Coaching career Pat Fitzgerald

fitzgerald @ meet team night, august 22, 2008

after graduation, joined coaching staff @ university of maryland in 1998, under terrapin head coach ron vanderlinden had been fitzgerald s defensive coordinator during playing days @ northwestern. moved on colorado under former northwestern head coach, gary barnett. took job @ university of idaho before returning northwestern, served linebackers coach , recruiting coordinator until unexpected promotion head coach after death of randy walker.

the wildcats struggled in fitzgerald s first season head coach going 4-8 overall , 2-6 in big ten.

the cats improved 6-6 following year before going 9-3 in 2008 regular season (5-3 in conference play) , playing in alamo bowl. after season, fitzgerald named big ten coach of year touchdown club of columbus.

the 2009 season saw wildcats go iowa city , knock off iowa 17-10 on november 7. win on iowa came when hawkeyes ranked #4 in bcs standings , is, date, highest ranked opponent ever defeated fitzgerald coached team. 2 weeks later, wildcats knocked off #14 wisconsin in evanston second upset win of season. northwestern finished off 09 campaign thrilling game in 2010 outback bowl saw wildcat quarterback mike kafka set not school records 47 completions on 78 attempts 532 passing yards set all-time all-bowl records in categories well. wildcats fell 38-35 in overtime auburn (who win bcs championship following season) when fake field goal attempt fell short. 6 million viewers watched wildcats play in first new year s day bowl since 1996 in 1 of entertaining games of 2009–2010 bowl season.

the wildcats winning ways under fitzgerald continued in 2010, highlighted dramatic last minute 21-17 upset of #13 iowa en route third straight winning season , third consecutive bowl game.

in 2011, fitzgerald-led wildcats defeated #9 nebraska in lincoln 28-27 back-up quarterback kain colter guiding wildcats in second half.

fitzgerald became second coach in school history coach 2 nine-win wildcat teams during 2012 campaign saw cats go 9-3 in regular season , 5-3 in big ten. northwestern played in third new year s day bowl game under fitzgerald when team accepted invitation play in 2013 gator bowl. fitzgerald guided wildcats first bowl victory in sixty-four years when led northwestern 34-20 victory on mississippi state in gator bowl. 12 team finished season 10-3 record tied 1995 , 1903 teams wins in school history. gator bowl win fitzgerald s 50th win head coach, allowing him pass pappy waldorf winningest coach in northwestern history.

the 2013 campaign started high expectations wildcats , hopes of contending conference title. cats started season ranked #22 in pre-season ap poll , roared 4-0 start. espn college gameday came evanston first time since 1995 #18 wildcats took on #4 ohio state buckeyes on national television. controversial fourth down call saw officials rule cats quarterback kain colter stopped when replays indicated colter had made line gain proved pivotal in 38-30 defeat. season began marred injuries all-american venric mark , quarterback kain colter missed significant playing time injuries. wildcats dropped 4 consecutive games have been won. first, nu dropped 20-17 game against minnesota, cats lost 17-10 iowa in overtime. perhaps bitter loss of season came @ nebraska when huskers converted hail mary touchdown pass time expired win game. following week cats clung 9-6 lead on michigan when wolverines ran field goal team on seconds play; michigan converted field goal , won in triple overtime. northwestern ended disappointing season win however: 37-34 victory on rival illinois. 2013 team finished 5-7, fitzgerald s second losing campaign since inaugural season wildcats head coach.

in 2014, wildcats entered year having lost 2 major weapons seasons past: all-american venric mark transferred , leading wide receiver christian jones lost season-ending knee injury. cats started 0-2 loss mac power northern illinois before ripping off 3 straight wins. after back-to-back blowout losses #19 nebraska , iowa cats had chance knock off michigan @ home. late in game, trevor siemian threw touchdown pass 3 seconds left pull cats within 1 @ 10-9. coach fitzgerald decided go 2 point conversion , win sieman slipped after taking snap , downed wolverines, ending game loss. highlight of season came following week when northwestern returned south bend first time since 1995 take on #18 notre dame fighting irish. siemian threw 284 yards , freshman justin jackson rushed 149 yards , score cats scored 10 points final 4 minutes tie game seconds remaining. in overtime, northwestern held irish missed field goal try before wildcats kicker jack mitchell hit fourth field goal of game give cats 43-40 overtime victory. after lopsided win following week against purdue 5-6 cats played illinois chance return bowl game. wildcats came out flat in game , illini raced 47-33 victory kept cats home holidays second straight year.

