PHILADELPHIA

Brian Johnson is the ascending OC of the Eagles.  Tim McManus of ESPN.com on his linkage with QB JALEN HURTS:

Brian Johnson kept his long-standing relationship with quarterback Jalen Hurts under wraps.

He had no prior history with newly minted Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni or then-offensive coordinator Shane Steichen before interviewing for the quarterbacks coaching job in January 2021. The first time the three met was when they walked into the NovaCare practice facility together that day.

They ended up talking ball for eight hours and not once did Johnson mention that he had known Hurts — the Eagles’ second-round pick in 2020 — since he was in preschool; that Johnson was coached by Hurts’ father, Averion, as a high school quarterback, and was close with the entire family; that he recruited Hurts to join him at Mississippi State, and later the University of Florida; and that he was one of the first to see in Jalen what others might have missed.

“I didn’t want to really put that out there,” Johnson said.

It wasn’t until after Johnson got the job that he told them about his history with Hurts, who had no idea Johnson was even up for the gig.

“I remember I called him when I got the job,” Johnson said, his smile widening, “and he was like, ‘What?!'”

That was the start of the pair’s rapid ascent as Hurts, under Johnson’s tutelage, went from Carson Wentz’s backup to franchise quarterback in two years flat. He inked a five-year, $255 million extension this offseason following an MVP-caliber 2022 campaign that culminated in a top-shelf performance against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

Johnson, in turn, has become one of the hottest coaching names in the business. A host of teams requested to interview the 36-year-old for their vacant offensive coordinator positions this offseason before he was elevated to the same post in Philadelphia after Steichen left to coach the Indianapolis Colts.

“He’s going to be a star one day. He’s going to be a big-time head coach one day,” Hurts said during the lead-up to the Super Bowl. “Hopefully we can keep him here as long as we possibly can, but nonetheless I’m proud of him and it’s definitely just the beginning for the both of us.”

Next up is a 2023 season rife with promise. Sirianni says he has seen another “jump” in Hurts’ game, and as the primary playcaller, Johnson will be the voice in Hurts’ ear before every snap, putting trust earned over the last two decades into action.

Johnson’s first memories of his quarterback stretch back to when Hurts was 4 or 5 years old, running around the Fieldhouse at Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, Texas.

Hurts’ dad, Averion, was the defensive line coach there during the early 2000s while Johnson was a student and quarterback for the school. Averion ran the weightlifting program during the summer and would often bring his boys, Jalen and older brother Averion Jr., to work with him.

Stuck behind Drew Tate — the future Iowa signal-caller — Johnson didn’t take over as the starter until his senior year, but Averion Sr. kept Johnson’s confidence up during that time.

“Where we’re from, there weren’t a lot of African American coaches in higher ranks,” said Terrance Job, a former high school teammate of Johnson’s and the current running backs coach at Channelview High School. “And [Averion] was one of those few guys that was in that role that kids could relate to. And Brian was one of those kids that just related to coach Hurts and his demeanor, how he was about his business and how he went about doing his stuff professionally.”

Life got busy for Johnson post-graduation, going from Utah quarterback into the coaching ranks, first for his alma mater followed by stops at Mississippi State, Houston and Florida. When Averion Sr. took over as head coach for Channelview, Johnson made it a stop on his recruiting trail — reuniting him with the Hurts family and allowing him a glimpse at the high school version of Jalen.

“I didn’t even recognize him,” he said. “This big, strapping dude with these big, long dreads comes out [of the weight room] and I was like, ‘Who is this kid?’ ‘[Someone] said, ‘That’s J.’ I was like, ‘No way.’ The J I remembered was a little kid.”

Johnson came back later that evening to watch Channelview practice. He could tell by night’s end that Hurts, not even into his sophomore season, was going to be special.

“He might have been the first one to see something in [Jalen],” said Patrick Robinson, Johnson’s cousin and former high school teammate.

“The most successful guys all share some of the same qualities in terms of their determination, how they handle adversity, their competitive spirit, leadership qualities. I think all the stuff that’s really intangible separates guys once the talent level kind of equals out,” Johnson said. “There was no question in my mind that he had the talent. But then you saw his presence, you felt his presence. It was something that to me, I thought, he has a chance to be a great player.”

