Posts Tagged ‘pat fitzgerald’

In 2006, Pat Fitzgerald was named head coach at Northwestern at the ripe age of 31. Since that date, Fitz has turned Northwestern into a model program. He has won more than just football games in his six-plus years at the helm (though he's done plenty of that with a 47-39 record) but also the respect of the college football world, for himself and his program. At a school that went nearly 50 years between bowl games, it's now news when Northwestern doesn't appear in the postseason as this winter the Wildcats will play in their fifth straight bowl. 

His success has come from embracing the university's strengths and turning what some aspects that be might perceived as challenges into selling points for his program. Those in the game consider Fitz one of the ideal head coaches, the type of guy you would ask to create a program from scratch. 

Last week we ran an article questionning whether "He's too young" was a valid criticism of potential head coaches. Watch the video above and hear how he responds to that one and you'll quickly be able to see why so many other coaches think Fitz will go down as one of the great coaches of our generation. 

In case you missed it, the NCAA approved of a new penalty structure earlier this week. In a nutshell, the NCAA has dumped its major and secondary-violation system in favor of a new four-level grouping and, most importantly, holding a head coach accountable for violations committed by an assistant. See the original reporting from USA Today and our write-up about the bylaw changes. Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated does a good job of explaining everything in layman's terms here. 

Several Big Ten coaches gave their thoughts on the rules changes to the Chicago Tribune. 

"Throughout history," Ohio State's Urban Meyer said, "the only way to keep civilization and to keep things in order is to have very strong rules and enforce them."

"The way coaches act when they are on the road (recruiting) is a direct reflection of the head coach," Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald said. "At the end of the day, the buck stops with the head coach.

"It's been frustrating for a lot of coaches trying to do it the right way," Wisconsin's Bret Bielema said.

The NCAA's changes were well received, but it always helps to have the endorsement of some of the biggest names in college football. 

The Chicago Tribune did an interesting article last night on some of the changes that Pat Fitzgerald and the staff made to Northwestern's game day schedule for their 3:30pm ET kickoff against Nebraska in Evanston, which can be seen on ABC.

After what Fitzgerald and the staff felt like was a sluggish start against Boston College in week three (which was also a 3:30pm ET kickoff), Coach Fitz sat down with the members of his Leadership Council, and asked them what prevented them back from having a a fast start.

Players told him that the game clashed with their usual nap time.

Normally players show up at the football complex at 6:50am for meetings, followed by a practice from 8:50am to 10:30am, then they head to class and grab a nap in the early afternoon.

So Coach Fitz and the staff decided to rearrange the schedule a little bit to see if they can correct the slow start. For Saturday's match up, Northwestern will get in breakfast a little earlier than normal, and allow the players to take a brief nap at around 9:30am.

When asked about it, Fitz noted that he could hardly believe he agreed to allow a nap six hours before kickoff.

"Unbelievable. This is what I get paid to do. Seriously. Create nap time. It's pathetic."

How this one shakes out remains to be seen, but credit Coach Fitz and the staff on addressing why they started slow with the Leadership Council, and then taking their advice (however unconventional it may seem) on getting the issue resolved.