Fitz gets fired

It is a sorry world when one whiny azz can get a coach fired months or years after it was to have happened.

That roster is pretty sorry. Jumped on U3.5 +106 yesterday (BR). Schedule is not so bad but there's limited talent, now there are cultural fissures, and I don't really see them getting united through a hazing scandal. 

Obviously I'm taking the money making angle here, not commenting otherwise

In all due respect, there is no place for this hazing garbage in the modern era...especially off the field...and one that was perverted...Like the fraternities, subsequent iterations try to top the previous...Where does it stop?   And I think the reason that an otherwise competent Fitz got canned was 1) Northwestern's high academic and integrity standards, 2) If Fitz did not know this crap was going on, perhaps he should have...This is a case study in the lack of institutional control, and at his salary, and tenure, and alumni status, Fitz could not utilize the Sergeant Schultz Defense, or "I know nothing", therefore, I am not responsible...3) I am betting that there must have been recordings, video or audio that the one or more players were threatening to release, that would have been even more embarrassing to Northwestern.

Fitz had a nice run at a tough place to coach...But, sometimes these long tenured coaches get complacent, and forget that they are there to perform a job more than just win football games...You can't blame this on juvenile hi-jinx and tradition and that there was a just one or a few victims...If the details or video/audio were to come out, I think even the most traditionalist football fans would be disgusted, on what was allowed to fester under Fitz watch, and would probably agree with the decision...Love it or hate it, under the modern college football, with video phones, NILS, transfer portal, and other factors, the game has changed, and institutions such as Northwestern and their employees have to be smart, and must facilitate a culture and a policy of zero tolerance for this type of hazing stupidity...

My guess is that like Hugh Freeze, Mike Price, and a few others, Fitz is off to coaching rehab, where he will have to re-earn trust, and hopefully learn from past mistakes...My statements are not political...and not designed to be provocative...We should all be in agreement that there is no place for this hazing garbage in the modern college football game...And perhaps Fitz dismissal will be a warning to all coaches and institutional leaders that this sort of thing will not be tolerated...

In all due respect, I couldn't get behind your way of thinking in a million years.

Good luck this year.

@UNIMAN

 With all due respect, I am completely behind your way of thinking Longhorn Hoosier.  Such hazing is stupid, puerile, and immoral to say the least.

@LonghornHoosier

 I am not going to sit here and defend hazing but this is nothing more than a typical here say story. one side says certain things happened then you have others defending the coach. the players defending the coach say the player alleging the hazing had made it up and wanted nothing more than fitz to be fired. We can speculate all we want but we have no idea what the truth is. I do find it hard to believe that someone is going to tolerate this kind of treatment their entire football career and not transfer and speak up. These coaches and programs have way more to worry about than "allegedly" black balling third stringers who don't play and mess up on skeleton team during practice. I also read the ESPN article and half of it sounded like nothing more than players messing around in the locker room for example the offensive line men getting soaped up and running around and running into people which I am sure made some feel uncomfortable and the other 90% laughed their asses off. Not a fan of someone losing their job over allegations innocent until proven guilty.

For those defending Fitzgerald. It was not one player simply making these claims. Several other former players came forth and supported the original accusers claims. The school also conducted an independent investigation before firing him. What exactly is there to be upset about? The guy was no longer winning either, so made it much easier to not let this go. 

The dialogue on this string seems to be old school and the old versus new school and the younger...and that's fine...Its ok to disagree in a civil discourse manner...Now, let's focus on the capping...With regard to NW, I have the @Duke game circled on September 16, 2023...It was a one TD (31 to 23 Duke)  game or so last year in Evanston...Duke has a top QB and a good D...How will NW come out, with a chip on their shoulders, coached by assume will be an interim former assistant, or will they just say F it, and layover...against a fellow academic focussed football program like Duke...I would love to hear opinions on this cap...

@LonghornHoosier

 They roll over and say f it. Hungry dogs run faster theory doesnt apply here players have nothing to prove since this isnt a mid season firing. Duke will kick them in the teeth. 

New school; Parades with bouncing penises in front of children. Cross-dressers dry humping in front of children. TWERKING, basically same as dry humping, by politicians and just about anyone else. BUT OH MY, THIS IS SO IMMORAL!!! 

A bunch of guys, teammates in a locker room. OH SOOOO BAD!!! IMAGINE THE EMOTIONAL SCARS!! 

There was an investigation, it found that Fitz didn't know. 

@SeaChickenJoe; nice post. I am not defending hazing either. That word has many definitions and we really don't know. The investigation determined Fitz was unaware, happened at offsite practice facility. A bunch of young guys being...........young guys. Determination was two-week suspension. 

I think it was a bit more than just routine hi-jinx...Perhaps back in the 70's when you came of age, that was the norm...Not so much now...There is no place for hazing, anywhere...

Third game of the season, I will cap it then. Last year had Duke +10.5 and was an easy cover.

