Northwestern football: 3 ideal head coach replacements for Pat Fitzgerald

2. David Shaw, former Stanford HC

This one makes sense, too, but this is likely more of a pipe dream than anything else. David Shaw would be a fantastic fit at Stanford and would rebuild the culture, but he stepped down from his alma mater to take a break from coaching. I doubt he’d want to jump right back into it at a massive rebuild like Northwestern.

And Shaw is from California, so he’d be moving across the country just to take over a program that’s basically starting over from scratch.

Let’s say he was interested, though. He would know how it is to recruit with lofty academic standards and still find a way to land some blue-chip guys. He’d be able to potentially piece together some of the most talented rosters that Northwestern has ever seen.

If Northwestern decides to wait a year before making a full-time replacement and sticks with an interim throughout the 2023 campaign, it would make sense to make a push for Shaw.

There’s a good chance that he’ll want at least a full year off from coaching.