Sports

College Football World Split On Pat Fitzgerald’s Shocking Firing

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Northwestern head football coach Pat Fitzgerald looks on from the sidelines.

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The Northwestern Wildcats have made a decision on their head coach. The university announced the firing of Pat Fitzgerald amid a slew of disturbing allegations.

Fitzgerald had been a staple on the sidelines in Evanston having spent his entire 17-year tenure with the program. This coming after playing three seasons with the Wildcats in the mid-1990s.

As a head coach, he led the team to heights rarely seen in its history. As recently as 2020, Fitzgerald’s bunch finished 10th in the final AP Poll, giving Ohio State all it could handle in the Big Ten championship game before knocking off Auburn in the Citrus Bowl.

In total, he led the team to 10 bowl appearances, winning five of his last six postseason matchups.

Now, though, it’s over.

The program has been hit with a number of disturbing allegations over the last week, some of which include hazing, sexual assault, and creating a culture that enabled racism.

Pat Fitzgerald was initially suspended for two weeks, but he’s now been fired.

Many around the college football world are split on the decision. Those that knew and interacted with him were shocked to hear these reports.

Clay Travis of Outkick said, “Either Pat Fitzgerald is an awful human being and tons of people affiliated with the program are still lying to cover up for him or isolated instances of alleged hazing may have happened, and someone is trying to get him fired by exaggerating them. I vote the latter.”

One report actually claimed that the allegations were embellished.

Former FSU QB Danny Kanell posted, “I hate this. Pat Fitzgerald is a good human who cared about his players deeply. He ran his program the right way and has a stellar reputation. I have never heard anyone have a bad thing to say about him. This feels wrong.”

ESPN personality Dan Orlovsky wrote, “Sat and talked with Pat Fitzgerald many, many times, he was as impressive as any HC you could talk with. Absolutely floored by what’s come out and alleged.”

Others, however, believe it was the right move for the school to make.

FanSided’s Zain Bando commented, “Pat Fitzgerald was beloved by many, including myself. I was in the same room as him on several occasions, but it’s obvious that there was an underlining issue within the program. This is the right decision by Northwestern, and it will be interesting to see what comes of it.”

College football analyst Adam Breneman said, “Wow. Northwestern fires Pat Fitzgerald. Just two days ago, Northwestern suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks… during July, which is an off month for football coaches. Just 48 hours later, he’s fired. A lot can change in two days.”

It’s truly shocking to believe that Pat Fitzgerald’s time at Northwestern is through.