Pat Fitzgerald – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Northwestern Hazing Fallout: Fitz Fired, Could Rees Be Hired?

Time for Tommy to come home?

If I was given 100 guesses as to what college football program would face a major scandal just a few weeks before Fall camp opened up, Northwestern wouldn’t be on the list. But here we are. College Football strikes again. You never know what you’ll get or when and from whom.

Regardless of whether you believe all allegations made against the program recently or you think they are exaggerated, one thing everyone can agree on is that this is a PR nightmare for Northwestern. They are already facing battles with Evanston over their $800 million renovation plan and its effects on the city, a cheerleader scandal, this football issue, and now an emerging baseball scandal as well. Things are not going well. Given his recent job change, Jim Phillips must feel like the luckiest man alive.

So what comes next for Northwestern? They are going to have to hire a head coach. This is a tricky dynamic. The University is in a world of trouble right now, but long term, they are still a Big Ten school with lots of money and resources. So who’s a good fit? They may prefer an experienced coach to navigate the present shaky culture out of the abyss. But will a proven elder entity want to take on all of these issues he didn’t cause? Good luck recruiting with the pitch of “We went 1-11 and can no longer push to you the wholesome program narrative Fitz lived on for decades”.

Let’s explore another path Northwestern could choose. Hiring Tommy Rees. Hear me out.

Report: Northwestern fires football coach Pat Fizgerald following hazing scandal

There will be a changing of the guard this season in the Big Ten. On Monday, Northwestern fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald following a hazing scandal. University president Michael Schill announced the decision to fire Fitzgerald in a statement online.

Schill said:

“The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team. The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening. Either way, the culture in Northwestern Football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others.”

Sources: Northwestern has fired coach Pat Fitzgerald.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 10, 2023

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Alabama OC Tommy Rees emerges as potential head coach candidate at Northwestern

As Northwestern searches for a new head football coach, one potential name to watch is new Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

On Monday, the Northwestern administration decided to part ways with its head coach Pat Fitzgerald amid a hazing scandal. Fitzgerald had spent the last 17 years serving as Northwestern’s head coach.

As college football pundits begin to list candidates, one with Alabama ties has emerged: Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman (subscription required) felt Rees would be a good fit for the Northwestern program.

“Rees knows plenty about what it’s like to work in a high academic program, having quarterbacked and then coached at Notre Dame,” writes Feldman. “That would be a huge plus.”

Rees is quite familiar with the Chicago area having played for Lake Forest High School in Lake Forest, Illinois. His tenure as a quarterback and offensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish only increases his chances of being the right fit for the job.

Northwestern has historically been a competitive program in the Big Ten. In recent years, things have not been as easy for the Wildcats given the recent changes to NIL and the transfer portal.

Needless to say, Rees has been effective as a recruiter and as a coordinator. He landed talented prospects in his time at Notre Dame and has already made some splashes in the transfer portal at Alabama.

While Rees potentially being considered for the Northwestern job is all speculation, it is certainly something to monitor for Alabama fans.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama football program as the 2023 regular season approaches.

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Pat Fitzgerald once turned down Panthers for HC interview

Pat Fitzgerald, who was dismissed by Northwestern on Monday amid troubling hazing allegations, turned down the Panthers for a head-coaching interview in 2020.

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Opportunity knocked for Pat Fitzgerald in early 2020, and the Carolina Panthers were on the other side of that door. But he never answered it.

On Monday, Northwestern University fired Fitzgerald amid allegations of hazing, sexual assault, and racism within the school’s football program. After initially suspending the longtime head coach for two weeks without pay last Friday, university president Michael Schill decided to dismiss Fitzgerald when several scandals were uncovered by the student newspaper, The Daily Northwestern.

Before these troubling developments, Fitzgerald could’ve crossed paths with the Panthers back in 2020. In their search for a new head coach, following the nine-year tenure of Ron Rivera, Carolina reportedly had interest in interviewing the 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year.

But, as later noted by Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Fitzgerald turned down the chance to speak with the organization. The Panthers, of course, ultimately wound up on former Baylor University head coach Matt Rhule—who led the team to an 11-27 record before being fired in the middle of the 2022 campaign.

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Giants’ Mike Kafka a candidate to replace Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern?

Could New York Giants OC Mike Kafka become a candidate to replace the recently fired Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern?

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New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was a hot name on the NFL head coaching carousel this past winter, drawing interest from the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Carolina Panthers.

Kafka didn’t get any of those jobs but his time is coming and the Giants know it. After all, he is the man who contributed greatly to the success that is Patrick Mahomes and could be on the verge of making Daniel Jones a star as well.

Now Kafka could have another coaching prospect in his sights: head coach at his college alma mater, Northwestern University.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Kafka is a potential candidate to replace Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired after 30 years on Monday after news of a hazing scandal broke.

The dream candidate for the school probably would be Kafka, a 35-year-old former Wildcat QB who grew up in Chicago and has risen fast up the NFL ranks. Northwestern has been terrible on offense for awhile; Kafka seems like he could fix that pretty quickly, but he’s not far from becoming an NFL head coach at this point. He interviewed for a bunch of jobs last winter, so why jump into the craziness of the college game at a place that just canned someone he learned under?

Kafka was a quarterback at Northwestern from 2005-09 and ended his career there eighth all-time in passing yards and third all-time in rushing yards for a quarterback.

