ESPN analyst on Northwestern’s outlook: ‘Expectations are almost zero’
The pressure meter on David Braun is zero, this as the Northwestern football head coach navigates a most tricky and unusual offseason. And with the season opener at Rutgers just a month away, nothing much is expected from this Northwestern team.
Braun joined Northwestern this January as their defensive coordinator. He became interim head coach when Pat Fitzgerald was fired following the fallout of a hazing scandal.
This week on ‘Always College Football,’ ESPN analyst Greg McElroy went through a ranking of what head coaches are currently on the hot seat. McElroy believes that Braun, who is likely only a stopgap until Northwestern straightens out their position, is facing low expectations.
“David Braun, who steps in as the interim head coach at Northwestern. I think the pressure is at one because the expectations are almost zero,” McElroy said.
“I mean, you look at the roster where they were last year, the fact that they have a lot of issues within the program itself. I don’t think there’s a whole lot that can be done to salvage the ’23 season for Northwestern now if they surprise and overachieved that’s great, but I’m not anticipating that right now. So I’m putting David Braun at a one.”
Northwestern opens the first weekend of September at Rutgers, a team that is looking to build into a bowl season.
This week, Northwestern made some news with the hire of Skip Holtz to their staff. Holtz will be an overseer of sorts for the program, providing some guidance for Braun, who has never been a head coach.
