Pat Fitzgerald
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Fitzgerald acknowledges the Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd two days after leading Northwestern to victory at the 2013 Gator Bowl (January 3, 2013)
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| Sport(s) | Football |
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| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Northwestern |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 77–62 |
| Annual salary | $3.2 Million |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
December 2, 1974 Orland Park, Illinois |
| Playing career | |
| 1993–1996 | Northwestern |
| Position(s) | Linebacker, slot receiver |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998 | Maryland (GA) |
| 1999 | Colorado (GA) |
| 2000 | Idaho (LB/ST) |
| 2001 | Northwestern (DB) |
| 2002–2003 | Northwestern (LB) |
| 2004–2005 | Northwestern (LB/RC) |
| 2006–present | Northwestern |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 77–62 |
| Bowls | 2–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| 2× Bronko Nagurski Trophy (1995, 1996) 2× Chuck Bednarik Award (1995, 1996) 2× Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1996) 2× Consensus All-American (1995, 1996) |
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College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2008 (profile) |
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Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2006. He was 31 making him at that time, the youngest head football coach in the Big Ten Conference and NCAA Division I FBS by five years. As a linebacker for Northwestern from 1993 to 1996, he twice won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Fitzgerald starred at linebacker for the Wildcats in the mid-1990s, helping to lead the team to a 10–1 regular season record in 1995 and a berth in the 1996 Rose Bowl, the school's second ever bowl appearance and the first since 1949. Known as "Fitz" to the Northwestern faithful, he personified the Wildcats' blue-collar, opportunistic defense. He recorded eleven tackles in Northwestern's victory over then #9 Notre Dame in South Bend which was the first Wildcats' victory over the Irish since 1962. Against #7 Michigan, Fitzgerald led the defensive effort with 14 tackles (including two tackles for loss) in the Wildcats' 19-13 win, the first for Northwestern in Ann Arbor since 1959. At one point during the 1995 season he was averaging over 13 tackles a game while on his way to Consensus All-America honors. Fitzgerald was unable to play in the Rose Bowl, however, after breaking his leg in the next-to-last game of the 1995 season against Iowa. Fitzgerald returned for the 1996 season, leading the Wildcats to a 9-3 overall record, a second straight Big Ten Championship and second consecutive New Year's Day bowl, the 1997 Citrus Bowl.
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