after suffering through back-to-back losing seasons first time in northwestern tenure, fitzgerald faced uncertain season in 2015. team had replace senior quarterback trevor siemian drafted in 7th round of 2015 nfl draft denver broncos , turned redshirt freshman clayton thorson. sophomore running justin jackson, had burst onto national scene powerful performance during nu s upset of notre dame in south bend, named starting running prior season. in season opener, wildcats hosted #21 stanford , cardinal heavily favored. thorson made impression felt when dashed 42 yards touchdown gave wildcats lead. jackson contributed 134 tough yards wildcat defense did rest. cornerback kyle quinero sealed game when intercepted stanford quarterback kevin hogan in end zone less minute play. turnover gave cats 16-6 win , first win on stanford since 1958. cardinal go on win 2016 rose bowl , finish ranked #3 in nation. wildcats went on 5 game winning streak rising #13 in nation before getting blanked 38-0 michigan in ann arbor. cats lost iowa following week , once promising season began teeter on brink of collapse. in gut-check game @ lincoln next week, wildcats edged nebraska 30-28 powered 68 yard clayton thorson run , 72 yard nick vanhoose interception return touchdown. after 3 straight wins cats traveled camp randall stadium take on #20 wisconsin. game exceptionally close , wildcats leading 13-7, badgers threatened late moving nu 1 yard line. northwestern s defense held firm critical sack , tremendous goal line stand preserve victory. wilcats ended season strong 24-14 win on illini, avenging loss of season before. @ 10-2 wildcats invited 2016 outback bowl faced tennessee. cats played competitively in first half; tennessee clung 10-6 lead less 3 minutes play. vols punched touchdown in before half , game became lopsided in second half. wildcats 45-6 loss punctuated 100 yard interception return touchdown on game s final play. still, 10-3 finish gave fitzgerald second ten win season wildcats head coach , tied 03, 95 , 12 teams wins in school history. northwestern has had 4 ten-win seasons in history; fitzgerald has been part of 3 of them.

in 2016 wildcats looked build on success of season before still young group. before season challenges began when star cornerback keith watkins ii suffered knee injury in august practice. cornerback matthew walker, defensive stalwart, forced retire after 2 games due repeated concussions. season started poorly northwestern blowing home games western michigan , illinois state of fcs. against western michigan, clayton thorson fumbled ball going end zone have been game clinching score. while western michigan go on 13-1 record, mac title , cotton bowl berth, loss stung wildcats started season 0-1. against illinois state, wildcat offense faltered , redbirds kicked game-winning field goal time expired stun cats 9-7. despite starting season @ 0-2, coach fitzgerald did not panic , neither did young team. wildcats won 3 of next 4 games including victories @ iowa , @ michigan state. ship righted @ 4-3 wildcats faced #6 ohio state in columbus. game tight throughout ohio state escaping 24-20 victory. @ 5-6 , going final game of season against illinois wildcats determined not repeat 2014 season , miss chance go bowl losing rival illini. in 2016, succeeded rolling illini 42-21 in game more lopsided final score indicated. @ 6-6, cats invited 2016 pinstripe bowl played @ historic yankee stadium. in game, cats face #22 ranked pitt panthers, team had given eventual national champion clemson tigers loss on season. unsurprisingly, 8-4 panthers double digit favorite going game. cats raced out 14-3 lead defense stuffed fourth , goal attempt pitt , junior running justin johnson began take game over. panthers rallied , took 17-14 lead in third quarter. jackson - rushed northwestern bowl game record 224 yards , 3 touchdowns - , cats wouldn t denied , showed rumbled 40 yard touchdown retake lead. cats defense stood tall. after pitt quarterback nathan peterman knocked out of game on sack, wildcats intercepted backup ben dinucci twice in redzone. turnovers preserved 31-24 northwestern victory third in school history. cats finished season @ 7-6 fitzgerald s sixth winning season.

