Pat Fitzgerald - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

After graduation, Fitzgerald briefly played with the Dallas Cowboys, but decided that coaching was his calling. He joined the coaching staff at the University of Maryland in 1998, under then Terrapin head coach Ron Vanderlinden who had been Fitzgerald's defensive coordinator during his playing days at Northwestern. He then moved on to Colorado under his former Northwestern head coach, Gary Barnett. He took a job at the University of Idaho before returning to Northwestern, where he served as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator until his unexpected promotion to head coach after the death of Randy Walker.

The Wildcats struggled in Fitzgerald's first season as head coach going only 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten. But 2006 would be, by far, his worst season as the Wildcats' head coach. The 'Cats improved to 6-6 the following year before going 9-3 in the 2008 regular season (5-3 in conference play) and playing in the Alamo Bowl. After the season, Fitzgerald was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. The 2009 season saw the Wildcats go into Iowa City and knock off Iowa 17-10 on November 7. The win over Iowa came when the Hawkeyes were ranked #4 in the BCS standings and is, to date, the highest ranked opponent ever defeated by a Fitzgerald coached team. Two weeks later, the Wildcats knocked off #14 Wisconsin in Evanston for the second upset win of the season. Northwestern finished off the '09 campaign with a thrilling game in the 2010 Outback Bowl that saw Wildcat quarterback Mike Kafka set not only school records with 47 completions on 78 attempts for 532 passing yards but set all-time all-bowl records in those categories as well. The Wildcats fell 38-35 in overtime to Auburn (who would win the BCS Championship the following season) when a fake field goal attempt fell short. Nearly six million viewers watched the Wildcats play in their first New Year's Day bowl since 1996 in one of the most entertaining games of the 2009-2010 bowl season.The Wildcats' winning ways under Fitzgerald continued in 2010, highlighted by an dramatic last minute 21-17 upset of then #13 Iowa en route a third straight winning season and a third consecutive bowl game. In 2011, the Fitzgerald-led Wildcats defeated #9 Nebraska in Lincoln 28-27 with back-up quarterback Kain Colter guiding the Wildcats in the second half. Fitzgerald became only the second coach in school history to coach two nine-win Wildcat teams during the 2012 campaign that saw the 'Cats go 9-3 in the regular season and 5-3 in the Big Ten. Northwestern played in the third New Year's Day bowl game under Fitzgerald when the team accepted an invitation to play in the 2013 Gator Bowl. Fitzgerald then guided the Wildcats to their first bowl victory in sixty-four years when he led Northwestern to a 34-20 victory over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl. The '13 team finished the season with a 10-3 record which tied the 1995 and 1903 teams for the most wins in school history.

Pat Fitzgerald is the all time winningest coach in Northwestern football history with 50 wins. His 26 Big Ten conference wins are tied with Lynn O. "Pappy" Waldorf and Alex Agase for the most in school history. He has led the Wildcats to five consecutive bowl appearances including three games played on New Year's Day. He is one of only two coaches in school history to lead Northwestern to a bowl game victory. Fitzgerald is one of only three coaches in school history to guide Wildcat football teams to three consecutive winning seasons and the first since Ara Parseghian coached the Wildcats to winning years from 1958-1960.

Fitzgerald has been named to the AFCA's Ethics Committee. He began his term in the fall of 2009.