.

Bajakian's now going on his 3rd year attempting to find one since Ramsey's 2020 campaign.

He has to get the offense working better this year. I highly doubt Fitz gives him a 4th year if we don't see some improvement at least.

Bajakian knows he's in a "prove it" year this year.
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And Bajakian got super lucky when Ramsey landed in our lap. Otherwise it would've more of Hunter Johnson and Andrew Marty. Looking at his body of work so far as QB coach at NU, he gets an F.
 
Z

zeek55

Junior
Nov 21, 2010
3,651
277
83
DaCat said:
And Bajakian got super lucky when Ramsey landed in our lap. Otherwise it would've more of Hunter Johnson and Andrew Marty. Looking at his body of work so far as QB coach at NU, he gets an F.
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Ultimately that's why Bajakian is on the hot seat. Other than when we got a polished grad transfer, the development has not been there.

We have to see something, literally anything that shows this year that we have a QB that can perform better than what we've seen the past two years.

The bar is pretty low quite frankly even though our QB room has lots of questions.
 
R

Rebel II1

Redshirt
Dec 7, 2021
1,771
1
0
mkilla said:
Frank Covey (#6) is currently playing QB in spring ball based on the instagram reel. No Hilinski or Sullivan highlights so doubt they’re playing.
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Really? If he is a terrible WR like all our experts opine, how could he possibly be a QB?
 
C

catfans5

Sophomore
Jan 15, 2011
2,166
105
0
Rebel II said:
Really? If he is a terrible WR like all our experts opine, how could he possibly be a QB?
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Covey was originally a QB in high school. IIRC, he started as a sophomore at QB. May have started at QB junior, got injured and moved to wr upon return. I am not ommenting on his ability, but it is not foreign position for spring ball.
 
R

Rebel II1

Redshirt
Dec 7, 2021
1,771
1
0
catfans5 said:
Covey was originally a QB in high school. IIRC, he started as a sophomore at QB. May have started at QB junior, got injured and moved to wr upon return. I am not ommenting on his ability, but it is not foreign position for spring ball.
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I am well aware of his pedigree. Can't decide if I want him to make All B1G as a WR or QB.
 
G

Gocatsgo2003

All-Conference
Mar 30, 2006
47,001
3,357
78
catfans5 said:
Covey was originally a QB in high school. IIRC, he started as a sophomore at QB. May have started at QB junior, got injured and moved to wr upon return. I am not ommenting on his ability, but it is not foreign position for spring ball.
Click to expand...

Rebel II said:
I am well aware of his pedigree. Can't decide if I want him to make All B1G as a WR or QB.
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Holy crap, guys. It’s not Covey, it’s Sullivan. He switched to #6.
 
C

CSCatFan1

Senior
Dec 4, 2002
39,976
464
83
corbi296 said:
As am I. Very bullish on him. I still would have preferred that we brought in a transfer in to enhance competition and depth.
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Agree 1000%. We are only an injury or two from more Cole Freeman. That can’t happen. Just can’t.
 
R

Rebel II1

Redshirt
Dec 7, 2021
1,771
1
0
phatcat said:
Sullivan has "it". Worry about injuries. Good size, strong kid, but, sort of has to play risky to give us any chance to move the ball. He's a good one
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And he's wearing #6 as a tribute to a fallen warrior family friend. Hope he's healthy, happy, and hostile! Good team leader.
 
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