Objectively hilarious 😂

I chalk his record in the NIL era up to the institution, not the coach. NU was not prepared or willing to engage at that point.

Story on Michigan State hiring Pat Fitzgerald.

The feeling around MSU is the donors have re-activated for this hire. Even after the hazing stuff and Fitzgerald's final few years at Northwestern, he still won a lot of games.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

… character. Yes, he should have know the hazing was happening, but NU’s own investigation found he didn’t. I think Fitz is smart enough to now realize he has organizational blind spots and I trust he will make sure it doesn’t happen again.

I get it. What happened in the locker rooms in Evanston was disgusting. Trust me, I had to answer for Fitz’s sins to pissed off alumni & season ticket holders. It was ultimately what led me to change roles at fundraise for the business school instead.

But I stand by what I said - Fitz has…

Okay I keep thinking of more things. I’m going to sing the praises of my employer here for a second:

Remember this - Fitz is a Northwestern educated man. He’s going to be one of the smartest coaches in the conference, if not the country.

Damnit, I’m talking myself into this hire. I’m excited.

Also, chew on this: who has done better at MSU than someone with something to prove? With a chip on his shoulder? Someone wanting to prove the doubters wrong? Fitz checks all those boxes, and I think he comes into EL with an edge we haven’t seen since Dantonio.

That’s a good point! He is and always be a rule follower.

I think the two things I’m most excited about are the fundraising/alumni relationships and competent coaching. MSU has been shooting themselves in the foot every Saturday for the last 5 years.

Totally agree, and I think he’s motivated to clear his image. NU’s own investigation admitted that he wasn’t aware of the hazing stuff. The hazing thing was unfortunate because Fitz is honestly a good dude. Even after all bad press he put NU thru, I don’t question his character.

And Fitz will field top-notch defenses. He almost always did at Northwestern (save the failed JON experiment), and he learned from Mike Hankwitz, who was the best.

I agree about the GM thing. Our AD is all about revenue so I doubt he’ll let Fitz get away with his old-man-shaking-his-fist-at-the-clouds approach to NIL and revenue sharing. I don’t think this hire happens if there isn’t a concession on Fitz’s part to embrace it.

I truly think the floor with Fitz at a place like MSU is 5-7 but the ceiling is 10-2. Will likely never have another 2013 or 2015. I hope Fitz proves me wrong.

I don’t think this experiment ends with a couple 1-3 win seasons. I think he actually sticks around for a while, going 6-6 and 7-5 for the first few seasons, getting to 9 or 10 wins in year 3/4, then puts together a couple 6-6 seasons, maybe a 5-7 season, and gets the boot then. That’s my prediction

I keep thinking about this clip from several years ago. Fitz has such good energy and is an incredible motivator and has what I understand the kids call “rizz.”

youtu.be/Dxc9yTQxevs?...

… encouraged to embrace the new era of CFB. He’ll bring the Spartan Dawg mentality/identity back and I think we can expect to see physical defenses and strong line play for however long this experiment lasts. I expect a 6-6 floor with frequent 8, 9, and 10 win seasons. I think he can do it here.

TL;DR I’m honestly excited for this hire. Fitz won more games at a school like NU than anyone should. I think he balances hype/branding and on the field coaching that we’ve been looking for. I earnestly believe he learned from how things ended at NU and will be better. I believe he will be

… no excuse. He has to be better and I’m sure that was a hot topic during interviews.

For someone as focused on revenue and winning as J Batt, I have to imagine some kind of agreement was made between the two parties to embrace NIL & the portal.