The 'Daily Northwestern' story details institutionalized sexual assault and various other hazings that were past down on the team for years.. annual and weekly sexual assault traditions have their own specific names .. we were told about white boards in the locker room listing those to be assaulted .. everyone on the team witnessed the constant assaults going on for years .. 

Okay yeah agree Pat obvi has to go .. but its not like the AD and other coaches are somehow outside the 'should have known' boat right? .. more importantly theres a team full of sexual predators and abusers that NU has on scholarship.. they aren't gunna allow them back into the locker room with their victims right?.. might take a while but should be no shortage of complainants in a class action lawsuit you have NU and outside law firms doing all the investigatory work for that right now, seems like a slam dunk case against NU .. soooo... this is all gunna happen... right?.. 

@LonghornHoosier

 The 70's is well before my time. My issue is that I have a  hard time seeing that the claim by an anonymous person that its the coaches fault for what happened in the locker or else where and said person went along with whatever "hazing" for their time on the football team. Now years later decides its only the coaches fault who was determined didn't know and not the individuals who actually "humped" him. Also if there actually was this sexual acts or what have you really going on that seems to me that crimes were going on rather than hazing. I would just like to see more concrete evidence for either side. This is also the NCAA we are talking about and they will bury this thing to hell before the real story comes out.

I just read the Daily Northwesterns articles. At first shocking, and then questions begin popping up. How could this go on for so long? How could year after year of changing athletes all keep sexual assault going with no one in the senior class standing up? How could visiting recruits not be forwarned by current freshman, " Don't come here you'll get sexually abused and racial shit too"?

And I conclude that it most likely could not as it has been reported. 

And why hasn't several current team members been kicked off the team? Hell, shutdown the whole program. 

pal,

i think there could be some good in all of this for NW (ATS Speaking) especially since the line has ballooned to +7 and they are playing rutgers. I watched every snap of the duke game last year as I had the under (miracle that I was able to get to the pay window) absollute miracle ending. anyway...I think Duke would be the play in this case, with only @Uconn on deck, tough game from last year, should be focused after pounding an FCS foe, and I am not sure NW will blow out UTEP as bad as people might think...could actually be a pretty physical game with the Miners... I think you might be onto something here with the dookies. 

Thanks Step - Based on Steele's preseason power rankings, the spread @Duke will be around Duke -14...Prima facie seems like a lot...But, I think that this could turn into a beat down...as we get closer, I will relish the opp to examine the merits of this cap with you et al.   

@UNIMAN

Yeah I wonder who had the honor of being 'Shrek' this year .. I'm not saying that 'Shrek' has to be running thru 'The 'Carwash' shower boys crew in jail for the story to make sense but it becomes rather unbelievable if the Fall rolls around and the locker room sex pervert ringleader is still playing football on a scholarship at NU.. Obvi the investigators will figure out who it was quickly but I'll save them the trouble ... it was AJ Henning..  tell the truth Uni he never was good enough to be 'Shrek' at Michigan so he transferred to NU .. why else would he make that move??!!.. 

The more I read and watch, the more I believe this is a clusterf*** for NW...I know Vegas will adjust the lines as the season goes along, but I think that the Wildcats may feel the incremental disdain of opposing teams, much like my beloved Houston Astros felt after they won the 2017 World Series and cheated...Hard to cap this angle, and I think one must be careful...But, if a team is beating this NW team, and it appears that NW will throw in the towel, that opposing team may just score one or more times than it normally would to send a message...and facilitate a cap.  This isn't Kevin Bacon "Thank you sir, may have another" paddling  (I was going to say "Lick", but perhaps those NW boys were into that as well...) like in the film Animal House, this is some seriously twisted and perverted stuff going on at the NW Football Program...

I was thinking WR Camron Johnson from AZ ST. They said he was brought in to "plug some holes". 

Sounds like more locker room code to me. 

OK, I'll stop. 

Henning is a Chicago native. He went closer to home and hopefully more playing time. 

Yeah, you go with that angle. No other college football team does wierd shit in the locker room. 

Give'em the Rasheed Walker treatment.

Yeah. Kind of sounds like BS coming from Northwestern coaching staff. Not a single coach knew this was going on? Kind of like Paterno and none of the coaches at Penn State knew anything about Sandusky for 30 years on campus. Hmmm. 

The I did not know excuse is not a valid justification anymore. If Fitzgerald has no control over his own team and has no clue what goes on with his players, he should be fired based on that alone. He is the head coach and helps set the culture for the entire team. 

- "Plug some holes",,,eh...what a great pun!  :)

NW has gone 3-9 and 1-11 the last two years. They were probably looking for any excuse they could to shitcan Fitz since donations have been drying up at NW.. This "scandal" or whatever you want to call it was a great excuse. C'mon Fitz, you didn't know about any of this hazing that's been going on every year for the last 10+ years? Nobody is buying that.  It sounds like this is just the beginning of their problems. There isn't a lot of time for NW to hire a coach and keep their roster intact. Let the raiding begin. My Sooners could use another LB. Or maybe one of NW's two 4 star offensive linemen. 

If you can’t dry hump your teammates in the locker room, I don’t wanna be a team!!!