ESPN’s Joe Schad broke the news early Saturday morning that Northwestern Athletic Director Jim Phillips is a candidate for the recently vacated Michigan Athletic Director position. Then NU kicked off at Iowa and the Wildcats failed to show up. Northwestern had quite possibly the ugliest performance of the Pat Fitzgerald era yesterday. Maybe the 2010 visit to Wisconsin was worse; it’s debatable.
NU certainly played like a team without leadership, whether that’s on the coordinators, or on Fitzgerald, or related to the fact that the leader of the athletic program could be leaving for a bigger and better job…only people in the inner circle know for sure. Anything outsiders say is just speculation.
Continuing on this spirit of speculation, here’s why Jim Phillips leaving NU for Michigan makes sense. And also why it doesn’t.
This happens every year
The name of NU’s Jim Phillips always comes up whenever there’s an A.D. opening somewhere. As soon as Dave Brandon was fired, oops I mean willingly stepped down. He totally stepped down by his own accord. 100% Brandon’s choice. No one forced his hand. Nope. Not at all, I knew Phillips’ name would come up.
Recently, he’s been linked to Notre Dame, Penn State, Illinois…even as the eventual successor to Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney. For whatever reason, the man with many starchy white dress shirts is still in Evanston today. Maybe this rumor is more smoke than fire.
He’s the perfect candidate
The fact that Phillips’ name is being mentioned shows that Michigan seems to be progressing beyond their traditionally stuck-in-the-past thinking. Yes, Michigan has the second most all time wins of any college football program in the nation. However, only one of their national titles came after 1948. People love to pick on Notre Dame for living in their glorious past, but the Wolverines are much more guilty of this.
The fact that Michigan is now looking at a non Michigan Man is progress. Because the fact that the phrase “Michigan Man” even exists, and carries the weight that that it does…well, that’s where the root of Michigan’s problems are. Because Brady Hoke is a Michigan Man; who loves to say the word Michigan.
Michigan.
Michigan.
Perhaps the people in Ann Arbor are starting to realize that simply stating “we’re Michigan” doesn’t cut it anymore. Institutionalized adherence to the brand/corporation/team etc. leads to self-defeating groupthink.
Time to go outside the beltway.
Jim Phillips has gotten it done
Aside from the PR black eye of the blood-splattered uniforms (coincidentally worn versus Michigan, and exactly one year ago), not much has gone wrong on Phillips watch in Evanston. (The unionization issue draw criticism from both sides of the political aisle, but that situation was unprecedented. What A.D. would be prepared for that? It’s hard to imagine any Athletic Director handling that well)
The jingoistic unis were as much an Under Armor blunder as they were a Northwestern one, and it’s not all that big a deal when you consider all the scandal that’s occurred elsewhere in college football.
Yes, the obnoxious infomercials for the nation’s military embedded within the program is off-putting, but that’s not a Northwestern thing.
It’s everywhere in sports. Everywhere.
Yes, the program in general loves to attach itself to the flag, the military-industrial complex etc. every chance they get, but look at Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball. The mindless patriotism of “all military personnel can do no wrong” ethos is even more pervasive in Spartan basketball.
But again that’s every sport, college and pro. This week it will reach it’s most obnoxious time of the year- Veteran’s Day approaches. Every November, there’s always an “arm’s race” from every sports network and every sports franchise to market itself to the infallibility of American jingoism.
Back to the original point, Jim Phillips has made NU sports more nationally relevant than it’s ever been. That’s why Michigan has come calling. Coincidentally, look what team comes to Evanston this weekend.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2