Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald has agreed on a new 10-year contract with the school that runs through the 2030 season.
Fitzgerald, a former Northwest linebacker who has twice been named National Defensive Player of the Year, is the winning coach in team history, with a record of 106-81 in 15 seasons. Since 2015, he has led Northwest to two ten seasons, four straight wins and two Big Ten West division championships in the past three years.
The 46-year-old man was named Bobby Dodd’s National Coach of the Year in 2020 and achieved the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2018.
Several NFL teams have taken an interest in Fitzgerald over the past year, who has also turned down opportunities from other college programs.
𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍. 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑.@ coachfitz51, @ NoordwesU committed until 2030.
📰: https://t.co/UPdDLee5Pv#GoCats pic.twitter.com/wpDMjunkFC
– Northwestern Soccer (@NUFBFamily) 27 January 2021
“We have built the foundation to compete for championships, along with the best academic and personal development opportunity in college football,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “We all have a lot to be proud of, but our best is yet to come.”
Athletic director Jim Phillips, who will leave Northwest in February to become ACC commissioner, has given priority to finalizing a long-term deal for Fitzgerald before leaving school, a source said. Northwestern has put together a committee of inquiry for Phillips’ successor and could hire for the next few weeks.
“We have one of the best coaches in college football, and, more importantly, a leader who is uniquely suited to this University,” Phillips said in a statement. “Over the course of his tenure, Coach Fitzgerald has built a culture of unwavering faith in excellence on and off the field, leading our Wildcats to unprecedented continued success. They boast incredible achievements in the classroom, in the community and in competition, and will do so for years to come. ‘
Fitzgerald, who helped Northwestern’s Rose Bowl series in 1995, and as a player under Gary Barnett, the top ten championships, returned to school in 2001 as an assistant. From 2001 to 2005, he coached defensive backs and linebackers under Randy Walker, and then became head coach shortly after Walker died suddenly in June 2006.
Under Fitzgerald, Northwestern played ten pickups and recorded five Top 25 finishes, including a no. 10th position in 2020. Fitzgerald entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008, and 14 of Northwestern’s 16 pickups came with him as a player or coach.