ESPN insider: Pat Fitzgerald ‘likely’ to return to coaching after Northwestern settlement
By Derek Hryn
Published:
Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald may soon be back on the sidelines.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Fitzgerald is “likely” to pursue coaching opportunities following Thursday’s settlement with Northwestern that ended his wrongful termination lawsuit.
“He wants to get back into coaching,” Thamel said.
Fitzgerald, 50, was fired in July 2023 after hazing allegations surfaced within the Wildcats’ football program. Though the university initially suspended him for two weeks without pay, Northwestern reversed course after The Daily Northwestern published detailed accounts from former players. Fitzgerald sued 3 months later, seeking $130 million and claiming the school had already agreed to the suspension as final discipline.
While he has not coached in college since his dismissal, Fitzgerald should be on the head coaching radar again very soon. He has stayed connected to the game as a volunteer high school coach for his son’s high school outside of Chicago.
“Pat Fitzgerald will be a prime candidate for openings this fall,” Thamel said Thursday on College Football Live. “The cycle moves faster now with the portal. We’ve seen the trend of schools moving on coaches earlier in the cycle so they can get in and build their roster in this portal era. He’s [Fitzgerald] has already laid some groundwork, and there’s industry interest.”
