Anthon ranks Big Ten coaches for 2018.....

[Wasnt-drunk-didnt-troll]

And you think their athletes follow those exact same admission standards? Higher standards probably but not the same as their general population.

I actually considered editing this to say what you are saying but went to deadpool (8/10). If you look at the numbers provided the average northwestern student gets in with a 4.13 GPA, 1560 sat, 33 Act. So while the athletes might get a little bit of grace, your average good student with a 3.2 GPA and 26 act isnt getting in, 5 star or not.

 

[bagdropper]

Well that's just one guy's opinion.

The only "truth" about is is that it made you click.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I actually considered editing this to say what you are saying but went to deadpool (8/10). If you look at the numbers provided the average northwestern student gets in with a 4.13 GPA, 1560 sat, 33 Act. So while the athletes might get a little bit of grace, your average good student with a 3.2 GPA and 26 act isnt getting in, 5 star or not.

Link to back that up, or you just spewing crap onto the keyboard again?

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

who says he'd have the same record at mi?
do you think we'd be winning national titles simply by having meyer or saban coaching here?

I don't think Saban or Meyer without their current rep would win NC's at Iowa. As it stands, having developed a national reputation at blue chip schools, they'd pull in some pretty good recruiting classes now. With their current resume, they'd never come to Iowa so the point is moot.

Also, I don't think Saban would be able to pull the crap he's pulling at bama if he were at Iowa. "We ain't come here to play school" recruitin' Meyer wouldn't be appreciated here either.

 

[H4wkfan4life]

I don't think Saban or Meyer without their current rep would win NC's at Iowa. As it stands, having developed a national reputation at blue chip schools, they'd pull in some pretty good recruiting classes now. With their current resume, they'd never come to Iowa so the point is moot.

Also, I don't think Saban would be able to pull the crap he's pulling at bama if he were at Iowa. "We ain't come here to play school" recruitin' Meyer wouldn't be appreciated here either.

For sure. I am just saying if you put KF at a blue blood program, he's gonna get better recruits than he can here.
To think he couldn't bring in more talent at MI is silly
Hell look what he does with the "crumbs" mi/msu don't even really want.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

For sure. I am just saying if you put KF at a blue blood program, he's gonna get better recruits than he can here.
To think he couldn't bring in more talent at MI is silly
Hell look what he does with the "crumbs" mi/msu don't even really want.

Agreed. My only concern is that part of "coaching" a team full of blue chip recruits is managing egos and dealing with drama. Those aren't Kirk's strong suit and I think he might struggle because of that aspect alone. I think that, knowing what he knows now, he'd be much more selective in recruiting than most coaches at a program like Michigan or tOSU.

 

[ThrowBones92]

I will say it. Fitz would win more games at Iowa than ferentz would win at NW. That being said I think they both are in the best fit for each of them because I dont think Ferentz would get the line talent to NW and I dont think the grey hairs would be ok with the rah rah crap.

I agree both are great fits for where they are right now.

 

[ThrowBones92]

Frost is getting love due to his (self awarded) MNC.

Frost didn't self-award it. In fact, he said he wasn't a fan of it. So, what you said was just a made up lie.

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...totally-school-national-championship-campaign

 

[ThrowBones92]

Speaking of, his wiki page acknowledges the MNC. What a a chud.

They were no less deserving than Michigan. Both won all their games. Because of the set up, you go with the two polls that were widely regarded to determine the national champion. They split. They have just as much right to call themselves national champions as Michigan is. What does it matter to you, anyway?

 

[ThrowBones92]

1. Paul Chryst
2. Urban Meyer
3. James Franklin (He's actually winning games now)
4. KF
5. Mark Dantonio
6. Pat Fitz
7. Jeff Brohm
8. Frosty
Then the rest..

Imho

Honestly, a pretty good top half of coaches for a 16-team league. Hopefully Frost can get Nebraska challenging for division and conference titles. It would only make the B1G better. Two of it's top 4 "brand name" teams or blue bloods or whatever you want to call it are performing well. Two are not.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

You’d be wrong.

Fitz has purple blood running thru his veins and it drives him to achieve and play the underdog card full tilt. He wouldn’t have the same inspiration at Iowa. It would show.

