NAU Gets A Second Case of the PFLU

[otis campbell]

Robin Pflugrad, former Montana HC, has been hired as receivers coach at NAU. His son Aaron will be the OC. Bad news for the rest of the BSC. Do the Bengals play the Jacks this year?

 

[SLCBengal]

September 29th in Pocatello.

 

[otis campbell]

Head Coach in waiting. AFTER last year's fiasco about 2017 being Sauer's last year, then extending him, I wouldn't doubt Jerome tells the NAU administration to go pound sand. Pflu is no slouch. Took Montana to the semi's in year two, but lost to SHS, 31-28. Tingey could have had him after Kramer, but noooo....Phenicie. hno:

 

[mvem]

Head Coach in waiting. After last year's fiasco about 2017 being Sauer's last year, then extending him, I wouldn't doubt Jerome tells the NAU administration to go pound sand. Pflu is no slouch. Took Montana to the semi's in year two, but lost to SHS, 31-28.

If Souers was going to tell NAU to "pound sand," he would have done it at the end of last season. The VP of athletics who sort-of fired him in September left for UTSA during the final weekend of the regular season; that's why he got unfired.

Pflugrad did initially take Montana to the semis in 2011, but that was vacated by the NCAA. The sanctions are why Pflugrad's been effectively in career purgatory for the last 5 years. I really doubt he's the "head coach in waiting" in Flagstaff. His son was already on the staff, plus Pflugrad & Souers are high-school buddies.

 

[otis campbell]

Mvem, only time will tell. Don't know if you are familiar with the specifics of Pflu's departure and purgatory. The Griz QB was accused of rape by a female acquaintance. UM President Engstrom and a few other administrators wanted him immediately expelled. Pflu stated Johnson was a man of character, which pissed of Engstrom, who evidently, told AD O'Day to fire Pflu. He refused. Both were called to Engstrom's office and fired at the same time. Johnson was acquitted, after a lengthy trial, in less than an hour. NCAA and two federal agencies investigated, Engstrom quickly self imposed sanctions on the program and a consent order from one of the fed agencies, crippling the program to this day, all based on an unrelated unfounded accusation and unwise prosecution. All supported by a incompetent President and several administrators, who, by the way, also allowed a known rapist student from Saudi Arabia to flee the country just ahead of the law.
I've left a LOT out for the sake of brevity, but needless to say it has been a left wing witch hunt in Missoula for the past six years, and is now resurfacing again after Bobby Hauck's hiring. It's now called a "culture of toxic masculinity" by the left, which permeates Missoula and the local press. Pflu has been phucked since 2012. He's finally getting a break.

 

[mvem]

Mvem, only time will tell. Don't know if you are familiar with the specifics of Pflu's departure and purgatory. The Griz QB was accused of rape by a female acquaintance. UM President Engstrom and a few other administrators wanted him immediately expelled. Pflu stated Johnson was a man of character, which pissed of Engstrom, who evidently, told AD O'Day to fire Pflu. He refused. Both were called to Engstrom's office and fired at the same time. Johnson was acquitted, after a lengthy trial, in less than an hour. NCAA and two federal agencies investigated, Engstrom quickly self imposed sanctions on the program and a consent order from one of the fed agencies, crippling the program to this day, all based on an unrelated unfounded accusation and unwise prosecution. All supported by a incompetent President and several administrators, who, by the way, also allowed a known rapist student from Saudi Arabia to flee the country just ahead of the law.
I've left a LOT out for the sake of brevity, but needless to say it has been a left wing witch hunt in Missoula for the past six years, and is now resurfacing again after Bobby Hauck's hiring. It's now called a "culture of toxic masculinity" by the left, which permeates Missoula and the local press. Pflu has been phucked since 2012. He's finally getting a break.

I'm a Montana fan, so I'm very familiar with the whole Pflugrad, etc., deal.

Engstrom may not have done it for the right reasons, but I believe O'Day & Pflugrad deserved to be fired regardless because they were primarily responsible for getting UM the NCAA sanctions. The NCAA sanctions had nothing to do with the Jordan Johnson stuff—they mostly arose from the aftermath of the so-called "Tasergate" incident involving Trumaine Johnson & Gerald Kemp. Two major NCAA violations occurred there, but O'Day & Pflugrad just sat there & did virtually nothing & (I guess) hoped it would magically go away. They even neglected to inform the compliance officer for some reason. If they'd dealt with those issues with even some modicum of competence, UM would've likely got a slap on the wrist, but instead the football program had to deal with noticeable scholarship restrictions for most of the Delaney & Stitt eras.

 

[otis campbell]

Thank you mvem, relying on my memory is, well, less than reliable. Needless to say lots of water under the Van Buren Street Bridge, lots of events, but not to be rehashed here. Six years of purgatory, for this? Ironic, I was living in Pokey during this period without internet, and, well, the ISJ is what it is. When Jerome steps down, whenever, RP will probably get the call, IMHO. Maybe ISU, who knows?

 

[mvem]

Thank you mvem, relying on my memory is, well, less than reliable. Needless to say lots of water under the Van Buren Street Bridge, lots of events, but not to be rehashed here. Six years of purgatory, for this? Ironic, I was living in Pokey during this period without internet, and, well, the ISJ is what it is. When Jerome steps down, whenever, RP will probably get the call, IMHO. Maybe ISU, who knows?

I guess Pflugrad could be in the mix at NAU whenever Souers leaves, but Andy Thompson (DC & now Assistant HC) has basically been designated the guy in waiting.

IMO: Pflugrad is a good choice to be an offensive coordinator, but he shouldn't be a head coach. He just seemed to be lacking in the overall team leadership department while he was in Missoula—maybe a Big Sky equivalent of Norv Turner. He got away with it in part because he had Mike Breske as his DC, but Breske left in 2012 before Pflugrad was fired so things may have gone downhill anyway even if RP had kept his job.