Northwestern Football: How has Pat Fitzgerald not been poached yet?
Northwestern football head coach Pat Fitzgerald has shown major progress during his time in Evanston, proving he could be a hot target for other programs.
At one point, Northwestern Wildcats head football coach Pat Fitzgerald was the youngest coach in all of college football.
That was back in 2006 when Fitzgerald was 32 years old taking over a Northwestern program that was struggling to find success and had not seen a coach post a plus-.500 record during his tenure since the late 1950s.
Fitzgerald has been around Northwestern his whole life. From 1993-1996, he played linebacker and slot receiver for the Wildcats and it was not long after he graduated before he finally returned to the program as a defensive backs coach. From 2001-2005, Fitzgerald served as the defensive back, linebacker, and recruiting coordinator and was seen by many as the eventual head coach to take over after longtime coach Randy Walker.
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Unfortunately, a tragic transition took place as Walker passed away from a heart attack and Fitzgerald took over a few years before expected. His first season saw just four wins, but the program improved instantly, seeing six wins in his second go-around before posting a 9-3 record in 2008 and playing in the Alamo Bowl. Fitzgerald was also named Coach of the Year.
Today, Fitzgerald boasts the best winning percentage for any Northwestern coach since the 1930s at .572. He has brought the Wildcats to eight bowl games in his 12 seasons with the program and is fresh off the program’s first 10-win campaign in since 2012. The Wildcats reach their tenth win with a thrilling one-point victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.
With the clear improvement the Northwestern program has seen since Fitzgerald took over, why has there not been any major move to poach him from the program. Yes, Northwestern has not won a Big Ten title under him, so there is reason to believe he could move for a better opportunity- yet 12 seasons in and there have never been any serious rumblings about that happening.
The answer is quite simple. This is his dream job.
Much like many others who are returning to the alma mater, such as Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst and Nebraska’s Scott Frost, Fitzgerald wants to succeed right where he is. For instance, a non-football example would be during last year’s Northwestern basketball tournament run. Fitzgerald was seen in almost every home game and was around the team whenever he could be. He simply loves Northwestern University.
Another reason Fitzgerald has stayed put is he sees the potential for himself at Northwestern. With the lack of success within the program for generations, Fitzgerald has the opportunity to go down as the greatest Wildcats coach of all time. At only 43 years of age and 12 seasons in already, he has already proven that consistency and loyalty within a program is a major key for improvement.
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If there was any speculation that Fitzgerald could be stolen by another program, he subtly shut that door prior to the 2017 season when he signed a 10-year extension to run through the 2026 season. It is clear the athletic department is high on the man who helped bring the program to its last Rose Bowl as a player, and the feelings are mutual as Fitzgerald has no intention of coaching anywhere else than the place he spent majority of his life already.