Given his unbridled hatred of Iowa that he can't hide, I think he would rather undermine our program and then laugh about the money he "took" from Iowa via contract.

Ferentz would actually fit in well at Northwestern because he has never been overly fond of recruiting selfish all-stars. Yeah there's been bad seeds over the years, but you can't use that against him if he were at a different program, especially one more geared towards the academic side (even though in recent years they've finally made an investment in athletics......)

Ferentz would still work to recruit the blue collar, (but smarter unfortunately), underrated athletes he has at Iowa.

The biggest difference though, as already mentioned is the passion of both coaches for their respective schools.

Especially in the early years, Ferentz was very passionate about building the Iowa program from what Hayden had started in his 20 years prior to that. Obviously, adjustments had to be made over the years, and now the gears have shifted towards him maintaining his own legacy at Iowa, and not allowing it to slip to where it was when Hayden ultimately had to hang em up.

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, inherited his alma mater and has done everything in his power to build it into something worthy of respect.

Again as mentioned, I doubt it would be the same for either man (especially Fitzgerald) if roles were reversed.

 

[Buck2427]

What a joke of an article.

Urban Meyer gets a dozen players drafted every year and he can't consistently win the Big Ten or make the playoffs.

Harbaugh will be on the hot seat after this year.

Mr. Frosty has yet to win a Big Ten game.

Urban has also won two BIG Championships and Won the first ever College Football playoff National Championship! He also has only lost three BIG conference games since he became the HC at OSU(Mich St twice and Iowa) The only seasons he's missed the BIG Championship Game was 2012(team was not eligible), 2015 and 2016. He's been to the CFP playoffs(twice, let's not talk about 2016, I'm still pissed about that pathetic showing) more than any coach in the BIG, so who else should be #1... He can't win them all, but he's done his fair share in the BIG.

I do agree though..no way Frost should be ahead of Ferentz or Fitzgerald shouldn't be ahead of him either...that's comical!

 

[unoHawkeye]

His career win % at NW is just over 57%. KFz's is just over 59% at IOWA. I'd say he's done pretty well, considering the history of Northwestern football.

I agree Fitz has done well, but how many top 10 finishes has he had? How many bowl games more prestigious than the Outback has he been to?

If you are comparing the two straight up, it’s not even close. We’re getting to the point where Ferentz’ name is being mentioned alongside all-time great Big Ten coaches - and while I realize that tenure length has a lot to do with it, it’s impossible to deny the success that KF has had

 

[HawkIDrummer]

I agree Fitz has done well, but how many top 10 finishes has he had? How many bowl games more prestigious than the Outback has he been to?

If you are comparing the two straight up, it’s not even close. We’re getting to the point where Ferentz’ name is being mentioned alongside all-time great Big Ten coaches - and while I realize that tenure length has a lot to do with it, it’s impossible to deny the success that KF has had

"More than Kirk" wasn't really the idea. "More with less" simply means performing above expectations given the situation or resources.

Kirk has a stronger overall resume, no doubt. Fitz has brought a level of sustained success to Northwestern that is uncommon for them...bowls 8 out of the last 10 years and they're expected to win now, not just a punchline that everybody schedules for Homecoming. You could say (and it's a very lose analogy...that Gary Barnett was their Hayden and Fitz is their Kirk).

 

[Melrose_Place31]

I question some of the material that Athlon releases, and, its real obvious they are attempting to pair coaches with brand - anyone outside the Big Ten would expect to see Michigan that high. Frost hasn't even coached a single game at Nebraska and he's ahead of Kirk? Harbough has done absolutely nothing at Michigan except successfully have a new QB every year, including one of our own.

 

[STPGopherfan]

Frost didn't self-award it. In fact, he said he wasn't a fan of it. So, what you said was just a made up lie.

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...totally-school-national-championship-campaign

Well thanks for the correction. Not a lie, just what was reported/ implied in my area. Lazy on my part not to look deeper into it? Guilty as charged!

Still, lost in this, is that Frost is being "rewarded" for what he did prior to becoming Nebraska's head coach. For the record, I think he is and will be a good coach. Just think he is an unknown as far as BigTen coaches go. With that said, I think it is fair for Iowa fans to question whether he should be ranked ahead of the longest active BigTen coach before even coaching a game.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

"More than Kirk" wasn't really the idea. "More with less" simply means performing above expectations given the situation or resources.

