CHICAGO — When Pat Fitzgerald signed a 10-year contract extension in January 2021 to continue coaching Northwestern football, the program was riding high.
The Wildcats had made it to the Big Ten title game for the second time in three years during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and multiple NFL teams reportedly inquired about Fitzgerald, according to ESPN. Fitzgerald was the school’s most prominent figure and cheerleader, usually ending his interviews with the same two-word phrase: “Go Cats!”
But 3-9 and 1-11 seasons in 2021 and ‘22 brought Northwestern back down to earth. And Friday, the school’s all-time winningest football coach was suspended without pay for two weeks after an outside investigation confirmed an anonymous report of hazing by Wildcats players.
