For most of his 27 years in Evanston, Ill., Pat Fitzgerald was the face of Northwestern football. A two-time winner of both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Benarik Award in 1995 and ‘96, Fitzgerald was a College Football Hall of Famer for his playing career with the Wildcats. He rejoined his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2001, becoming the program’s head coach in ‘06 after the abrupt death of Randy Walker.
His tenure collapsed during the summer of 2023, after deeply troubling reports of hazing within the program. Fitzgerald was initially given a two-week suspension, and later fired by the program after an internal investigation “largely corroborated” the complaints issued by an anonymous whistleblower.
Fitzgerald sued the school for wrongful termination, and after two years, the two sides settled for an undisclosed amount in August. Northwestern’s statement on the settlement thanked Fitzgerald for his time with the university and supported his assertion that he did not know about or condone the hazing found within the program.
“While the litigation brought to light highly inappropriate conduct in the football program and the harm it caused, the evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing. Moreover, when presented with the details of the conduct, he was incredibly upset and saddened by the negative impact this conduct had on players within the program.”
Speaking to ESPN’s with Rece Davis and Pete Thamel, Fitzgerald confirmed that he is ready to continue his college coaching career after the settlement, and feels completely vindicated by the findings.
“I feel 100% vindicated. … I feel vindicated for our players, our families, our staff."
Fitzgerald addressed what he called an unplanned “sabbatical,” calling it a “blessing” in that it allowed him to coach his sons in high school, but also gave him the chance to take a top-down view of the current college game. While the transfer portal and NIL era was in its nascent days when he last coached Northwestern in 2022, the sport looks radically different just a few years later, especially with the recent House settlement that allows schools to pay athletes directly.
“Not being in the thick of it every single day gives you an opportunity to learn greatly,” he said.
"I just feel like I've got a Ph.D. I'm well rested, no bags under the eyes, ready to put the whistle around my neck and put the neck roll on and get ready to go. Somewhere, hopefully, this will work out and go win some championships."
Fitzgerald’s absence from the game during its most transformative period is a likely concern for any athletic directors looking to fill vacancies within the sport. He also ran what was a very traditional developmental program at Northwestern, something that is hard to maintain in 2025, with unprecedented player movement every year. Speaking to ESPN, he embraced the new model, and stressed that he looks forward to working with a general manager to find effective, efficient models of player compensation.
“The old era’s dead. We don't see dinosaurs walking around anymore because you have to evolve,” Fitzgerald said. “If you're a head coach that that doesn't understand that, then your days are limited. And and that's just the reality of college football.”
Fitzgerald also acknowledged that he’d entertain NFL possibilities if they came, though he was realistic about whether that would happen.
“Do I think I could go bring what we do and win a Super Bowl?” Fitzgerald said. “Absolutely. I just don't think that that timing is going to play out with where things are going to go based on the interest to this point.”
’s Bryan Fischer listed Fitzgerald as a potential name to watch for the Virginia Tech opening. With upwards of 40 schools set to look for new coaches in what promises to become the most active coaching carousel in recent memory, the odds look good that Fitzgerald will have another opportunity to lead a program in 2026.
Pat Fitzgerald’s coaching record at Northwestern
Fitzgerald went 110–101 in 17 seasons as Wildcats coach, with a 65–76 record in Big Ten play. His tenure featured 10 bowl games, five finishes in the AP and Coaches Poll Top 25—topping out with a No. 10 finish in the two polls to end the 2020 season.
That year, he guided Northwestern to a 7–2 record in the COVID-19-shortened season, winning the Big Ten West and advancing to the conference championship game for the second time in three seasons, falling to Ohio State both times.
The program won 10 games three times during his tenure—in 2012, ‘15 and ‘17. Things looked to be trending in the wrong direction during Fitzgerald’s final two seasons, as Northwestern posted records of 3–9 and 1–11 with just single Big Ten wins in both 2021 and ‘22. As Fitzgerald noted in his interview with ESPN, interim coach David Braun led the Wildcats to an 8–5 (5–4) campaign in ‘23.
