Pat Fitzgerald
Head Coach
AGE: 48
HOMETOWN: Orland Park, IL
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s, Northwestern University (1998)
FAMILY: Wife, Stacy; and children, Jack, Ryan, and Brendan
Career Highlights | Coach
- Youngest head football coach among FBS schools when named head coach of Northwestern (2006)
- 2x Big Ten West Division Champion (2018, 2020)
- 10 Bowl Game Appearances
- 4 consecutive bowl victories since 2016
- Winningest Coach in Northwestern History
- 106 career victories and 64 Big Ten wins
- His 106 wins at Northwestern are 6th-most by an active FBS coach at the same school
- Led Northwestern to a 6-1 regular season record, Big Ten West division title, VRBO Citrus Bowl Championship and a #10 final AP Poll ranking (2020)
- Highest final season ranking since 1995
- More 10 win seasons during his tenure (3) than the rest of program history (2)
- 32 Players Drafted into the NFL
- 2023 NFL Draft: Peter Skoronski was highest drafted Wildcat since 1983
- 2023 NFL Draft: Most Wildcat players drafted in a single draft since 1985
- 5 first round picks
- 3 first round picks from 2021-2023 (T-7th among P5 programs)
Career Highlights | Player
- 2x Big Ten Conference Champion (1995, 1996)
- 2x Bronko Nagurski Trophy (1995, 1996)
- 2x Chuck Bednarik Award (1995, 1996)
- Jack Lambert Trophy (1996)
- 2x Consensus All-American (1995, 1996)
- 2x Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1996)
- Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame (2003)
- Big Ten Medal of Honor (1997)
- 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Inductee
Off the Field Success
- Program record 69 players placed in the Academic All-Big Ten team (2020)
- Northwestern football became the first P5 team to ever post a perfect graduation success rate score (2019)
- Fitzgerald’s program has ranked in the top-3 among all FBS programs in APR for 10 consecutive years
- AFCA Ethics Committee member (since 2009)
- AFCA Board of Trustees since 2012 representing the Big 10
- Named AFCA President (2021)
- Named honorary coach of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works team for his involvement in the Special Olympics, Misericordia, Northwestern Dance Marathon, the NU chapter of Uplifting Athletes, weekly school and children’s hospital visits, and more
Player Development
Peter Skoronski: Round 1, Pick 11 – Titans, OL (2023)
Adetomiwa Adebawore: Round 4, Pick 110 – Colts, DE (2023)
Cameron Mitchell: Round 5, Pick 142 – Browns, DB (2023)
Evan Hull: Round 5, Pick 176 – Colts, RB (2023)
Rashawn Slater: Round 1, Pick 13 – Chargers, G (2021)
Greg Newsome: Round 1, Pick, 26 – Browns, DB (2021)
Earnest Brown: Round 5, Pick, 174 – Rams, DE (2021)
Clayton Thorson: Round 5, Pick 167 – Eagles, QB (2019)
Justin Jackson: Round 7, Pick 251 – Chargers, RB (2018)
Anthony Walker: Round 5, Pick 161 – Colts, LB (2017)
lfeadi Odenigbo: Round 7, Pick 220 – Vikings, DE (2017)
Dean Lowry: Round 4, Pick 137 – Packers, DE (2016)
Dan Vitale: Round 6, Pick 197 – Buccaneers, RB (2016)
lbraheim Campbell: Round 4, Pick ll5 – Browns, DB (2015)
Trevor Siemian: Round 7, Pick 250 – Broncos, QB (2015)
Drake Dunsmore: Round 7, Pick 233 – Buccaneers, TE (2012)
Jeremy Ebert: Round 7, Pick 235 – Patriots, WR (2012)
Corey Wootton: Round 4, Pick 109 – Bears, DE (2010)
Mike Kafka: Round 4, Pick 122 – Eagles, QB (2010)
Sherrick McManis: Round 5, Pick 144 – Texans, DB (2010)
Barry Cofield: Round 4, Pick 124 – Giants, DT (2006)
Zach Strief: Round 7, Pick 210 – Saints, G (2006)
Tim McGarigle: Round 7, Pick 221 – Rams, LB (2006)
Experience
2006 – 2023: Northwestern (HC)
2004 – 2005: Northwestern (Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator)
2002 – 2003: Northwestern (Linebackers)
2001: Northwestern (Defensive Backs)
2000: Idaho (Linebackers/Special Teams)
1999: Colorado (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
1998: Maryland (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
Bio
Tough, hard-working, enthusiastic, passionate and motivational are all words used to describe Pat Fitzgerald. Those words are true, but there is another that fits him also: winner. In his time at Northwestern, Fitzgerald has won over 100 games as the head coach of the Wildcats, has taken the Wildcats to 10 bowl games, and has twice won the Big Ten West. Coach Fitzgerald has won the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award as well as the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2020. Fitzgerald’s drive to win did not begin with his coaching career, rather, it was first showcased during his time as a player. As an All-American linebacker for Northwestern from 1993 to 1996, Fitzgerald was a two-time winner of both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player in college football. He was awarded a Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1997 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. He also starred on the 1995 Northwestern team that won the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl.
In his first year as head coach at Northwestern, the Wildcats struggled to get their footing, finishing 4-8 overall. Coach Fitzgerald then led the Wildcats to an improved 6-6 the following year before going 9-3 in the 2008 regular season. This turnaround season gave them a chance at their first bowl game under Fitzgerald, the Alamo Bowl. The successful 2008 season led to Fitzgerald being named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. In 2009 the Wildcats defeated a previously undefeated No. 4 ranked Iowa team, marking the highest ranked opponent defeated by the team under Fitzgerald’s direction. This win, combined with a successful season landed the Wildcats a spot in their first New Year’s Day bowl since 1996. After the successful 2012 season, Fitzgerald became one of two coaches in school history to coach two, nine-win Wildcat teams. Fitzgerald then coached the Wildcats to their first bowl victory in 64 years in the 2012 Gator Bowl. In 2013, Fitzgerald led the team to a 10-3 record, tying for the most wins in school history. In both 2015 and 2017, the Wildcats ended the season 10-3, before adding 9 wins in 2018. Under Fitzgerald, the Wildcats have won their last four bowl games, winning the Big Ten West Division in both 2018 and 2020.
Reputation
“He’s one of the best coaches in college football.”
Urban Meyer
College Football TV Commentator & Former Football Coach
“Why do we ever underestimate Pat Fitzgerald? He’s one of the best coaches in America.”
Joel Klatt
College Football Commentator & Analyst
“Great competitor. I was at Stanford, he was at Northwestern, first crossed paths on the recruiting trail. Sized him up and said, ‘This guy is a fine, fine coach and a great competitor.’ He’s done a fabulous job, he’s a great coach. Got to know him this summer, he came to our football camp, did a tremendous job talking to the campers and sharing football lessons and life lessons with them. That was fabulous. [Northwestern’s] football team is a tremendous football team, so everything you look at with Pat Fitzgerald is really good. Admire him.”
Jim Harbaugh
Michigan Head Coach
