Saturday Blitz
Fansided

5 most overpaid head coaches in college football for 2022

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 1, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin waits to enter the field before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the 2022 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin waits to enter the field before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the 2022 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Oct 30, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald looks on in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2021; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald looks on in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern ($5.75 million)

Would it surprise you if I told you that Pat Fitzgerald is the fifth-highest paid head coach in the Big Ten and the 14th-highest in all of college football? It should because Northwestern isn’t exactly a cash cow when it comes to athletics and the football program hasn’t been “elite” either.

I’ll hand it to Fitzgerald, though, he has compiled 109 wins over 16 seasons at Northwestern which really isn’t easy to do. He has never won a Big Ten title, compiling a 64-68 league record, but he has won two division titles which is actually more than most programs in the conference since the induction of the conference title game.

Fitzgerald makes $5.75 million per year and is probably the most secure head coach in the country because he can go 3-9 or 4-8 every few years as long as he makes bowl games more often than not. He can go 3-9 — like he did in 2021 — and then win 10 games in 2022 and all the bad is forgotten for about 5-6 years. Heck, he won the division in 2020, so his nightmare 2021 season is already overlooked.

Northwestern fans don’t expect much from the football program, but competing every 4-5 years is enough to keep Fitzgerald around and make him a top-15 coach in the country, apparently.

Fitzgerald is perfect for Northwestern, but $5.75 is too much.

Home/College Football News