Kirk has a stronger overall resume, no doubt. Fitz has brought a level of sustained success to Northwestern that is uncommon for them...bowls 8 out of the last 10 years and they're expected to win now, not just a punchline that everybody schedules for Homecoming. You could say (and it's a very lose analogy...that Gary Barnett was their Hayden and Fitz is their Kirk).

That's true. But part of that equation is also the fact that until the recent few decades, Northwestern had never really made a committment to major college athletics. It's like Indiana with football. Sure they maybe tried once in a while, but if it doesn't go anywhere then hey they still got basketball........or at least they did once upon a time.

Northwestern was stuck for ages in the archaic ways of the Big Ten when such rules as only the champion could go to a bowl game or schools would turn down bowl bids because of academics (aka the student coming first in student-athlete).

They and their fans still pride themselves as academic champions of the conference, but now they also want a piece of the Chicago pie and are investing in their athletic programs.

Gary Barnett and Fat Fitz certainly did their part to help influence the school's push, but ultimately it was their decision.

 

[hawkfeever]

Considering Northwestern is a much more difficult place to recruit to, he consistently does more with less. Ferentz has won more games, but shouldn't he?

Over the last 6 seasons, Ferentz is 47-31, Fitzgerald is 47-29. Ferentz average finish in the B1G West is 2.5. Fitzgerald's is 3.8.

I guess the question is do you think Ferentz could do the same thing Fitzgerald is doing at Northwestern? I don't know that he could. Do I think Fitzgerald could do similar to what Ferentz is doing at Iowa? Absolutely.

Regardless, I think the B1G may have the deepest bench of head coaches in the country. It's very good.

How is Northwestern more with less? Prestigious degree and is in Chicago. I think you mean limited fan base because its a small school, but so is Notre Dame and Stanford.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

How is Northwestern more with less? Prestigious degree and is in Chicago. I think you mean limited fan base because its a small school, but so is Notre Dame and Stanford.

A prestigious degree has little or nothing to do with football success. Quite the contrary...until Stanford became a powerhouse it was extremely rare that the two co-existed. In Chicago...so what. big city rarely correlates to big time college football program.

As Monkey alluded to above, it's about resources and a commitment from the Admin. Though, NWestern's stadium doesn't exactly scream "commitment to football".

And while he makes a good point, it's kind of a chicken/egg thing. Did NW devote more resources because they started winning (see Gary Barnett) or did they start winning because of the increased resource. Secondarily, ALL the Big Ten teams benefited from enhanced resources once the big TV money kicked in for everyone in the conference.

Fitz deserves credit for his performance. He's not Kirk, but he deserves the credit.

 

[JoelBittner]

https://athlonsports.com/college-fo...ll-coaches-2018?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Subjective, but I have no problem with it

 

[klemman]

These types of articles and rankings aren’t designed to be an indisputable analytical analysis. They’re meant to illicit conversation and argument so that you will look at the article. 60 posts on this site alone and counting, it’s obviously working.

 

[bumpstock]

Apparently integrity wasn't a factor in the grading otherwise Mark D'Antonio would have been ranked last.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

These types of articles and rankings aren’t designed to be an indisputable analytical analysis. They’re meant to illicit conversation and argument so that you will look at the article. 60 posts on this site alone and counting, it’s obviously working.

e·lic·it
ēˈlisət/
verb

1. evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions.

il·lic·it
i(l)ˈlisit/
adjective

1. forbidden by law, rules, or custom.

 

[Gladeskat]

That's true. But part of that equation is also the fact that until the recent few decades, Northwestern had never really made a committment to major college athletics. It's like Indiana with football. Sure they maybe tried once in a while, but if it doesn't go anywhere then hey they still got basketball........or at least they did once upon a time.

Northwestern was stuck for ages in the archaic ways of the Big Ten when such rules as only the champion could go to a bowl game or schools would turn down bowl bids because of academics (aka the student coming first in student-athlete).

They and their fans still pride themselves as academic champions of the conference, but now they also want a piece of the Chicago pie and are investing in their athletic programs.

Gary Barnett and Fat Fitz certainly did their part to help influence the school's push, but ultimately it was their decision.

