July 8, 200619 yr Northwestern hires Fitzgerald as football coach / Associated Press Posted: 7 hours ago EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Pat Fitzgerald, a former All-American linebacker at Northwestern, was hired Friday as the Wildcats' coach and became the youngest head coach in Division I-A. He replaced Randy Walker, who died last week of an apparent heart attack. The 31-year-old Fitzgerald was a linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator under Walker. His appointment came one day after he spoke at a memorial service for Walker. Fitzgerald starred at linebacker for the 1995 Northwestern team that won the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl, a game he missed with a broken leg. He also played the next season when the Wildcats made it to the Citrus Bowl. Athletic director Mark Murphy said that when he was negotiating with Walker for a contract extension earlier this year, Walker told him Fitzgerald would be his choice as successor. "Our wounds are deep and our morale is fractured," Fitzgerald said, adding that he dreamed of being the head coach at his alma mater, just not under these circumstances. "There are a lot of heavy hearts, but coach would want us to move on." Murphy said he decided against naming an interim coach for the sake of stability, and that Fitzgerald's age was not a factor. "He's 31. That's just a number," Murphy said. "He only played here 10 years ago, so he knows what it's like," senior linebacker Nick Roach said. In 2001, after serving as an assistant at Idaho, Fitzgerald was hired by Walker to coach the Wildcats' defensive secondary. In 2002, he moved to linebackers coach, and then in 2004 added the recruiting coordinator to his title. "He's definitely ready for it. He has a great passion for the game and Northwestern," senior safety Bryan Heinz said. "I loved coach Walker, he gave me a chance to play, and it's time to move on." Northwestern went 7-5 last season, including a Sun Bowl loss to UCLA.
July 8, 200619 yr Great hire in a lot of ways. They had to stay within the coaching staff given the circumstances and now they have a guy who was going to be a coach down the line anyway. They are able to have a full hire as opposed to an interim. They stay within house meaning he's likely to stay at NU down the road if he's successful. He's already been a key factor in recruiting, which is also very important. The players like him. The only problem is his lack of experience, hopefully he's ready.
July 8, 200619 yr Recruiting is good, but I'd think you'd want somebody with an offensive mind like Walker. NW has to succeed without getting the blue-chippers that other B10 schools have access to. Fitz, although I know nothing about him, doesn't strike me as an offensive guru. Who knows though. Stoops wasn't supposed to be a great offensive coach, but something from Spurrier rubbed off on him, and he had that OK team piling up points on everyone in just a couple years in Norman.
July 8, 200619 yr Yeah, I agree, but under the circumstances NU couldn't have done any better. I'm assuming the first year or two is basically going to be coaching by committee anyway.
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