In 2016, Kafka got his coaching start as a graduate assistant at Northwestern under Fitzgerald. The next year, he was hired by Andy Reid to be the Kansas City Chiefs offensive quality control coach.

From there he quickly worked his way up the ranks. After four seasons as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach (and eventually the passing game coordinator) counseling Mahomes, Kafka was hired by Brian Daboll to be the Giants’ offensive coordinator.

The question is, does Kakfa want the college job when there is undoubtedly an NFL opportunity on the horizon?

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Green Bay Packers wanted Pat Fitzgerald to replace Mike McCarthy as head coach in 2019

In 2019, the Green Bay Packers were looking for a new head coach, and they really wanted Pat Fitzgerald. Whoops.

Sometimes, it’s the moves you don’t get to make that are the best ones you have ever (or never) made. This was the case for the Green Bay Packers in 2019, when they were looking to replace recently fired head coach Mike McCarthy.

Per Tom Silverstein of PackersNews.com, Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy, who hired Fitzgerald to be Northwestern’s head coach in 2006 when he was the athletic director there, made serious overtures to Fitzgerald in 2019 to see if they could pry him loose. As it turned out, Fitzgerald’s loyalty to the program — and the 10-year, $57 million contract extension he received in January, 2020 — won the day.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was thought to also be an admirer of Fitzgerald’s coaching style and ability to create a culture. In the end, Fitzgerald never interviewed for the job, but the interest was certainly there.

Of course, those alleged attributes have come into serious question over the last week, as a series of bombshell reports by the student staff of the Daily Northwestern. Fitzgerald was fired on Monday after it was revealed that Fitzgerald knew of hazing, sexual assault, and racism in the Northwestern football program, and may have facilitated it to a greater or lesser degree.

Northwestern fires head football coach Pat Fitzgerald after several scandals are revealed

In the end, the Packers had to “settle” for Matt LaFleur, who had most recently been the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, and the Tennessee Titans in 2018. All LaFleur has done since then is to amass a 47-19 regular-season record, and a 2-3 mark in the postseason. LaFleur’s regular-season winning percentage of .712 ties him with George Allen for the fourth-best in NFL history, behind only Guy Chamberlain, John Madden, and Vince Lombardi.

Based on what we now know, it’s tough to imagine Fitzgerald having the same level of success in the NFL.

Lincoln Riley will not coach against Pat Fitzgerald in 2024 Big Ten season

USC plays at Northwestern in 2024 as part of the #B1G schedule. Northwestern fired Pat Fitzgerald on Monday.

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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Pat Fitzgerald responds to allegations: Termination was ‘an unexpected turn of events’

Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired as head coach of Northwestern, released a statement on his termiantion.

Two months from the start of the college season and their season opener at Rutgers football, Northwestern is certainly in a state of uncertainty. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired on Monday evening, casting a giant question mark over the Big Ten program’s looming season.

Allegations of hazing led to a thorough investigation of Fitzgerald and the Northwestern football team, resulting in a suspension of the Northwestern head coach. But with more allegations coming forth – and a demand from the media for accountability over these allegations – Northwestern decided to part ways with their head coach.

And now it won’t be Fitzgerald leading his team out the tunnel on September 3 at SHI Stadium for the season opener. Fitzgerald, in a statement released to ESPN, thought the matter was settled following the investigation and subsequent suspension:

“This agreement stipulated a two-week suspension. Therefore, I was surprised when I learned that the president of Northwestern unilaterally revoked our agreement without any prior notification and subsequently terminated my employment.

“Given this unexpected turn of events, I have entrusted my agent, Bryan Harlan, and legal counsel Dan Webb from Winston & Strawn LLP, to take the necessary steps to protect my rights in accordance with the law.”

Statement attached from former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald to ESPN, which includes that he’s hired a high-profile attorney to “take the necessary steps to protect my rights in accordance with the law.” Fitzgerald: “I was surprised when I learned that the president of… pic.twitter.com/zPNTAkr2xn

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 11, 2023

Fitzgerald has deep ties to Northwestern as a former linebacker at Northwestern. He became the head coach of the Wildcats in 2006, leading Northwestern to 10 bowl games.

In 17 seasons, he had 110 wins and 101 losses.

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Northwestern fires head football coach Pat Fitzgerald

Pat Fitzgerald’s run at Northwestern came to an end on Monday following reports of hazing within the program.

On Monday a major move was made by Northwestern University. Following the suspension announcement on Friday, the school fired their long-time head coach Pat Fitzgerald amid a hazing scandal.

A former player opened up about the hazing that was called “running”.

“It’s a shocking experience as a freshman to see your fellow freshman teammates get ran, but then you see everybody bystanding in the locker room,” the unidentified former player told The Daily Northwestern via USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just a really abrasive and barbaric culture that has permeated throughout that program for years on end now.”

The former standout Northwestern linebacker that won two Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik Awards took over as head coach in 2006. He came back to his alma mater in 2001 as the defensive backs coach and worked his way up to head coach by that 2006 season.

During his tenure, Fitzgerald became the all-time winningest coach in Northwestern history. He finishes his NU career with a record 110-101 and 65-76 in Big Ten play. His last win came against Nebraska in Ireland last season to open the season. Fitzgerald won just four games over the last two seasons.

The next step will be to name a new head coach for the football program. With a scandal like this, it might be best for the Northwestern brass to clean house and start anew.