One cannot overstate the coaching job Gary Barnett did winning the B1G in '95 and '96. It is one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history. And he did this with the worst facilities in the B1G.

 

[klemman]

I don't think Saban or Meyer without their current rep would win NC's at Iowa. As it stands, having developed a national reputation at blue chip schools, they'd pull in some pretty good recruiting classes now. With their current resume, they'd never come to Iowa so the point is moot.

Also, I don't think Saban would be able to pull the crap he's pulling at bama if he were at Iowa. "We ain't come here to play school" recruitin' Meyer wouldn't be appreciated here either.

No coach in recent or modern history wins a NC without the talent from top notch recruiting. The closest was BYU in 1984, and that only happened because they went undefeated in the WAC when no other D1 team did, and beat a .500 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl.

 

[klemman]

e·lic·it
ēˈlisət/
verb

1. evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions.

il·lic·it
i(l)ˈlisit/
adjective

1. forbidden by law, rules, or custom.

Thank-you for the vocabulary lesson. When I try to type quickly sometimes I type out the incorrect words, that I only catch when I look back before sending.

 

[mtown66]

Fitzgerald 's success at NW, at least in part, is because he bleeds purple. That is a factor that he could not use to motivate himself or his team anywhere but at NW. And, he uses it there to perfection at times. Although Kirk has long ties to Iowa, it is on a coaching level and as a father of some former players. It is not like Kirk was an all time great Hawkeye like Fitz is an all time great Wildcat. I think Kirk would have more success at NW than Fitz would have at Iowa.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Fitz has brought a level of sustained success to Northwestern that is uncommon for them...bowls 8 out of the last 10 years

See, this is why adding even more bowl games is a terrible idea. Taking your team to a bowl game doesn't mean nearly as much as it did back in the 80s/90s. There are more than twice as many now and the bar has been lowered to a 6-6 record* to "earn" an invite.

*note that I realize Kirk has benefited from this at least once during his tenure

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

See, this is why adding even more bowl games is a terrible idea. Taking your team to a bowl game doesn't mean nearly as much as it did back in the 80s/90s. There are more than twice as many now and the bar has been lowered to a 5-7 record* to "earn" an invite.

*note that I realize Kirk has benefited from this at least once during his tenure

FIFY

 

[HawkIDrummer]

See, this is why adding even more bowl games is a terrible idea. Taking your team to a bowl game doesn't mean nearly as much as it did back in the 80s/90s. There are more than twice as many now and the bar has been lowered to a 6-6 record* to "earn" an invite.

*note that I realize Kirk has benefited from this at least once during his tenure

Agreed, but Fitz has only gone to one bowl at 6-6

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Agreed, but Fitz has only gone to one bowl at 6-6

Fair enough.

My main point is that Fitz has benefited from 2-3x the number of bowls he can get invited to compared to his predecessors.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

Fair enough.)
My main point is that Fitz has benefited from 2-3x the number of bowls he can get invited to compared to his predecessors.

True. (So has Kirk).

Bowl availability aside, Fitz still has the highest winning percentage of any NW coach since the 1920s. He's done alright.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Fair enough.

My main point is that Fitz has benefited from 2-3x the number of bowls he can get invited to compared to his predecessors.

Before Barnett, the last time NW was competitive within the B1G/Big Ten/Big 10 was 1971. Their record of futility was as bad or worse than Iowa's from 1960s to 1981. The bowl expansion happened well before Fitz, yet NW was nowhere close to bowl caliber until Barnett came along.

Fitz has done a heck of a job. He's earned every bit of praise that he gets, like his demeanor or not.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

True. (So has Kirk).

Bowl availability aside, Fitz still has the highest winning percentage of any NW coach since the 1920s. He's done alright.

That’s great, and I give him credit. It’s just that I temper it more than others.

We’ll never know if his “game” is as legit as pundits and talking heads like to claim, since he won’t leave NW for more money and a higher profile program.

You might try and deflect that to Kirk as well, but Kirk was never chased by another college program and turned it down. He was pursued by the NFL.

Fitz on the other hand played it safe and stayed at a school where 6-7 wins a year will get him “worshipped” and a lifetime contract. He had the opportunity (still has it probably) to go somewhere else for more $$, but it would mean having to produce way more than 6-7 wins and a crappy bowl invite to be treated as he is at NW.

