by Joe Tichy

Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois has never been known as a school that people attend for a chance at winning a national football title or college basketball championship.  For example, the school has never made it to a college bowl game in three straight years in its 128 year existence.  It has also never been a part of March Madness.  Most students go there for the chance at becoming a doctor, lawyer, dentist, etc.  There is one man there, however, who is making athletes think twice about which Big Ten school they would like to attend.  His name is Pat Fitzgerald.

Pat Fitzgerald played linebacker on the Northwestern squad from 1993-1996 and recorded nearly 300 tackles, forced five fumbles, and grabbed three interceptions.  More importantly, he was the leader of a defense that led the nation in scoring and would eventually end up in the 1995 Rose Bowl.  That storybook 1995 season would warrant him the honors of Sports Illustrated and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and also the Bronko Nagurski award given to the nation’s top defensive player.  Did I forget to mention he broke his leg in the second to last game of the season? So Fitzgerald is no stranger to being a leader on the sidelines or to overcoming adversity.  After Randy Walker’s sudden death in the summer of 2006, the Wildcats Athletic Department wouldn’t have to look far to name Walker’s successor.  One of their own was waiting in the wings to put on that headset and lead this team back to the Promised Land.

Since Fitzgerald’s hiring in 2006, the Wildcats have gone 27-23 with two Bowl games under their belt.  One of those Bowl games was a New Year’s Day game, which was their first since Fitzgerald was a player in 1997.  Due to Fitzgerald’s almost instant success as head coach, the school and Fitzgerald agreed to a contract that would keep Fitzgerald there until 2015.  His team’s “November to remember” added to the list of reasons why Fitzgerald belongs on the sidelines as a head coach.  In November of 2009, the team handed fourth ranked Iowa their first loss of the season, defeated their in-state rival Illinois, and then returned to Ryan Field to defeat number sixteen Wisconsin in the season finale.

It was no surprise on Northwestern’s annual Media Day that players had nothing but positive things to say about their fearless leader:

Sophomore tailback Arby Fields: “I love playing for Coach Fitzgerald.  He’s a fiery guy, relates to us a lot.  He’s everything you want in a head coach.”

Senior defensive lineman Corbin Bryant: “He gives everybody a chance to compete.”

Senior linebacker Quentin Davie: “I like his intensity.  He wants to be here every day, every morning at 6 AM.  He was one of those players that knew every play that was coming at him and I try to take that approach to the game and study as well as he did.”

One usually associates a player being the future of a franchise.  If there was ever a team whose coach was the future of the franchise, I would nominate Pat Fitzgerald as that man.  His passion and intensity for the Northwestern Wildcats is unbridled.  The school has now become a top spot for high school students to look at.  The team has thirteen verbal commitments for next year and Fitzgerald has yet to even personally meet them.  With an accelerated recruiting program and rising success in the past few seasons, the Wildcats don’t plan to go away anytime soon.  As Fitzgerald put it, “Success breeds recruiting success.”  Pat Fitzgerald is determined to put Northwestern athletics back on the map and plans to keep them at the top of the Big Ten and is unfazed by realignment.  Fitzgerald has the heart of a wildcat and Evanston is the perfect place to exude that pride.