03-25-2025, 10:47 AM
To state the glaringly obvious, it's a weird time of year to be coach-shopping.
The closest recent parallel case for us and this situation is Northwestern, which not only fired Pat Fitzgerald at an even worse time (~a month before the season opener) but also is a fairly similar institution in terms of status, size, and commitment to football. They ended up appointing a caretaker from within the ranks (David Braun, who had just joined as defensive coordinator months before, so also had useful distance from the allegations against Fitz and his longer-tenured staff) who managed to coach himself into the job permanently after the team well outperformed their expectations. Not a transformative or flashy hire, and they may end up back in the market in a year or two if Braun doesn't turn around his downward trajectory of last season. But steadied the ship enough.
This isn't to say that's the _only_ path forward. We have the benefit of more time than Northwestern. What isn't clear is the amount of money the university is willing to bring to bear. Northwestern with its Big Ten money was/is in a better position from an operating capital perspective than we are here, but if President Levin and Andrew are really committed to changing the culture and performance of the program, perhaps they shake some money trees and find some additional resources.
The names we're going to hear in the next 24-48 hours from reporters will be agent-fed rather than search-process-principal-fed, so take them with a grain of salt. If I had to guess the most likely path, it'd be that we try and pull a hot, younger up-and-comer out of G5 FBS or FCS ranks who has energy, vision, and a distinct style of play and who understands the new world of NIL/social media/roster management better than the Taylor staff. But (and I confess zero inside knowledge here) I could also see a scenario where the search committee goes and tries to make a bigger hire from the ex-NFL ranks as UNC did with Belichick and then staff him up with the kind of lieutenants/coordinators that get those other new-world elements.
The closest recent parallel case for us and this situation is Northwestern, which not only fired Pat Fitzgerald at an even worse time (~a month before the season opener) but also is a fairly similar institution in terms of status, size, and commitment to football. They ended up appointing a caretaker from within the ranks (David Braun, who had just joined as defensive coordinator months before, so also had useful distance from the allegations against Fitz and his longer-tenured staff) who managed to coach himself into the job permanently after the team well outperformed their expectations. Not a transformative or flashy hire, and they may end up back in the market in a year or two if Braun doesn't turn around his downward trajectory of last season. But steadied the ship enough.
This isn't to say that's the _only_ path forward. We have the benefit of more time than Northwestern. What isn't clear is the amount of money the university is willing to bring to bear. Northwestern with its Big Ten money was/is in a better position from an operating capital perspective than we are here, but if President Levin and Andrew are really committed to changing the culture and performance of the program, perhaps they shake some money trees and find some additional resources.
The names we're going to hear in the next 24-48 hours from reporters will be agent-fed rather than search-process-principal-fed, so take them with a grain of salt. If I had to guess the most likely path, it'd be that we try and pull a hot, younger up-and-comer out of G5 FBS or FCS ranks who has energy, vision, and a distinct style of play and who understands the new world of NIL/social media/roster management better than the Taylor staff. But (and I confess zero inside knowledge here) I could also see a scenario where the search committee goes and tries to make a bigger hire from the ex-NFL ranks as UNC did with Belichick and then staff him up with the kind of lieutenants/coordinators that get those other new-world elements.