Johnson prioritized Hurts as a recruit and visited Channelview often, strengthening his bond with the family and joining them for crawfish dinners.

As decision time neared, Johnson’s efforts put Mississippi State in the running — even having then-quarterback Dak Prescott host Hurts for a visit — but a Nick Saban visit down to Channelview ultimately helped swing things in favor of the Crimson Tide.

“Even when Jalen picked Alabama, Brian was still like, ‘If you need anything, if you want to talk about anything, don’t hesitate to call me,'” Job said. “He was still that guy to be like, ‘I genuinely want you to be successful.’ … He loves that kid.”

Johnson tried to land Hurts again while on staff at the University of Florida when Hurts decided to transfer out of Alabama, but Hurts chose Oklahoma.

Johnson knows what the limelight is like: He was a four-year starter at Utah from 2004-08 and went 26-7 as a starter for the Utes while throwing for over 7,800 yards with 57 touchdowns to 27 interceptions. He even appeared on the cover of the PlayStation video game NCAA 10 after leading Utah to a perfect 13-0 record during the 2008 season.

But plenty of his teeth-cutting came behind the scenes. After stepping onto campus at age 17, then-Utah quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen told Johnson to attach himself to the hip of star quarterback Alex Smith and learn through osmosis. Johnson took that directive seriously, even living in Smith’s Salt Lake City basement for the first month of school.

“I remember one night we’re sitting there, it’s 11 o’clock at night, big argument in the staff room about what we’re doing,” Mullen said. “Alex is in the meeting, he’s used to it, and there’s a 17-year-old Brian Johnson sitting in the staff meeting with coaches yelling and screaming at each other … because he just followed Alex to figure out how to get it done.”

Johnson spent two years as Utah’s quarterbacks coach after graduation. In 2012, he was promoted to become the youngest FBS offensive coordinator in the nation at 24. His next stop was quarterbacks coach at Mississippi State, where he is credited with the development of Cowboys starter Dak Prescott.

“Dak is the ultimate ‘it’ guy, right? He’s the ultimate leader. But he had a lot of work to do as a quarterback,” said Mullen, who hired Johnson at Mississippi State and later, Florida. “He had every intangible that you could want. But he was an average thrower. He was an OK runner. And he wasn’t that big, either. So Brian, he did a great job of making sure he never lost the intangibles, and built up every part of his game and utilize his game and improve his game.”

Prescott was a fourth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2016 and is entering his eighth NFL season. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler and has thrown more touchdown passes over his career (166) than any other Dallas quarterback save Tony Romo (248). But three words Johnson drove into him way back in 2014 still serve as a foundation for his approach: Have a plan.

“I remember one day having a s—ty practice and him bringing the quarterbacks together,” Prescott said, “and holding us to such a high standard.”

“I know exactly the meeting he is talking about,” Johnson said.

It followed a frustrating training camp practice heading into Prescott’s junior year. On multiple occasions Prescott and fellow quarterback Damian Williams were sacked while in empty protection because they failed to anticipate pressure and get rid of the football.

“It was a nightmare,” Johnson said.

Back in the film room, Johnson teed off.

“Knowing he was going to get on my ass when I didn’t do right and holding me to those standards that I expected, that was a moment I remember,” Prescott said, “and it’s the epitome of why he’s having success at such a young age…That’s just being cerebral and risk versus reward and that goes back to having a plan, which he taught me, and you see it in Jalen’s game.”

“It sounds like the message got across loud and clear,” Johnson said with a laugh. “And I’m glad to see that it’s stuck because that was a good lesson to take for sure.”

During his time at Florida, Johnson helped develop Kyle Trask, who led the NCAA in passing touchdowns (43) and was second in passing yards (4,283) during their final season together in 2020.

Johnson’s profile as a college coach helped shape Sirianni’s decision to hire him in Philly. Sirianni and the Colts staff had experienced success in plucking coaches from the college level, including pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was previously with Texas A&M, in part because it allowed them to take pieces from the college offense and apply it to what they were running on the professional level.

“We were looking for the best coach in that scenario, and Brian was the best coach for the quarterback job,” Sirianni said. “And then why do you promote somebody [to OC]? … I’ve been on a two-year interview with Brian and he just shines every single day. We’re a product of the way our players play on the field, and [Hurts] has played great and he continues to develop. Brian has a really bright offensive mind.”

