Braun and staff making a strong early impression on IHSA coaches
Pat Fitzgerald was head coach at Northwestern for 17 years and was notorious for the strong bonds he built in Illinois coaching circles.
Now, Northwestern football has turned over a new leaf after Fitzgerald was fired last summer, and David Braun is at the helm.
WildcatReport conducted a 10-question survey of some of the premier programs in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) to take the temperature of the state's best high school coaches on Braun, and their early impressions of him as a recruiter and coach.
The coaches were promised anonymity in exchange for their honesty, but we included general descriptions of their programs to provide context. Their responses have been edited for conciseness and clarity.
Coach 1: Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference coach
Coach 2: Suburban 7A coach
Coach 3: Suburban 7A coach
Coach 4: Veteran coach for an elite program
Coach 5: Coach for a downstate power
Coach 6: Chicagoland coach with player(s) on Northwestern's roster
Coach 7: Suburban 7A coach
Coach 8: Coach for a downstate power
1. What has David Braun done to introduce himself as Northwestern's head coach?
Coach 1: I've known David for a while, but as the Northwestern coach he definitely made it a point to call when [his hiring] happened, and also [he] has stopped by our school, which goes a long way.
Coach 3: I have known Coach Braun previously from his other coaching stops. He has always been really respected by IHSA coaches. He has also made some staff changes and has done a good job of connecting me with our new area recruiters.
Coach 4: Coach Braun reached out to me when he was initially hired as DC (he has recruited our school for the past 15 years). When he became head coach, he reached out a few times during the season and stopped in to school twice since being named head coach. To put it into perspective, he is the only current Big Ten and D1 Illinois school['s] head coach to not only stop in, but also contact me directly.
Coach 5: I have not met Coach Braun yet, but considering the circumstances that Northwestern has been through and how everything for him has happened so fast, I think that is completely fine. The recruiting staff/operations have been in regular contact and do everything that a coach could want.
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