Talk about a rough 24 hours.

First, NIU head coach Joe Novak gets trampled by TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl, then he loses his right-hand man.

In case you hadn’t heard, NIU assistant coach and offensive line coach Sam Pittman was hired as the offensive line coach at North Carolina on Dec. 20.

Yes, that is the day right after NIU’s bowl game. Which means that while many NIU fans were still packing for their flights back to Illinois, Pittman may already have been far away from the state – if only in his mind.

The loss of any coach is disheartening, but what’s really sad is that Pittman was rumored to be “the guy” to succeed Novak whenever he decided to retire. Pittman had been with the program for four years, and he had the fire and personality many admired.

But instead, Pittman took a step down in position to take a step up the ladder from the Mid American Conference to the Atlantic Coastal Conference.

NIU has a history of coaches who jump ship to bigger and better programs. Numerous University of Illinois coaches have NIU on their resume. The loss of Pittman solidifies the fact that as far as coaches are concerned, NIU is the equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues.

Coaches scrape and tough it out here at NIU and other mid-major schools in the hopes of someone from one of the “majors” noticing them enough to pull them up to the next level.

Should NIU fans be angry with Pittman? No. Anyone in his position would have done the same. Just know that when Pittman’s replacement is hired, fans shouldn’t get too attached to him. He may already have one foot out the door.