After talking with the Titans for their opening, Tennessee’s director of football administration John Streicher reached out to Brett Elliott, who coached quarterbacks alongside Johnson at Mississippi State, and told him: “This guy is going to be a head coach.”

Asked why he decided to stay in Philly despite interviewing with several other teams, Johnson called football a relationship business, saying “people matter” and that the camaraderie within the Eagles’ building is special.

His relationship with Hurts is the one that matters the most. Asked for a favorite moment from their time together during the team’s Super Bowl run last year, Johnson pointed to the moments before the game when they would stand side-by-side during the national anthem.

“He would send those photos to my phone,” Johnson said. “Important moments that stick out to me, like how my kids light up when they see him. Those are the moments that I’ll remember probably more than any spectacular play he made.”

“I’ve known him for a very long time,” said Hurts. “He’s been a guy that’s always been around in my life, always been someone that’s been a family friend. Me watching him play growing up and seeing how things have shaken out, him being a quarterback coach for two years now being the offensive coordinator, I think it’s going to be good for us and I think that can definitely be a benefit for us with the relationship that we have.”

The odds of these stars aligning have to be astronomical, with Hurts and Johnson crossing paths in Baytown when Hurts was little more than a toddler, then again as an emerging talent in high school, then being joined together at the pro level with the decision-makers having no idea that history even existed. Two failed recruiting efforts, and then a union at the top of the profession, leading each to the pinnacle of the sport.

“Somebody always has a plan,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t my plan. But there’s a plan out there for us all. It wasn’t meant for us to be able to work together while he was in college but it all works out how it’s supposed to.”

SAN FRANCISCO

An interview with WR DEEBO SAMUEL ends early.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTallk.com:

49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has had plenty to say about the Eagles this offseason, but he’s apparently done dealing with that topic.

Samuel, who has previously said the 49ers would have beaten the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game if Brock Purdy had been healthy, was asked about that in an interview with Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio.

“I mean, I said what I said,” Samuel replied.

Samuel was then asked about the 49ers-Eagles rematch this season.

“I don’t know. Just wait until Week 13, 12, whatever week it is, and we’ll show you,” Samuel said.

With that, a woman’s voice, apparently the public relations person who arranged the interview, was heard saying, “Hey, guys, alright, we’re good to go.” And that was the end of the interview, with Samuel apparently too upset about being asked about the Eagles to continue.

Gelb said he was told he would get 15 minutes with Samuel, but that Samuel talked for only five or six minutes. It’s unclear why Samuel suddenly refused to talk about a subject he was willing to discuss earlier, but it surely won’t be the last time Samuel is asked about the Eagles.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

The Athletic has a deep-dive podcast into four prominent “Playcallers”.  This on what is in the one on Sean McVay:

On Monday, The Athletic released a new narrative podcast series called “The Playcallers.” It explores the clashing of offensive and defensive systems, of coaches and of players inside the NFL’s youngest coaching family.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is prominently featured in the series, as one of this coaching family’s core members.

Here’s what Rams fans should listen for as they dive into the five-episode series, which is playing in full on “The Athletic Football Show” podcast feed and wherever podcasts are available:

Close quarters

McVay rose through the ranks on now-49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s Washington staff, a highly competitive and at times dysfunctional group.

“We enjoyed being around each other despite what they probably say,” Matt LaFleur said. “And there was a lot of competitiveness there too. I remember Sean, every week (we would) work out together and he’d be like, ‘Alright, name all the play passes in the game plan’ and there might be 20 of them. And I’m like, ‘Sean, I can’t name them all, but I’m sure you can.’ And sure enough, he’d rattle them all off.”

“You had McDaniel in one office and it’s the quality control office,” Raheem Morris said. “You had Sean McVay in his new tight end office. You had Matt LaFleur in his quarterback office next to Kyle, Kyle barking at Matt LaFleur, yelling at him about something. Him coming down the hallway to get some confirmation from Sean, whether it was right or whether it was wrong. Mike McDaniel saying, ‘Chill, dude, let’s go in and let’s figure it out.’ And we all get together and I’m sitting and I’m able to listen to all this stuff. Kyle’s getting irritated to the point that he finally gives up and they find a way to get away from each other. So they come back and come up with a solution.”