going 2017 wildcats hoped continue momentum earned in pinstripe bowl , contend big ten championship. season stumbles plagued cats again. after uneven performance against nevada team finish 3-9 cats traveled durham, north carolina blasted duke 41-17. wildcats rebounded , showed rest of conference how 49-7 drubbing of bowling green @ home. next 2 weeks, however, challenged cats began conference play. facing #5 ranked [[2017 wisconsin badgers football team|wisconsin badgers] cats took lead @ 1 point and, less 2 minutes play trailed touchdown , had ball. safety ended cats upset hopes , chances win big ten west title: badgers not lose en route perfect regular season. after lopsided loss #12 penn state, wildcats season on brink. @ 2-3 heart of big ten schedule ahead, wildcats had little margin error. coach fitzgerald later said: did thing do. go work. go work, cats did , unafraid use time it. after ripping maryland 37-21 on road cats hosted iowa hawkeyes. wind whipping @ ryan field, coach fitz decided forgo late possession , play overtime after hawkeyes tied game 10-10. in overtime period, cats star justin jackson converted third , long on short pass clayton thorson making fantastic individual play. cats scored on next play take 17-10 lead. when iowa got overtime possession cats held hawkeyes on fourth down secure victory. following week wildcats hosted #16 michigan state spartans @ ryan field. 6-1 spartans undefeated in big ten having defeated in-state rival michigan; spartans looked contend big ten east title. wildcats determined , not quit. spartans tied game in regulation @ 17-17 scoring touchdown with :25 left on clock. wildcats scored touchdown in first overtime frame did spartans. michigan state scored touchdown on possession of second overtime take 31-24 lead. cats matched score 3 yard touchdown plunge justin jackson. in third overtime, northwestern took ball first , flynn nagel raced in end zone 22 yards out. quarterback clayton thorson hit superback cameron green (who had caught touchdown in overtime) 2 point conversion give northwestern 8 point lead. michigan state s quarterback brian lewerke had shredded cats defense throwing 462 yards. lewerke tried make play after fumbling snap , hurled long pass towards end zone. linebacker nate hall - had suffered laceration in hand , received thirty stitches during game - made game sealing interception. northwestern rolling when cats traveled lincoln face nebraska cornhuskers. huskers had cats on ropes in second half leading 24-17 , driving late in fourth quarter. defensive stawlart godwin igwebuike made critical interception after sack leader joe gaziano forced bad pass husker quarterback. clayton thorson led cats on game tying drive, taking ball in himself 7 yards out touchdown. in overtime, wildcats got ball first , faced fourth , goal @ 1 yard line. coach fitzgerald decided forego field goal, safe play, , kept offense on field. thorson plunged in second touchdown of game , gave cats 31-24 lead. on nebraska s possession, samduke miller crushed husker quarterback sack forcing fourth , long throw broken kyle queiro had had 2 picks on day. prior 2017 , since ncaa instituted overtime regular season fbs games in 1995, no team had ever won 3 consecutive overtime games; northwestern wildcats own piece of football history winner of 3 straight overtime games. northwestern ranked in top 25 in college football playoff rankings, ap , coaches polls. cats rolling, , dominated next 3 opponents - purdue, minnesota , illinois - winning last 2 games combined score of 81-7 finish 9-3 on regular season , 7-2 in big ten. senior running justin jackson became second in big ten history run on 1,000 yards in 4 consecutive season. 144 yards rushing against illinois, jackson ranks #4 on all-time big ten career rushing leaders list 5,283 yards. jackson scored touchdown against illinois give him 39 career touchdowns time in northwestern history. clayton thorson became all-time winningest quarterback @ northwestern record of 26-13; thorson tied brett basenez nu s time career touchdown pass leader 44 scoring throws.

fitzgerald s 86 overall wins , 48 big ten conference wins both school records. in twelve seasons, fitzgerald has coached 7 winning teams , 1 team finished season @ .500. 2008 2012, led wildcats 5 consecutive bowl appearances, including 3 of 6 all-time new year s day bowl appearances. 1 of 2 coaches in school history lead northwestern bowl game victory , has bowl game victories in school history. fitzgerald 1 of 3 coaches in school history guide wildcat football teams 3 consecutive winning seasons , has accomplished feat twice (2008-2010 , 2014-2017). fitzgerald first lead northwestern 3 consecutive winning seasons since ara parseghian coached wildcats winning years 1958–1960; fitzgerald s .569 winning percentage @ nu highest since parseghian. 2014-2017 wildcats seasons best - in terms of wins - since wildcats teams of 1903-1905. fitzgerald 1 of 6 coaches in ncaa has been @ school longest , joins kirk ferentz of iowa longest tenured active coaches in big ten.

coach fitzgerald huge supporter of northwestern athletics other football. 2016-17 northwestern wildcats men s basketball team made run northwestern s first ever ncaa tournament berth, fitzgerald cheered on team. when wildcats traveled salt lake city face vanderbilt in first round, fitzgerald seen sitting wildcat fans , leading cheers during game. after wildcats beat commodores first ever tourney win, fitzgerald went locker room excitedly celebrated players. before wildcats second round round game against gonzaga, fitzgerald led cats faithful @ pep rally in salt lake city.

fitzgerald not shy away northwestern s status world class university using recruit smart , talented athletes rather using reason why school cannot competitive in football. 1 of nu football program s mantras is: football not excuse academics , academics not excuse football.