If he was the genius everyone likes to claim he is he wouldn’t be afraid to take his game to the next level. I’ll tell you right now he’s taken the kitty’s as far up the food chain as they’ll ever go. A competitor like him should be aggressively seeking a move to North Carolina, Texas A&M, Stanford, etc. show what he really has to offer other than purple blood in his veins.

JMHO

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Before Barnett, the last time NW was competitive within the B1G/Big Ten/Big 10 was 1971. Their record of futility was as bad or worse than Iowa's from 1960s to 1981. The bowl expansion happened well before Fitz, yet NW was nowhere close to bowl caliber until Barnett came along.

Fitz has done a heck of a job. He's earned every bit of praise that he gets, like his demeanor or not.

In your opinion maybe.

See above for the truth of the matter.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

That’s great, and I give him credit. It’s just that I temper it more than others.

We’ll never know if his “game” is as legit as pundits and talking heads like to claim, since he won’t leave NW for more money and a higher profile program.

You might try and deflect that to Kirk as well, but Kirk was never chased by another college program and turned it down. He was pursued by the NFL.

Fitz on the other hand played it safe and stayed at a school where 6-7 wins a year will get him “worshipped” and a lifetime contract. He had the opportunity (still has it probably) to go somewhere else for more $$, but it would mean having to produce way more than 6-7 wins and a crappy bowl invite to be treated as he is at NW.

If he was the genius everyone likes to claim he is he wouldn’t be afraid to take his game to the next level. I’ll tell you right now he’s taken the kitty’s as far up the food chain as they’ll ever go. A competitor like him should be aggressively seeking a move to North Carolina, Texas A&M, Stanford, etc. show what he really has to offer other than purple blood in his veins.

JMHO

Fair points. And just for fun, read the highlighted paragraph and insert Kirk's name.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

In your opinion maybe.

See above for the truth of the matter.

Why SHOULD he leave NW? It's his first loyalty. In that respect he and KF are very similar.

That's the "truth of the matter".

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

Why SHOULD he leave NW? It's his first loyalty. In that respect he and KF are very similar.

That's the "truth of the matter".

You may want to scroll up and find the origin of this particular Fitz discussion.

His success is tied directly to his "purple blood" ...and if he were somewhere other than NW, he wouldn't be nearly as effective.

That's why we were discussing him vs Ferentz.

Ferentz could be just as effective at NW as he is at Iowa, but the other way around for Fitz ...not so much.

 

[LaQuintaHawkeye]

And just for fun, read the highlighted paragraph and insert Kirk's name.

No one is claiming Kirk to be a genius and better coach like Fitz ...the "golden boy".

So, no, I won't play the "insert Kirk's name" game.

Again, Kirk wasn't pursued by other high profile programs like Fitz, so he didn't turn any down. Fitz did...cuz he knows deep down he's nothing by a "purple blood", a 6-7 win and mediocre bowl invite guy. While he is worshiped for it at NW, it wouldn't fly for very long anywhere else. Not even at Iowa.

 

[GratefulRedHead]

I have no problem with Fitz. He does a great job.

But, I have a big problem with KF at #8. It's almost like he is the victim of his own success. He lifts Iowa to several Top 10 finishes, but doesn't do it every year so he is an average coach?

A monkey could coach Michigan to the results they have had. A decent high school coach could coach OSU to the results they have had.

Scott Frost. Whatever happened to earning your stripes?

This is a list of recruiters, not coaches.

Ummm Frost turned a team around from 0-12 to 13-0 in two seasons. He won every single coach of the year award in the country last year.

Kirk has proven to be a great developmental coach but unable to win consistently or win the big games. He averages 7.5 wins a year...Bo Pelini averaged 9.3 wins a year and was 3-1 against Kirk. Until Hawkeye fans accept that you CAN do better than Kirk and actually strive to be great, you'll be average forever and have one good season and one bad season every 3 years for eternity. I honestly respect your program but I'll take a team that strives for greatness than one that accepts mediocrity. Kirk is a great guy, a fantastic OL coach, but an average head coach. 8th might even be too high...BIG has best collection of coaches in the nation.