Interim head coach David Braun navigated a public relations minefield this summer. But that was nothing compared to the buzzsaw his Wildcats ran into on the field in New Jersey on Sunday.
Braun's debut turned sour almost immediately as Rutgers rattled off back-to-back 16-play drives to open up a 14-0 lead on their way to a dominant 24-7 win. He admitted postgame that he didn't expect the game to go the way it did, and so quickly.
"Absolutely," Braun said on if he was surprised by the result. "I expected to win a football game.
"I didn't exactly know how we were going to do that. There's so much to find out about this team. We found out a lot today and we'll continue to find out more."
It was a steep learning curve for Braun, a 38-year-old in his first game as an FBS coach. Even though the game didn't go his way, Braun said he took the level up in stride.
"I learned that football is football," Braun said. "There's certainly a lot more going on around Big Ten football, but I've had opportunities in the past to coach against Power Five teams.
"But at the end of the day, football is football and there's still a lot of things I need to clean up balancing head coach and calling a defense. But I had an incredible staff around me."
Braun said it was refreshing to take the field after spending so much of his summer and fall fielding questions on the hazing scandal that swept through the program in July and resulted in the firing of long-time head coach Pat Fitzgerald. That's why he didn't feel much weight or pressure coaching on Sunday.
"To be honest, this is the lightest I've been since I took over," he said. "We're playing football."
Accountability and a hunger for improvement going forward stood out in Braun's postgame remarks. He's still saddled with an interim tag and uncertain if he'll be in Evanston beyond this season, so he plans to do what he can, while he can.
"We're playing football," Braun continued. "It's an opportunity to look around with these guys, they've been working so hard. There are plenty of things that I need to work on that are very apparent. I need to be so much better and I look forward to being much better in this role."
Braun was happy with the way his defensive staff reacted to the Wildcats' slow start, especially with four new coaches, including himself. Rutgers got control of the game from the jump, but the defense's adjustments were effective. After their opening two drives, the Scarlet Knights finished with 10 points and 130 total yards the rest of the way.
"I'm really proud of the way our defensive staff operated today," he said. "There was short, succinct communication after drives and then adjustments were made.
"I think we're in a really good rhythm there, but not nearly where we need to be yet. There's a lot of work to do on that side of the ball, starting with me. But there are plenty of things that need to be worked on, with me juggling and making sure I'm serving the entire program and all three phases of the game."
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MORE GAME COVERAGE: The David Braun Era begins with a thud l Takeaways: Rutgers 24, Northwestern 7
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One of Michael Fassbender's famous quotes form his role as Steve Jobs in the movie of the same name is: "Musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra." Part of the difference between a coordinator and a head coach is learning to play the orchestra; to conduct the whole team, not just one side of the ball.
A key part of that symphony is sideline and locker room management, gauging the mood of the team and keeping it on track towards victory.
"There was certainly frustration from a competitive standpoint," Braun said about his team's attitude on the sideline. "Some people might say 'show up and do your best, you guys have been through so much.'
"This team came out here to win a football game, and they're frustrated that they didn't, that they fell short, we fell short and I fell short. There's certainly been a level of frustration, but there's been togetherness that has continued to shine through. Guys were picking each other up and I'm really proud of the way our offense closed out that game."
The offense had a grand closing, punching in their only score with a touchdown by the second string with just :19 left on the clock to break up a shutout. But it was far from a grand opening. The Wildcats tallied just 156 yards through the first 57:15 before picking up 45 on the final drive, when the game was well in Rutgers' hands.
Braun said he needs to work on juggling responsibilities and spreading his attention to all three phases. One phase that is in desperate need of that attention is the offense.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian's attempts to recapture the complementary system that propelled the 2020 team to the Big Ten title game continue to come up well short.
Northwestern mustered only 12 rushing yards against a Rutgers team that finished last in the Big Ten East last season, and may very well finish there again this year. Braun said his exchanges with Bajakian throughout the game were brief -- as expected from a new head coach whose background is on the other side of the ball.
"[Those] are very short conversations about what he needs from me," Braun said. "I'm listening on the offensive side when the offense is on the field, and I fully trust that those guys are doing everything in their power to make sure that we make adjustments and do what we need to do to move the ball and score points.”
With a disappointing debut in the rearview mirror, it is now on Braun to prepare his team for their first game at home at Ryan Field against UTEP. The short week will make it even more challenging to bounce back.
"Just like I communicated to the team...there's no 24-hour [break]," Braun said. "We're going to get back tonight, we're going to rest and recover.
"We'll review the film tomorrow afternoon in an abbreviated fashion and learn from the things we need to learn from. Then we'll put our focus on getting out on Ryan Field and beating UTEP."
It was evident on the field on Sunday that Northwestern has a lot of work to do to get back to being a competitive program. It was evident in the postgame press conference that Braun is ready to put in the time where he can, while he can, to try and get them there.
