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RE: Low expectations
(06-14-2020 06:20 PM)Milwaukee Pilot Wrote: (06-14-2020 02:57 PM)Jb 94 Wrote: I apologize for the confusion. I typed incorrectly, meant to say punt. As for me, I was well aware, during the Orange Bowl, we were peaking. Unlike, others,, I never had grandiose disallusions, of moving up to the Big 12.
Our success, was totally taken for granted by many, and that has been silly, and frustrating.
Of course, our success, wayned, after the Orange Bowl...what did you expect. However, Coach Carey, did an amazing job to sustain our success, and brand. The proof lies in our championships, and brand recognition at the time of his departure.
Coaches from Novak through, coach Carey kept the legacy going. I have no problem with thomas Hammock, as the person. He is a huskie, who who was a great contributor to Northern 's team. He also has a ton of integrity, and seems to work hard.
Thus far, my issues, started, when he felt the need to overhaul, the system which had produced success for the past two decades. Also, did not feel, it was in our best interest to hire a coach from the nfl, with no previous head coaching experience. Also, was promised a juggernaut, which was equally as boring as a previous coachs...made a point to say, that would never happen.
The hires for assistant coaches did not jive, and that was evident, in blow out mac defeats, looking inspired, and showing discipline, which had been our calling card.
I hope, I am wrong. As a lot of people on this board are fond of saying these days.. cant wait till 2025
Thanks 94. A lot of times printed words are hard to discern meaning and emotion.
Agree with you 100%—-actually Carey’s best accomplishment was the ability to keep the program at a very competitive level. Even with the two year drop from eleven to five win years in the middle of his tenure, he was able to avoid the fate of the likes of Bowling Green and Kent State that went from MAC championships and appearances to two win seasons almost immediately. Carey was also able to rebound from “down years” to win another championship.
From the day that Novak took over this program we have been among the best, if not the best program of our type. It’s a pretty damn good accomplishment to be arguing that 5-7 overall or .500 in conference is terrible.
Thanks again for the clarification....the point formation did confuse me as I asked about it in a thread about a month ago.
Let’s get back to 9-10 wins seasons way before 25 or 26—-I think we can agree on that.
Just pointing out that over the course of Novak's first 3 season, his record was 3-24. Over the next 3 seasons, his record was 17-17. Making Novaks first 6 seasons 20-41 with 2 2nd place finishes in the division as his best.
Now look, I don't completely disagree with everything you said, but this idea that Novak turned the program around and made it the class of the MAC the day he took over (even though his first season was as an Independent), is hogwash. He didn't win his first division title until year 7 of his tenure and that was a tie 1st place with Toledo because they lost to Toledo on the last day of the season knocking them out of the MACC.
The same thing happened 2 years later except the loss to Toledo was in the 2nd to last game of the season. It wasn't until the following season, his 10th season at the helm, did Novak have a team that played in the MACC (lost to Akron).
His two seasons after that? 7-6 (5-3 MAC, 3rd place) and 2-10 (1-6, 6th place).
His overall record as head coach was 63-76 and he was 47-38 in the MAC (there's one season on his resumé that wasn't played in the MAC).
So yeah, Novak is credited with turning the program around (and he did) and he probably set it on a good course direction (for the most part), but to wax poetically about how, the moment he took over the program, the Huskies were a MAC power and dominated the division and conference is 100% not true. He won 0 MAC Championships in 11 seasons and only played in the MACC 1 time. In that time, he also played in 2 Bowl games going (1-1) beating Troy (34-21)in the Silicon Valley Bowl in 2004 and lost to TCU (37-7) in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2006.
Had Novak just taken over for Rod Carey this year, there is a healthy dose of Husky fans who'd want him run out of town right now. And just think how Husky fans would react to 6 seasons of no division titles?
Yet, how quickly we forget that his tenure was actually quite pedestrian and some how he's considered the gold standard of NIU Football coaches.
Again, I hate to put the guy down. I adore him. But let's have some perspective.
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