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Northwestern Football: It’s official, Pat Fitzgerald’s job security is unmatched

By Connor Muldowney

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Pat Fitzgerald of the Northwestern Wildcats waits with the team to enter the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 5: Head coach Pat Fitzgerald of the Northwestern Wildcats waits with the team to enter the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 5, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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After being courted by NFL teams, Pat Fitzgerald decided he’d stay with Northwestern football in quite possibly the most secure job in the country.

When you think of coaches with the most secure jobs in the country, a couple names come to mind right away: Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney. After that, you have Ryan Day, Lincoln Riley and maybe someone like Gary Patterson who has been with TCU forever.

But one name that doesn’t get talked about enough in terms of job security is Pat Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald has been the head coach of Northwestern, his alma mater, since 2006 and the program has experienced record highs and extreme lows during his tenure, but his job is as safe as anyone’s in the country — yes, even Saban and Swinney.

NFL teams were trying to court him this offseason but he just made the decision to sign an extension that will keep him at Northwestern until 2030.

There’s no doubt, this makes him the most secure head coach in America, and why not?

At Northwestern, the expectations are to contend for bowl eligibility and if you don’t make a bowl and win six games, it’s not the end of the world. Come back the next year and show improvement and all will be forgiven. The expectations are not the same as they would be at Alabama, Ohio State or Clemson. No, he can win 10 games once every 3-4 years and he’s considered a legend.

Fitzgerald gets paid millions of dollars to win 5-7 games for a few years and then win 8-10 every third or fourth year and he’s never on the hot seat.

On top of that, he plays in one of the easiest divisions in college football (the Big Ten West) and has made a couple of conference title games (that he had no business even thinking about winning). The Wildcats are 106-81 under Fitzgerald with a 63-60 record in Big Ten play. That’s not spectacular, but at Northwestern, it’s unprecedented.

You could argue that Fitzgerald has the best job in America right now based on expectations, results and salary. It’s definitely the safest.

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