Northwestern football: 3 ideal head coach replacements for Pat Fitzgerald

Just as quickly as the Pat Fitzgerald controversy unfolded, the Northwestern football coach is out as head coach of the Wildcats. It feels like we just heard about his two-week suspension, but the stories that came out got worse and worse and he was let go on Monday.

This comes as a surprise to just about everyone who considered him one of the most respected head coaches in the sport, and replacing him won’t be easy.

Northwestern has some legit options, though. Here are my top three “ideal” Fitzgerald replacements for the Wildcats.

3. Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan HC

If Northwestern wants to go the route of a rising Group of Five head coach, Chris Creighton would likely be the most obvious choice.

Creighton has spent most of his head coaching career in Big Ten country so it wouldn’t be a culture shock and he has been successful at one of the nation’s biggest bottom-dwellers. He took over a dead Eastern Michigan program and in just three seasons, he turned the Eagles into a bowl team. He has made five bowl games in the past seven years at Eastern which is unheard of for the program.

If he took over at Northwestern, he would likely be facing an even bigger rebuild, but he’s shown that he can do it and it would be a perfect fit for him. Not too big of a school but not a small one.

This would be the perfect place for him to get started in the Power Five.