Fritz poised to break long-standing trend for Tulane by sticking around

I am surprised that so many are surprised.

Almost immediately after the Tulane Green Wave snapped Cincinnati’s 32-game home winning streak, securing their first American Athletic Conference championship-game appearance, came reports that head coach Willie Fritz was in talks with Georgia Tech about that school’s vacant head coaching position.

Fortunately for Tulane and its fans, a statement was released saying Fritz, on the job for seven seasons, will not be headed to Atlanta.

When the report came out that Fritz was potentially levaing, I heard lots of comments like this:

“I can’t believe it!”

“Why would he leave when things are going in the right direction?”

“Fritz doesn’t seem like the type to chase dollar signs.”

I guess it’s a generational thing.  After all, if you are a long-time fan of Tulane football, you almost expect a coach who experiences some degree of success to pack up and leave. Immediately.

No disrespect intended but Tulane has been looked upon as a stepping stone job for ambitious college coaches for a long time.

Tommy Bowden had two very successful seasons, including the 12-0 year of 1998.  He left before the team played in the Liberty Bowl when Clemson came calling.

Mack Brown was on the job for three seasons from 1985-87. He was 12 games under .500 but a 6-5 regular-season mark and an Independence Bowl in 1987 made him attractive enough to North Carolina.

In four seasons at Tulane (1976-79), Larry Smith was 18-27.  A 9-3 record and a Liberty Bowl appearance in 1979 propelled him to the University of Arizona.

Jim Pittman had the job five seasons (1966-70) and compiled an 21-30-1 record.  Four days after a Liberty Bowl upset of Colorado that capped an 8-4 worksheet, Pittman accepted the job at TCU.  Seven games into his initial season in Fort Worth, Pittman collapsed on the sideline during a game against Baylor and died of a heart attack.

The pattern goes back nearly a century.  Bernie Bierman experienced five successful seasons (1927-31), going 36-10-2 including a Rose Bowl invitation to face USC after the 1931 season. He bolted to Minnesota where he won five national championships.  Bierman was a Minnesota graduate so it was understandable.  As Doug Williams said when he returned to Grambling as head coach, “When Mother calls…”

You get the picture.

So when a Tulane coach flips the record from 2-10 to 10-2, you knew Fritz’s name would show up in connection with an opening or two.

It will be nice to finally see a Green Wave coach return to the sidelines here after a highly successful season.  Fritz, the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, is poised to break the trend.  Perhaps we could look beyond next year as he looks to compete for more conference crowns.

One thing that could work in Tulane’s favor – and there’s no insult intended – is age. Willie Fritz is 62. Although not exactly old in the grand scheme of things, college football coaching is a young man’s game.  Unless you’re Nick Saban.

Opportunities, not that Fritz is looking, become scarce with the passage of time.  Look at the ages-of-departure for our previously mentioned coaches:

Mack Brown 36

Bernie Bierman 37

Larry Smith 40

Tommy Bowden 44

Jim Pittman 45

Let’s assume Tulane finally has a coach in Fritz who intends to end his career directing the Green Wave. Now say he coaches until he’s 70.  That would mean a 15-year coaching career at Tulane.  It would be the longest tenure for a head coach in program history, four years more than the current record-holder, Clark Shaughnessy with 11 seasons.

Right now, the bottom line is it appears Tulane may have found a coach who, in this era of the transfer portal and seemingly constant conference realignment, will hang around and produce long term success. That means more than just one year of eye-opening success.

That would be a Helluva Hullabaloo.