Tulane hoping no-nonsense Fritz lifts languishing program

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tulane chose substance over style in hiring Willie Fritz as the newest coach for its long-languishing football program.

The 56-year-old Fritz hasn't coached any high-profile college football programs. In fact, he has only two seasons of coaching at the NCAA's top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision to his name, having methodically worked his way up through junior college, Division II and the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision.

But Fritz does have a history of winning at every stop. He twice coached Sam Houston State to FCS national title games. His first FBS job came in 2014 with Georgia Southern, a program that was just moving up from the FCS and in its first season in the Sun Belt Conference. Most predictions had Fritz's Eagles finishing last in the Sun Belt that year. Instead, they finished first.

Now Fritz has taken over a Tulane squad that has struggled mightily in its first two seasons in the American Athletic Conference, and which went 3-9 in 2015. His coordinators have overhauled the schemes on offense and defense, and Fritz oversees special teams himself.

So far, players are using words such as "stern," ''punctual," and "organized" to describe their new coach.

Glen Cuiellette, a redshirt sophomore competing for the open starting quarterback job, said the Green Wave could very well benefit from those traits.

"I'm not being ugly with my teammates or anybody. I just feel like that's kind of what we lacked as a unit, mostly because we were young," Cuiellette said. "Now we're just maturing, getting everything done, know what to do and making plays on the field in practice."

Senior linebacker Nico Marley said he believes his veteran teammates will "buy in" to changes brought by Fritz's staff because they're desperate to improve after consecutive three-win seasons.

"You can hear it in our conversations. You can see it in our focus," Marley said. "You feel the urgency. You feel the hunger."

Fritz can be flexible, though, particularly as it pertains to schemes and personnel. At Georgia Southern, Fritz ran a lot of triple option, but said he prefers to throw about 30 times a game if his players prove proficient at it.

"You've got to adapt and improvise," Fritz said. "We're always evaluating ourselves and we're seeing what's good and isn't good and why. ... We'll change it up over the course of the season based on our success or lack of success."

Here are some things to know about Tulane in 2016:

SPECIAL ATTENTION: Missed field goals and botched punts were all-too-common for the Green Wave last season. Fritz not only is coaching special teams himself, but also asking every player on the roster to compete for those snaps. "We're going to play our best players" on special teams, Fritz asserted, adding that he's telling projected offensive and defensive starters, "If we're not playing you out there (on special teams), that's not a compliment. That means I just don't think you're good enough to play in the kicking game."

QB COMPETITION: Tulane will have a new QB because 2015 starter Tanner Lee has transferred to Nebraska. Cuiellette, a redshirt sophomore, has the edge in experience, but a pair of freshmen - Jonathan Brantley and Darius Bradwell - are in the mix. Cuiellette came to Tulane as more of a drop-back passer. Brantley and Bradwell were strong runners in high school. "I wouldn't be surprised if they have a multi-quarterback system because they've done it before," Cuiellette said of Fritz and his offensive assistants. "That's kind of what I'm expecting."

SEASON OPENER: The Fritz era begins with one of the toughest games on Tulane's 2016 schedule - a Thursday night tilt at Wake Forest on Sept. 1. If Tulane is competitive in that game, it should only increase Fritz's credibility with a roster that includes many players not recruited by him.

KEY GAMES: In addition to the season opener, pivotal games include a Sept. 17 visit from Navy, which will be Tulane's conference opener. Non-conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette visits on Sept. 24 in a game that could influence in-state recruiting. Tulane visits Houston, an AAC favorite, on Nov. 12.

PREDICTION: It's tough to tell if Tulane has any more talent than last year's squad, but Fritz has proved he can win when expectations are low, offering hope that the Green Wave can be in contention for bowl eligibility come November.

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