After Canning Pat Fitzgerald, David Braun Named Interim Head Coach At  Northwestern   

By Jordan Long

 The Northwestern University football program starts the season facing Rutgers on September 3^rd with a new head coach.  Northwestern fired Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald for hazing in his program. They will move forward with interim Head Coach David Braun.

            Fitzgerald had been the Head Coach of Northwestern since 2006.  He had a successful  record of 110-101, a winning percentage of .521.  Northwestern won 10 games in a season 3 times under Fitzgerald, 2012, 2015, and 2017.  Northwestern went to 10 bowl games with a record of 5-5.

            This past week, Northwestern let Fitzgerald go.  Following an investigation, evidence was found proving allegations of hazing within the program.  There was no definite proof that Fitzgerald had personal knowledge that hazing went on. It is hard to believe he didn’t know.  The simple fact is he was the head coach.  He must know what is going on in his program.   Fitzgerald failed to oversee his program and it cost him his job. 

            According to apnews.com, Northwestern President Michael Schill stated in an open letter, “The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team. The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening. Either way, the culture in Northwestern Football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others.”

            With that, Northwestern needed to find his replacement. The hazing is a dark cloud over the program.  Northwestern stayed within the program.  The interim Head Coach will be David Braun. Braun was just hired as the Defensive Coordinator on January 17, 2023.  He served as Defensive Coordinator at North Dakota State for the past 4 years.

            This is a big step for Bruan who has never been a head coach at the college level.  He has that opportunity now. Bruan wants to turn the program around.  Northwestern only won 1 game last year.  More wins than that is an improvement.  If Northwestern plays well, he could end up with the long-term gig.  If not, Northwestern will start a coaching search for their next head coach.