Lincoln Riley’s offense versus Pat Fitzgerald’s defense in Evanston. It won’t happen.
USC versus Northwestern was not likely to be a top-tier showcase in the Trojans’ first season of Big Ten football, but Pat Fitzgerald has established a reputation as a quality defensive coach. Riley versus Fitzgerald — when USC had the ball — was shaping up as a fascinating contrast of styles and an intriguing 2024 chess match. However, after Northwestern fired Fitzgerald on Monday following investigations into allegiations of hazing and other significant problems within the NU program, Riley doesn’t know who will be coaching the Wildcats in 2024.
Cornhuskers Wire picked up the reports from the weekend in which the details of misconduct within the Northwestern program gained critical mass. Those accumulated details became far too great in number for NU to keep Fitzgerald on the job. He was fired on Monday, as USA TODAY Sports reported. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first on the story.
Northwestern is unlikely to hire a permanent head coach for the 2023 season, given the current proximity to August camp, which is just a few weeks away. It is likely that the school will conduct a head coaching search through the 2023 football season and select a long-term coach for 2024, when USC moves into the Big Ten.
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