McVay’s hiring by the Rams and rise in the NFL

The inside story of McVay’s hiring process in Los Angeles included a winter storm that diverted the Rams’ plans and set a new course for the NFC West, competition with the 49ers and Marshall Faulk vetting a 30-year-old McVay in front of team owner Stan Kroenke.

“Marshall was the perfect person because he was explaining to me why we had needed a veteran offensive mind to be the head coach,” Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said. “And he was happy to go to dinner with this 30-year-old. But he thought that was stupid, and that we were stupid.”

The series also tells the inside story of how McVay and LaFleur went on to build the earliest versions of the Rams’ offense, by pivoting from their original plan, to ultimately embark on their seemingly unstoppable rise as the NFL’s most explosive offense.

“I think the, you know, (the) lack of fear of failure is…it wasn’t even a thought,” McVay said. “It was just like, ‘We’re just going to go enjoy playing football,’ and trying to be really good at that and really like the people that you do it with.”

Change after loss

The Rams’ historic — and career-altering — Super Bowl loss to the Patriots became a catalyst for McVay’s philosophical and schematic shift.

“My body was going, ‘You know what? You’re going to feel all the pain and you’re going to wake up every day and regret getting to that moment and falling short,’” Rams general manager Les Snead said.

In the following years, McVay became “obsessed” with elements of Vic Fangio’s defense, and McVay and then-defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s engaged in epic, hyper-competitive clashes at practice.

“Growing and overcoming your demons…you have to be able to get in those dark places to find what it is that gets you through them,” former Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “…Like (McVay) wanted to see how far he could push it and still come back and find like, ‘Alright, this is how I beat it.’”

Throughout the series, McVay also sheds light on the deterioration of his and quarterback Jared Goff’s professional relationship, as well as the schematic changes and “maniacal” pursuit of a return to the Super Bowl, which led to the Rams’ trade for Matthew Stafford.

McVay vs. Shanahan

A competitive dynamic also arose between McVay and Shanahan, who became the coach of NFC West rival San Francisco as McVay became the Rams’ coach. McVay and the Rams had to beat Shanahan and the 49ers after six consecutive losses in order to get to — and win — Super Bowl LVI.

“Sean and Kyle are so extremely competitive,” Whitworth said. “I feel like it’s like they love each other so much that they hate each other — in the sense that they both, I’m sure, love the things they see the other one do to somebody offensively on tape every week.”

2022 reflection

In the series, McVay elaborates on the Rams’ 2022 post-Super Bowl crash in personal detail, and how he and the Rams picked themselves back up to face an ever-changing league. He also shares how his identity has been molded and shaped by who he is as a playcaller.

“You lose that Super Bowl and, you know, everybody says, ‘Oh, you’ll be right back’ or ‘You’ll get there,’” McVay said. “And then I think the lies that I told myself were, ‘You won’t be happy until you win a Super Bowl.’”

KANSAS CITY

The Chiefs have brought in two new starting tackles.  Adam Teicher of ESPN.com:

– Offensive tackles Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor are joining the Kansas City Chiefs at different points of their respective careers, Smith as an established veteran and Taylor as a younger player headed into his prime.

But both players are essentially with the Chiefs for the same reason. Each is looking for a fresh start, Smith after what statistically was the worst season of his eight-year career and Taylor for a life away from the only state he’s ever called home.

“New beginnings, new journey,” said Smith, who played his whole career for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing with the Chiefs in May. “I’m healthy. I’m fresh. I’m feeling real good.

“I know who I am as a player. I know what I can accomplish. I’ve been accomplishing a lot of things. That’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

Taylor is just 25, four years younger than Smith. But after growing up and attending college in Florida and then playing his first four seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Taylor was also ready for something new.

“I just wanted to embrace change,” Taylor said. “I never lived outside of Florida ever in my life. To have the opportunity to come and try something new and be [in] a great organization, I was all for it.”

The Chiefs were looking for something of a fresh start at tackle, as well. They were unwilling to meet the contract demands of either of their starting tackles from the past two seasons, most notably Orlando Brown Jr. The Chiefs traded for Brown two years ago hoping he would be their long-term solution at left tackle.

