Northwestern fires coach Fitzgerald, sources state
Jul 10, 2023, 06:53 PM ET
Northwestern has fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Adam Rittenberg on Monday.Fitzgerald’s firing is available in the wake of a two-week overdue suspension that was revealed by the school on Friday, following a university-commissioned examination into hazing claims within the program that were made by an anonymous whistleblower.Editor’s Picks 2 Related A day after announcing Fitzgerald’s suspension, the school appeared to reverse course Saturday night
, with university president Michael Schill stating in a letter sent to the Northwestern neighborhood that he”may have erred in weighing the appropriate sanction” for Fitzgerald after brand-new details emerged surrounding the hazing accusations.” In identifying a proper penalty for the head coach, I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t understand and insufficient on what he ought to have known, “Schill wrote in his letter Saturday night. “As the head coach of one of our sports programs, coach Fitzgerald is not only responsible for what occurs within the program however likewise should take fantastic care to maintain our institutional dedication to the trainee experience. … Plainly, he failed to uphold that dedication, and I failed to adequately think about that failure in levying a sanction.”Fitzgerald’s suspension was among the steps Northwestern revealed after concluding the investigation, which began in January and discovered that a person claim from a confidential whistleblower was supported, although player accounts differed and there was not sufficient evidence that coaches knew about the conduct. Other steps included no more preseason practices off campus in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where some of the supposed hazing took place, and a brand-new football locker room display who will not report to Fitzgerald or his staff.Fitzgerald, an alum who has coached Northwestern since 2006, stated in a declaration Friday that he was extremely disappointed to find out about the hazing claims and had no anticipation of the occurrences.” Northwestern football prides itself
on producing not simply athletes, but great boys with character befitting the program and our university, “Fitzgerald said in his statement.”We hold our student-athletes and our program to the greatest requirements; we will continue to work to surpass those standards progressing.”Fitzgerald, 48, is two years into a 10-year,$57 million agreement, an offer reached after he supposedly received serious interest from the NFL.