Deadspin just tweeted about this. Hope he got a bunch of good recruits, because he's going to have a tough time after this.

It's almost like he's bipolar.

What's the obsession with boats?! he's like a child....and DJ Ill-Mixx? It's almost as bad as a 16 year old's mother friend requesting them on facebook.....

Lastly, aren't traditions built over time?! you don't just come in and throw a bunch of sh*t into the mix and call it tradition.....That 4th quarter "Row-Row-Row" thing isn't gonna go over so well if they're down 21 pts...what student is going to enthusiastically participate in that nonsense.....let alone a player having to lead the band after the game if they just lost by 28 pts....his enthusiasm is great, but dude is so far out ahead of his skis on this one

It probably helps to have a couple traditions but I think you just add a couple. He's turning it into choreography.

Whatever happens...it's going to be really interesting to watch...some possibilities:

- what happens if he can't coach? Let's just say WMU goes like 3 - 9 this year...does he consider it a success because he got some students dancing?

- what happens if he does well? Not just winning but completely overhauling the traditions, most MAC coaches would be looking for a bigger gig, but I can't imagine some bigger schools (with traditions already in place) would really want him to come in with this act

PJ is a narcissist. No matter what happens, he will always love himself.

(09-04-2013 11:06 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  It probably helps to have a couple traditions but I think you just add a couple. He's turning it into choreography.

Totally agree. I understand he's trying to breathe life into a dead program/fan base, but let the players decide/make tradition instead of micro managing everything. The 3rd down jig is hilarious!

Currently our only tradition is the one where 80% of the student section leaves at halftime.

NIU has been able to build a successful program the conventional way. Look at your program. You are the envy of most other teams in the MAC. You played in the Orange Bowl! It doesn't appear that your success will be short-lived either. At WMU, we've never been able to do that. Two overall MAC championships and two west division championships in 107 years of football speaks for itself. We needed something new, something that hasn't been tried before. It could totally blow up in our face too, but then what have we lost? We'd just be mediocre still and it would be back to the drawing board again.

You can't fault the guy for trying to succeed and instill some new energy into a program that has been so stagnant for so long. We can only hope PJ's energy and enthusiasm for the program become contagious amongst the fans. He seems like a great guy, and his story behind where he came up with the slogan makes me think even more of him.

I am happy he's on our side, because he doesn't seem like the type of person who is going to accept failure in any aspect of his program. He might get some things wrong here or there, but he just seems like someone who will always be striving for greatness, even if he goes about it in unconventional ways.

NIU hadn't won a MAC Championship in 28 years as of less than 2 calander years ago. We were one of the worst programs in the country in the 90's. NIU didn't get to the top of the MAC (and mid majors) by singing row row row your boat or diving into cold water.

(09-04-2013 11:31 AM)17Huskies Wrote:  Whatever happens...it's going to be really interesting to watch...some possibilities:

- what happens if he can't coach? Let's just say WMU goes like 3 - 9 this year...does he consider it a success because he got some students dancing?

- what happens if he does well? Not just winning but completely overhauling the traditions, most MAC coaches would be looking for a bigger gig, but I can't imagine some bigger schools (with traditions already in place) would really want him to come in with this act

If he goes 3 and 9 this year, and I doubt if that will happen, it does not mean that he is a bad coach. It is difficult to change a culture and to build a program.

I am not defending all of his antics because some of what he has done is "over the top" however I would never underestimate him. I think that given time he will win at WMU and my guess is that it will not take too long.

it might be a fun atmosphere if the students buy in en masse, or it can look ridiculous...its going to be all or nothing.

7, NIU has had a decade run of good teams though. They should have won a MACC sooner, but none the less, we've been in a better place than WMU for a while now. Don't sell the team short.

(09-04-2013 12:28 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  7, NIU has had a decade run of good teams though. They should have won a MACC sooner, but none the less, we've been in a better place than WMU for a while now. Don't sell the team short.

Sans 2003, was it anymore succesful than what WMU was under Cubit? WMU now and what NIU was pre-Doeren aren't all that different.

(09-04-2013 12:30 PM)7 Wrote:  

(09-04-2013 12:28 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  7, NIU has had a decade run of good teams though. They should have won a MACC sooner, but none the less, we've been in a better place than WMU for a while now. Don't sell the team short.

Sans 2003, was it anymore succesful than what WMU was under Cubit? WMU now and what NIU was pre-Doeren aren't all that different.

Well I'd say 2003 is pretty important to the argument I'm making, but let's keep out NIU's great year, for your sake and I think NIU still looks like they've been more successful.

Since 2004:
7 bowl games vs. 3 bowl games
Including Co-Champs, 5 MAC West championships for NIU - 0 for WMU (also two more for NIU in 2002 & 01 if you were to go back that far)

Will DJ "Ill-Mixx" AKA "DJ Sink the Boat" be on the sidelines when wmu comes to DeKalb? Maybe Victor E can have a "spin-off" with him...

(09-04-2013 12:30 PM)7 Wrote:  Sans 2003, was it anymore succesful than what WMU was under Cubit? WMU now and what NIU was pre-Doeren aren't all that different.

Disagree on one point in '02 '03 & '04 we were playing Toledo to earn a trip to macc and we came up short... We were always #2. wmu I feel like is middle of the road at best right now

(09-04-2013 12:07 PM)7 Wrote:  NIU hadn't won a MAC Championship in 28 years as of less than 2 calander years ago. We were one of the worst programs in the country in the 90's. NIU didn't get to the top of the MAC (and mid majors) by singing row row row your boat or diving into cold water.

They may not have sang row your boat, but they did start "The Hard Way". They are similar and different. The coaches we had/have over that time has been a lot more no-nonsense than Cubit and Fleck.

I don't really like any of his ploys but I see what he is attempting to do. He's trying to build a team bond and get some excitement around the program. I think he should've done the row thing and sort of left the rest for the future. Winning cures a lot of things. Start with inside your locker room before you go into the stands and dictate what they should/shouldn't do.

hahaha the youtube video PJ put up has now been removed by the user. obviously hes been catching a lot of flack for it, i wonder if they are scrapping the plan

(09-04-2013 05:14 PM)NIU32 Wrote:  hahaha the youtube video PJ put up has now been removed by the user. obviously hes been catching a lot of flack for it, i wonder if they are scrapping the plan

Was he catching flack from Fleck?

(09-04-2013 01:28 AM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  Did we dodge a bullet, would he be this wacked out in Dekalb?

I don't think he would have gone as far with this established program. Also Novak would have come and beat his a** if did anything like that at NIU.
I'm guessing Joe will be talking to him soon. Maybe.