They could never work out details of a contract satisfactory to both sides and Brown this year instead joined the Cincinnati Bengals.

Right tackle Andrew Wylie also left as a free agent, signing with the Washington Commanders.

The Chiefs jumped right in on Taylor, making him their big free-agent acquisition this year shortly after the market opened. Smith signed shortly after the draft.

They couldn’t get a great read on the two players during offseason practice, which is conducted without pads and precludes physical play. A better test for both will come in training camp.

“They’re smart guys,” coach Andy Reid said. “They’re taking good sets and doing the things that they’re supposed to do and you can tell that they’ve played before by how they’re handling themselves and digging in on the new protections and the snap counting itself and all those things. They’re making sure they’re ready once we get up to training camp.”

The Chiefs signed Taylor initially thinking he might replace Brown on the left side. He was almost exclusively on the right side for the Jaguars.

But Smith is a veteran on the left side and when he signed, they decided to leave Taylor in what for him is a familiar spot. Taylor said his focus in offseason practice was on doing things as offensive line coach Andy Heck wants.

“I’m really just soaking in everything I can soak in from coach Heck, just tweaking and adjusting different things with my game to make me better,” Taylor said. “Anything I can do to do that, I can soak it in. Just taking notes in meetings, but also just learning the system, learning how they like things done around here and just doing my part.”

Smith had the lowest pass-block and run-block win rates of his career last season, at 78.4% and 64.9% respectively. He missed four games with an elbow injury and played through it in the other 13 with the results not being what he hoped for.

“It was a little frustrating,” Smith said. “I played with injuries a lot more than I probably should have.”

The Chiefs weren’t put off, having played against Smith and the Bucs three times in the previous three seasons, including Super Bowl LV.

“He’s been a left tackle at a high level,” Reid said. “If you look at last year, he was hurt and then the year before that he was one of the top-rated left tackles in the league. We’ve had a chance to play against him a couple times, so I know from seeing him firsthand that he’s a good football player.”

Before signing Smith, the Chiefs talked to new backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who played the last three seasons with Tampa Bay and gave a glowing report on Smith.

“He’s extremely gifted, one of the most athletic, physically gifted left tackles that I’ve seen going on 13 years now and I told Patrick [Mahomes] when we all got here, ‘He’s going to help this team a lot,’” Gabbert said.

“Injuries are a part of the game and sometimes they’re hard to play through and Donnie’s an extremely tough player. He’s been one of the most durable offensive linemen through the first eight years of his career and he got nicked up last year, so it was a down year and I know he’s going to want to play well this year and he’s going to play well.”

Smith signed with the Chiefs for one season, so if he bounces back he should get a longer-term deal next year when he’s 30, whether that’s with the Chiefs or another team.

For now, though, he indicated he’s just enjoying his fresh start.

“I’ve accomplished a lot of my goals from initially coming into the league — how long I’ve played, winning a championship, making a name for yourself,” he said. “I have a lot of expectations for myself.

“Now it’s just, keep building on that.”

– – –

A Chiefs superfan, who wore a wolf’s head costume to all games, turns out to be a notorious bank robber.  William Skipworth of Forbes.com:

Xavier “ChiefsAholic” Babudar, the Kansas City Chiefs superfan that shocked the sports world with his bank robbery charges, was arrested by police in California after a monthslong manhunt, the FBI’s Kansas City office announced Monday.

Babudar, a 28-year-old Overland Park, Kansas, man, was taken into custody in Lincoln, California on Friday, and given new charges of bank theft and transporting stolen property, the FBI said.

His capture is the culmination of a four-month-long search that began after he was charged in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, with the armed robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union on December 16, 2022.

Following Babudar’s arrest in Oklahoma, FBI investigators said they began reviewing bank records, casino transaction records and sensitive financial reporting, leading to the discovery he was also allegedly involved in a string of robberies and attempted robberies in Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Minnesota and had been laundering stolen money at casinos throughout the Midwest.

According to law enforcement, Babudar was released on bond in February following his arrest, before removing his ankle monitor to flee in late March, commencing his manhunt.

