When David Braun spoke to the media on Monday ahead of Northwestern’s season opener against Rutgers, there was something hanging over his head.
And that isn’t a metaphor. The team meeting room inside the Walter Athletic Center is still covered in slogans from Pat Fitzgerald’s time in Evanston, everything from W.I.N. (What’s Important Now), to goals and objectives that will be familiar to anyone who has followed the Wildcats: win the West, win the Big Ten Championship, win our bowl game.
Braun’s weekly media sessions represent one of the first tangible breaks from Fitzgerald inside the Northwestern football program. With fall camp in the rearview mirror and Rutgers on the horizon, Braun’s approach to dealing with the media is coming into focus.
“I’ve tried to be as transparent as I possibly can and just be myself,” Braun said. “That’s something I’ve learned from my opportunities to connect with media, some of whom I’ve known previously and some of whom I’m meeting for the first time.”
“Transparent” is the part of that statement that jumps out. It’s something members of the media always value when dealing with college football coaches. But after this summer’s hazing scandal, Braun needs to prioritize transparency more than ever.
On that front, Monday’s press conference was a challenging one. Several members of the media asked Braun why student-athletes were not made available to answer questions this week, something Northwestern’s interim head coach confirmed was his decision.
“Our players have been available,” Braun said. “We’re focused on Rutgers and moving forward into game week, to make sure we stay focused on Rutgers, I felt like it was an opportunity for me to speak and [for them] to focus on the game plan.”
Players have been available the past three weeks, though they were selected by the program. Zach Wingrove, Northwestern Athletics' Director of Public Relations and Digital Media, confirmed player availability by request will start next week. But the players' absence this week served as a reminder of Braun's guarded relationship with the media.
Fitzgerald was notoriously cagey about game plans, injuries and roster details throughout his career and even more so in recent seasons. That's something that Braun has emulated so far.
He and his staff have chosen their starting quarterback but decided to keep that information in-house until the game this weekend. They have yet to name their captains. He hasn't clarified the somewhat nebulous roles of two recent coaching staff additions, special assistant Skip Holtz and defensive assistant DJ Vokolek.
Any questions about the quarterback battle or starters and rotations at other positions have resulted in Braun listing almost the entire position group, with compliments for each. This fall, we've heard the names of backup quarterbacks Ryan Hilinski and Jack Lausch almost as often as Ben Bryant and Brendan Sullivan, the two combatants for the starting job.
Braun's personality with the media is more earnest and straightforward. He doesn't have the free-wheeling and irreverent attitude that made Fitzgerald's press conferences notable and entertaining. Answering a reporter’s cell phone when it went off. Calling the RPO college football’s “purest form of communism.” Blaming smartphones for declining attendance at games.
As a football program competing for attention in the Big Ten and the Chicago sports media landscape, Fitzgerald's off-the-cuff moments got people talking about the Wildcats. For the first time in a long time, that’s not the problem.
As hazing allegations, investigations and lawsuits swirl around the program, Braun’s approach is noticeably different than his predecessor's, and should be. It's important to remember that it took Fitzgerald years to develop an easy rapport with the media; Braun is in his first year. Beyond his go-to phrases – “lean into” and “galvanize” were popular throughout fall camp – Northwestern’s interim head coach is more soft spoken and deliberate in his answers.
Braun has been guarded with the media and protective of his players but he has not been openly antagonistic. He can better be described as wary. Braun's press conference on Monday, the fourth since the team started fall camp, ran for more than 20 minutes. When it’s a topic he wants to discuss, Braun has shown a willingness to answer at length and open up a little more.
At Big Ten Media Days, Braun spoke about his Midwest roots and watching the Northwestern teams of the 90’s upset Notre Dame and Wisconsin. He’s updated the media on his daughter Blake, born last month. Just last week, he spoke about his relationship with Richie Hagarty, a transfer defensive end who is also a father, and shared his advice about being a parent.
With plenty of questions about the hazing scandal and culture of the program looming as the 2023 season begins, Braun isn’t aiming for a viral soundbite. He's trying to steady his team after a tumultuous summer.
His attempts to bring focus back to football have been consistent but not always successful. Referring to the "Cats Against the World 51" T-shirts that members of the program wore at the first open practice as "free speech" became the focal point in that media cycle. Closing the next practice that was originally intended to be open seemed like a reaction to further close ranks.
His college coach at Winona State, Tom Sawyer, described Braun before the season as “a little softer on the outside” but with an “internal competitiveness.” Right now, that’s exactly who Northwestern needs facing the media.
“Just speak with passion, speak from the heart and be true to who I am,” Braun said on Monday. “Regardless of how people interpret that, at least I can walk away knowing that I was being myself.”
