As glam metal legends Poison sang in Fallen Angel: “it’s like heads they win, tails you’re gonna lose.” Northwestern Interim Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator David Braun has found himself in a situation like that.
He’s kind of in a no-win situation this season. He came to Evanston, to be just the DC, and he did so having never held a job, or any sort, at the power five level. .
We’ve explored the topics of David Braun and Northwestern football in guest segments on both ESPN Radio and WGN News Now.
His first position of this variety comes at a scandal-ridden program currently in chaos
And he’s not a coordinator, nor a position coach now, either. The buck stops with him in 2023, and he inherited a program that is still reeling from the Pat Fitzgerald having scandal.
The dust hasn’t even settled on that ether.
For David Braun, every single thing he does this season has to be “very calculated,” with the “Cats against the World” t-shirts a prime example.
That would be a prime example of a terrible miscalculation. The message that sent, to the outside world, was one of “we’re in our own bubble here.” It was a lot worse than not reading the room, it was more of: we didn’t even look at the rest of the room.
“We are very calculated in the fact that we’ve got to make sure that we move forward in an appropriate manner,” Braun said this week.
And we have to cut him some slack, after all, because he’s in an unenviable position here.
He has to show that he gets it to the outside world: i.e. he realizes why the general public was horrified by the revelations that came from investigations of the program.
At the same time, he can’t totally denounce Pat Fitzgerald through and through, as it was Fitz who got him this gig in the first place.
“We’ve had an opportunity to go through extensive education when it comes to hazing, as a team and as a staff,” Braun said Wednesday.
“That education will continue. We’re being very mindful of making sure that we find ways to allow this team to build and become cohesive and have fun in team meetings with music, making sure that this isn’t an environment where it’s just business. This team needs to come together.”
It’s very possible that the athletic department goes scorched earth on this program, next offseason. They might have to, in order to really get a true reset for Northwestern football.
But David Braun can totally prohibit that from happening; provided he truly takes care of business this fall. In the words of the immortal Kenny Loggins (from “This is It”):
It all starts on Labor Day Eve, with a winnable game at Rutgers, where the Cats are just a touchdown underdog. Then comes the home opener against UTEP, one of the worst teams in FBS. Braun discussed what kind of reception they might receive for that one.
“I certainly hope that this community, our alumni, all those that are associated with Northwestern University and Northwestern athletics, will come out and show full support for 103 young men that have worked their butts off over the course of the last four weeks and have come together to do something really special,” Braun said.
“I’m really confident that that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.