Prior to his arrest, Babudar was a local celebrity in Kansas City who dressed up in a costume mimicking the official KC Wolf mascot, attended every Kansas City Chiefs game and tweeted regularly about his favorite team.

KEY BACKGROUND

Babudar’s story went viral when fellow fans began wondering where he was during the Kansas City Chiefs’ December victory over the Houston Texans. Soon, internet sleuths discovered his newly public dark past, leading to shocking headlines and viral tweets. Popular commentator Pat McAfee nicknamed him the “wolf that jumped bail,” and in March, Jason Kelce, center for the Philadelphia Eagles and brother of Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce, publicly invited the man on Twitter to join him and his brother on their podcast.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

While the story generated buzz on social media, Babudar’s alleged crimes left a darker impression on the victims. “That day changed my life,” bank teller Payton Garcia said via her attorneys in a statement to local media about Babudar’s robbery of the Oklahoma bank she worked at. “I have never feared for my life like that before.”

THIS AND THAT

NEW YORK TIMES OUT OF SPORTS

Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

A number of employees of The New York Times’ sports department sent a letter to the newspaper’s ownership over the weekend asking for clarification about their future because they felt they have been “twisting in the wind” since the company purchased The Athletic in 2022.

They got that clarification on Monday, but it probably didn’t come as a comfort to many of those who signed the letter. The Times announced that they are disbanding their sports department and that The Athletic will handle all sports coverage online and in print.

“We plan to focus even more directly on distinctive, high-impact news and enterprise journalism about how sports intersect with money, power, culture, politics and society at large,” executive editor Joe Kahn and deputy managing editor Monica Drake wrote in an email to the Times newsroom on Monday. “At the same time, we will scale back the newsroom’s coverage of games, players, teams and leagues.”

The Times had downsized their sports department in recent years and this move will impact more than 35 journalists and editors who remained on the desk ahead of Monday’s announcement.

PAT FITZGERALD

There may or may not have been “hazing” at Northwestern’s preseason football camp last year.  And, as Northwestern’s president retreats from an earlier lesser charge, it has cost longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald his job after journalism from the school paper.  Sam Cooper of YahooSports.com:

Pat Fitzgerald’s time at Northwestern has come to an end.

Fitzgerald was fired as Northwestern’s head coach Monday amid the fallout of the hazing scandal in the Wildcats football program. Fitzgerald was a star linebacker for the Wildcats in the ’90s who became his alma mater’s head coach in 2006.

Fitzgerald was initially hit with a two-week suspension without pay following an investigation into allegations of hazing within the football program. Three days later, following a story from The Daily Northwestern detailing the alleged hazing in the Wildcats’ program, Fitzgerald has been removed from his role.

Northwestern president Michael Schill said the decision to fire Fitzgerald was his alone.

“The decision comes after a difficult and complex evaluation of my original discipline decision imposed last week on Coach Fitzgerald for his failure to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program,” Schill wrote in a letter to the Northwestern community. “Over the last 72 hours, I have spent a great deal of time in thought and in discussions with people who love our University — the Chair and members of our Board of Trustees, faculty leadership, students, alumni and Coach Fitzgerald himself.

“I have also received many phone calls, text messages and emails from those I know, and those I don’t, sharing their thoughts. While I am appreciative of the feedback and considered it in my decision-making, ultimately, the decision to originally suspend Coach Fitzgerald was mine and mine alone, as is the decision to part ways with him.”

Northwestern, when it announced its suspension for Fitzgerald on Friday, said it did not find “sufficient evidence” that Fitzgerald or members of his coaching staff were aware of the hazing. However, investigators did conclude that there were “significant opportunities” for the coaches to “discover and report the hazing conduct.”

Northwestern only released a summary of the investigation with very few details. Fitzgerald said in a statement Friday that he was “disappointed” to learn of the hazing allegations but maintained that he was unaware of the alleged incidents.

On Saturday, the day after the summary was released, an anonymous former Northwestern player described the alleged hazing acts to The Daily Northwestern, characterizing them as “vile and inhumane behavior.” The player also claimed that Fitzgerald was aware of the ongoing hazing and even encouraged it.

Later Saturday, after the story was published, Schill released a statement saying he “may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction for Coach Fitzgerald.”

