For most of his 27 years in Evanston, Ill., Pat Fitzgerald was the face of Northwestern football. A two-time winner of both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Benarik Award in 1995 and ‘96, Fitzgerald was a College Football Hall of Famer for his playing career with the Wildcats. He rejoined his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2001, becoming the program’s head coach in ‘06 after the abrupt death of Randy Walker.
His tenure collapsed during the summer of 2023, after deeply troubling reports of hazing within the program. Fitzgerald was initially given a two-week suspension, and later fired by the program after an internal investigation “largely corroborated” the complaints issued by an anonymous whistleblower.
