I’ve seen some UC fans online talk about how Chuck Martin would be a good fit 
. I highly doubt he would do that to us
I think CM is like CC: Has a great thing going at Miami but probably not considered good enough to bring the same level of success to another program.
Yup!
Fitzgerald was pretty much vindicated after NW’s rush to judgement. The investigation, and related settlement, proved he was never told and didn’t direct the hazing. Should he have known, and did he possibly/likely know? Perhaps, but NW sure wrote him a big (undisclosed amount) check after the dust settled.
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I generally agree that he isn’t implicated in what was going on. But again, this is a guy whose selling point is building a Program and a Culture. And the culture he built resulted in upperclassmen sexually assaulting freshmen teammates.
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There’s a lot of liminal space between “pretty much vindicated” and able to coerce a settlement out of the gormless twits comprising Northwestern’s trustees. And even if he did not know about the abuse (note that’s different from “never told”), that’s a gross failure of leadership from a head coach.
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Hiring Fitz is supposedly a popular move with MSU donors. If that’s true, I think the rationale is that with enough money for NIL (currently one of the worst in the Big Ten) and a good staff that he’ll win 7+ per year especially since he won’t have Northwestern’s academic restrictions. Who knows if that’ll work.
Off-field issues aside, Fitzgerald was 14-31 in his last four seasons at NW. 7-29 if you take out the Covid season. That would give me pause.
College football should further reform its calendar. It is set up now to allow new players (freshmen and transfers) to become eligible to participate in 15 practices during spring ball:
Early signing period: December 3-5
Portal opens: January 2-16
Regular signing period: February 4
These dates incentivize bad behavior. Coaches leave their teams early to get a jump on recruiting freshmen and the portal. Players leave their teams early to get a jump on the portal (though this part of the calendar is better than last year, when players could enter the portal on December 9-28). High schoolers are encouraged to leave early during their senior years to get the 15 spring practices.
Why not eliminate spring ball, and substitute the possibility of a summer camp of 15 practices in June and July? That would help to de-incentivize these bad behaviors (though guys like Kiffin are always going to be bad actors). With a summer camp system, the NCAA could push back the calendar to more sanely allow the prior season to play out:
Portal opens: February 14-28
Signing period: February 20
This would not be a cure-all, but would allow for a more clean break between the previous post-season and the upcoming recruiting period/preseason.
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In theory I like this idea, but I don’t think you can have the portal after the spring semester starts. Once a kid is in the portal the current school will drop them and they will lose a semester. Conversely, if you have it after the spring semester a school just carried a practice spot for a kid who is leaving.
Bob Chesney going from James Madison to UCLA.
It will be interesting to see how that works out. Chesney has spent his entire career in the Northeast except for his two years at James Madison.
That is a long way from UCLA and the West Coast recruiting scene.
I hope he has a huge sum to pay the players he needs. He is probably going to need it.
I wonder if those west coast teams NOT named Oregon or USC will ever be able to consistently compete in their new conferences
I am thinking that Jim Mora pulled the trigger a little too quickly.
A lot of jobs have opened up that would not have required what it will take to get CSU turned around.
However, I understand he has a home In Idaho and had a desire to be out West.
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Cal would have been my guess
https://x.com/OhioBobcats/status/1995618683356356929?s=20
This is strange
Very odd (lack of) wording. You’d think if it was a health or family matter they’d say something vague and supportive, but I suppose its possible he asked for them to provide no details.
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OU fans on their message board seem to have no clue.