“The confidential report concluded that while there was corroborating evidence that hazing had occurred, there was no direct evidence that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of the hazing. In determining an appropriate penalty for the head coach, I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known,” Schill said.

Schill said Monday he “only recently learned many of the details, including the complainant’s identity.” He spoke to the former player’s parents on Friday and the complainant himself on Sunday.

“Since Friday, I have kept going back to what we should reasonably expect from our head coaches, our faculty and our campus leaders. And that is what led me to make this decision,” Schill said. “The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team. The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening. Either way, the culture in Northwestern Football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others.”

Schill said he received “hundreds and hundreds of emails” from former players and staff members supporting Fitzgerald. However, Schill said firing Fitzgerald is in “the best interests of the entire university.”

“As much as Coach Fitzgerald has meant to our institution and our student-athletes, we have an obligation — in fact a responsibility — to live by our values, even when it means making difficult and painful decisions such as this one. We must move forward,” Schill wrote.

“I recognize that my decision will not be universally applauded, and there will be those in our community who may vehemently disagree with it. Ultimately, I am charged with acting in the best interests of the entire university, and this decision is reflective of that. The damage done to our institution is significant, as is the harm to some of our students.”

Fitzgerald, 48, finishes his time at Northwestern with a 110-101 record with two Big Ten West division titles and five bowl wins.

Former player details alleged hazing in Northwestern program

Northwestern said Friday that it had received an anonymous complaint with allegations of hazing back in November. In January, the school publicly announced it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into the matter.

According to the investigative summary, the complainant’s allegations “involved football players pressuring team members into participating in hazing activities.” The alleged acts of hazing often occurred in the team locker room or during the team’s training camp in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Northwestern said it did not find “sufficient evidence” that Fitzgerald or his assistants were aware of the hazing, but did conclude that there were “significant opportunities” for the coaches to “discover and report the hazing conduct.”

In addition to Fitzgerald’s two-week suspension, which was set to begin immediately, Northwestern said it would discontinue holding training camp in Kenosha and mandate monitoring of the football locker room by “someone who doesn’t report to the football coaching staff.”

No details of the allegations were released in the summary — until the story in The Daily Northwestern was published on Saturday.

From The Daily Northwestern:

If a player was selected for “running,” the player who spoke to The Daily said, they would be restrained by a group of 8-10 upperclassmen dressed in various “Purge-like” masks, who would then begin “dry-humping” the victim in a dark locker room.

“It’s a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran, but then you see everybody bystanding in the locker room,” the player said. “It’s just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now.”

The Daily obtained images of whiteboards labeled “Runsgiving” and “Shrek’s List,” containing a list of names indicating players that the player said needed to be “ran.”

The former player also claimed that Fitzgerald was aware of the ongoing hazing and even encouraged it.

Other hazing activities alleged by the former player included stripping naked and performing acts like bear crawling and a quarterback-center exchange. There was also something called “the carwash.”

In a once-a-year tradition dubbed “the carwash,” the first player said that some players would stand naked at the entrance to the showers and spin around, forcing those entering the showers to “basically (rub) up against a bare-naked man.” Upon entering the showers, the player alleged that players set up a hose they connected to the shower to spray people.

“It’s extremely painful,” the player said.

Though various players interviewed in the school investigation had varied perspectives on the alleged hazing, the whistleblower’s claims were “largely supported by evidence” and knowledge of the alleged activities was “widespread,” the investigative summary said.

“Current and former players varied on their perspective of the conduct; however, the investigation team determined that the complainant’s claims were largely supported by the evidence gathered during the investigation, including separate and consistent first-person accounts from current and former players,” the summary said. “While the investigation did not uncover evidence pointing to specific misconduct by any individual football player or coach, participation in or knowledge of the hazing activities was widespread across football players.”

In his Monday statement, Schill said 11 current or former football players acknowledged the hazing in the football program and that the hazing was “well-known by many in the program.”

“While some student-athletes believed the hazing was in jest and not harmful, others viewed it as causing significant harm with long-term consequences,” Schill said.

On Monday, three other former Northwestern players came forward with detailed allegations of racism within Fitzgerald’s program, dating back to the late 2000s. Hours after that story was published, news of Fitzgerald’s dismissal emerged.