Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1187038
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 . M I N N E S O T A 11 DAN AND SUSAN JONES FAMILY HEAD FOOTBALL COACH PAT FITZGERALD In May of 2011, NU Director of Athletics Jim Phillips announced that Fitzgerald and the school agreed to a new 10-year deal that will keep him on the Northwestern sidelines through 2020. The 10-year deal was unprecedented in Northwestern Athletics history. In April of 2017, Phillips announced that Fitzgerald had been signed to a multi-year contract extension, with his new deal running through the 2026 football season. The program has steadily gained momentum in the years since Fitzgerald took over as head coach, starting with a challenging 4-8 campaign in 2006, when just weeks before the season began, Walker's death rocked the NU football program. In 2007, the Wildcats achieved bowl-eligibility with a 6-6 mark but did not play in a postseason game due to a lack of bowl slots for Big Ten teams. The 2007 Wildcats boasted a prolific offense that has become synonymous with NU teams of late, leading the Big Ten in regular-season total offense. In 2008, a dramatically improved defense and strong special teams play led the 'Cats to a nine-win season and a berth in the Valero Alamo Bowl against Missouri, their first postseason appearance since taking on UCLA in the 2005 Sun Bowl. Northwestern touted the nation's fifth-most improved scoring defense and the Wildcats set a single- season school mark for rushing defense (126.4 ypg), breaking the mark that Fitzgerald and his teammates established in 1995. NU's 5-0 season start in 2008 was its best since the 1962 campaign, when the Wildcats were 6-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation. For his efforts, Fitzgerald was named the 2008 Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus, a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award and a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award In 2009, the Wildcats returned to a New Year's Day Bowl game, their first since Fitzgerald was a student-athlete playing Tennessee in the 1997 Citrus Bowl. Fitzgerald's 2009 club was, perhaps, one of the most resilient teams in recent memory, overcoming a number of injuries (especially on defense) and some difficult defeats, only to finish with a "November to remember." The Wildcats opened the month by knocking off unbeaten Iowa, which at the time was ranked No. 4 in the BCS. NU then went to Illinois and defeated its instate rival before returning home to edge No. 16 (BCS) Wisconsin in the regular-season finale. The strong finish made the Wildcats a "wanted" bowl team and they landed a berth in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1. In that game, Northwestern played with the "heart of a Wildcat," overcoming a number of double-digit deficits only to fall 38-35 in overtime to Auburn. That game was widely recognized as the best bowl game of 2009-10, and one of the all-time most exciting postseason games. In 2010, Northwestern raced to another 5-0 start before beating nationally ranked Iowa on Nov. 13 to move to 7-3 and climb back into the top-25. A season-ending injury to first-team All-Big Ten quarterback Dan Persa, however, slowed the 'Cats' ascent in the national rankings and NU closed the season with a 7-6 mark. Still, NU's third straight winning season under Fitzgerald was capped with yet another New Year's Day bowl berth, a bid to the inaugural TicketCity Bowl at the famed Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Another strong finish to the schedule (four wins in their final five games) rendered the 2011 Wildcats bowl-eligible for a fifth straight year. The stretch was highlighted by a 28-25 upset of No. 9 Nebraska in Lincoln, which helped position NU for an eventual berth in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans. A graduate of Orland Park's (Ill.) Carl Sandburg High School and a 2002 inductee to the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame, Fitzgerald resides in Northfield with his wife, Stacy, and three sons, Jack, born in November 2004, Ryan, born in September 2006, and Brendan, born in February 2009. Fitzgerald's Coaching Experience Year School Position 1998 Maryland Defensive Graduate Assistant 1999 Colorado Defensive Graduate Assistant 2000 Idaho Linebackers/Special Teams 2001 Northwestern Defensive Backs 2002-03 Northwestern Linebackers 2004-05 Northwestern Linebackers/Recruiting Coordinator 2006-Present Northwestern Head Coach Fitzgerald's Head Coaching Record Year-by-Year Year School Record Big Ten Postseason 2006 Northwestern 4-8 2-6 n/a 2007 Northwestern 6-6 3-5 n/a 2008 Northwestern 9-4 5-3 Valero Alamo Bowl 2009 Northwestern 8-5 5-3 Outback Bowl 2010 Northwestern 7-6 3-5 TicketCity Bowl 2011 Northwestern 6-7 3-5 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas 2012 Northwestern 10-3 5-3 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl Champions 2013 Northwestern 5-7 1-7 n/a 2014 Northwestern 5-7 3-5 n/a 2015 Northwestern 10-3 6-2 Outback Bowl 2016 Northwestern 7-6 5-4 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Champions 2017 Northwestern 10-3 7-2 Music City Bowl Champions 2018 Northwestern 9-5 8-1 Big Ten West Champs / Holiday Bowl Champs 2019 Northwestern 2-8 0-7 Totals 13 years 98-78 56-58 9 Bowl Games