Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1179542
10 n o r t h w e s t e r n f o o t b a l l • D I G I T A L P R O G R A M • N O R T H W E S T E R N v s . I O W A DAN AND SUSAN JONES FAMILY HEAD FOOTBALL COACH PAT FITZGERALD Already the second-longest tenured Big Ten head coach at the age of 44, Pat Fitzgerald's 12-plus seasons at the helm of Northwestern have been spent building upon the tradition he helped establish as a Hall-of-Fame linebacker for the Wildcats in the mid-1990's. Characterized by his motivational skills, enthusiasm and passion for all things Northwestern, Fitzgerald has shaped Chicago's Big Ten Team into one that consistently achieves excellence in all three phases of the student-athlete experience: academics, athletics and community outreach. Fitzgerald has built the Wildcats' program into a consistent winner. The 2018 Wildcats claimed the program's first-ever Big Ten West Division title and berth in the Big Ten Championship game with a program-tying eight Big Ten wins. Fitzgerald was named the consensus Big Ten Head Coach of the Year and a finalist for the 2018 Dodd Trophy. Fitzgerald has led the Wildcats to nine bowl appearances in his 13 seasons and has guided the 'Cats to four of their five bowl wins in program history. Most recently, Chicago's Big Ten Team mounted a dramatic come-from-behind victory over No. 17 Utah in the 2018 Holiday Bowl by scoring a bowl record 28 points in the third quarter to claim their third-straight bowl win for the first time in program history. A win over Kentucky in the 2017 Music City Bowl capped off an eight-game winning streak for the Wildcats, who finished the 2017 season with 10 wins for the fifth time in program history and third time over the last six seasons. Northwestern has averaged nine victories over the last three seasons (27- 12), setting a program record for wins during a three -year span. The previous high was 26 wins from 1903- 05. In 2016, the Wildcats defeated No. 23 Pittsburgh in the 2016 New Era Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium, 31-24. After a slow 1-3 start to the season, the Wildcats won six of their last nine games to finish the 2016 season with a winning record of 7-6 for the sixth time under Fitzgerald. The fifth-year seniors of the 2016 class became the first group in program history to earn a pair of bowl victories with their wins in the Pinstripe Bowl and TaxSlayer Bowl in 2013. Following the season, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. was selected with the 161st pick overall in the fifth round by the Indianapolis Colts and defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round. Two additional players were signed to undrafted free agent contracts, with Big Ten Receiver of the Year and Biletnikoff Award finalist Austin Carr signing with the New England Patriots and linebacker Joe Jones with the Dallas Cowboys. The 2015 season saw the Wildcats earn a trip to their sixth bowl under his guidance with an appearance in the New Year's Day Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Behind one of the nation's stingiest defenses and a ground and pound offense, the Wildcats opened the season with a 16-6 victory over No. 21-ranked and 2016 Rose Bowl Champion Stanford. The victory sparked a 5-0 start for the 'Cats and led to Chicago's Big Ten Team matching a program record with 10-wins, including five straight to close the regular season. NU finished the season ranked in the top 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Poll. Northwestern's senior class of 2016 became the first in program history to post a pair of 10-win seasons and a pair was selected in the 2016 NFL Draft as defensive end Dean Lowry was picked by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round and superback Dan Vitale was taken in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Additionally, five members of the 2016 class signed undrafted free agent contracts. From 2008-12, Fitzgerald guided the Wildcats to five consecutive bowl berths, including the 2012 campaign when NU capped a tremendous 10-win season with a landmark victory over Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl. The 2012 'Cats, who played in a New Year's Day bowl game for the third time in five years, earned a No. 17 year-end ranking in the USA Today/Coaches Poll, the best positioning for any Big Ten team. Consequently, four consecutive senior classes to graduate from the Northwestern football program during that time-frame set or tied the school record for most career wins by a five-year senior class, with the 2012 group going out at the time as the winningest NU senior class in history with 40 victories to its credit. Likewise, Fitzgerald's Gator Bowl victory on Jan. 1, 2013, marked the 50th of his career, officially making him the winningest head coach in Northwestern Football history. Away from the gridiron, Fitzgerald's players have achieved at the highest levels in the classroom, last fall placing a record 39 players on the Academic All-Big Ten team en route to posting a program-record 3.14 GPA for the 2015-16 academic year. In 2012, Northwestern collected top national honors in the AFCA Academic Achievement Award for the seventh time since 1998. Additionally, Fitzgerald's program ranked second among all FBS programs in the recently released multi-year Academic Progress Rating (APR), posting a score of 996 out of a possible 1,000 in the measure of player retention and eligibility. NU also goes to great lengths to make a difference in the community. Fitzgerald, his family and his players partake in countless charitable events, impacting the NU and Evanston communities through their participation in Northwestern Dance Marathon, Special Olympics, Misericordia, the NU chapter of Uplifting Athletes, weekly school and children's hospital visits, and dozens of other organizations. Fitzgerald was named the honorary coach of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. As a player in 1995, Fitzgerald was the leader of a suffocating Wildcats defensive unit that led the nation in scoring defense and anchored NU's storybook run to the Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl. He capped the year by winning both the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards as the nation's top defensive player and also was the Big Ten, Chevrolet and Sports Illustrated-Defensive Player of the Year. Fitzgerald accomplished all of this despite suffering a broken leg in the penultimate regular-season game. Fitzgerald recovered from that injury and in 1996 he again led the Wildcats to a share of the Big Ten title. He repeated as recipient of the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards, becoming the first two-time winner of both honors and laying the groundwork for his selection in 2008 to the College Football Hall of Fame. A two-time first-team All- American, Fitzgerald started 23 career games and totaled 299 tackles, including 20 for loss. He also forced five fumbles and intercepted three passes. Prior to his return to Northwestern, Fitzgerald was a defensive graduate assistant at Maryland (1998) and Colorado (1999) before taking his first full-time position at Idaho in 2000. In 2001, esteemed NU head coach Randy Walker brought Fitzgerald back to Evanston, hiring him to coach the defensive secondary and eventually tabbing him the 'Cats' recruiting coordinator. Named one of college football's top recruiters by SI.com in 2005, Fitzgerald mentored two-time All-Big Ten linebacker and former St. Louis Ram Tim McGarigle, the all-time leading tackler in NCAA history. Fitzgerald remained an assistant coach before being named Northwestern's 29th head coach on July 7, 2006 under the most difficult of circumstances, succeeding Walker after his sudden passing on June 29, 2006. Fitzgerald remained the youngest head football coach among Football Bowl Subdivision schools until Lane Kiffin was