Pat Fitzgerald is currently unemployed after being fired by Northwestern University during the summer for his alleged involvement in a program-wide hazing scandal. As a result, he has not had an opportunity to comment on the ongoing investigation into the University of Michigan and Connor Stalions.
However, a new story about Fitzgerald shines him in a great light. The 48-year-old football coach is somehow coming out of the sign-stealing saga looking like a pretty honorable guy, despite zero involvement.
Bret Bielema, head coach at Illinois, was asked today about the Wolverines and all that is going on in Ann Arbor. Although there wasn’t much said, it sounds like there will be more to come down the road.
When the point in time comes where I can say something, I’ll have a lot to say.
— Bret Bielema
And then Bielema proceeded to tell a story about Pat Fitzgerald from when Wisconsin played Northwestern at some point during his time with the Badgers during the 2006 and 2012 college football seasons. It directly related to what is currently taking place at Michigan.
Pat Fitzgerald isn’t a sign-stealer.
I literally got a call from [Pat Fitzgerald] the day after we played him. [Northwestern] called our people during the course of the game […]
He called me and said ‘yesterday we had a chance, your signals were coming over our headsets.’ He told his people to put them down, change the channel and compete in the game.
And I thought the highest moment of integrity.
— Bret Bielema
There is a dark cloud that currently looms over Fitzgerald after his ouster. If the allegations of hazing and the culture at Northwestern was as bad as former players said, good.
At the same time, Fitzgerald was tied into a scandal at Michigan (for which he has no involvement and has not commented) through another Big Ten head coach. He ended up being labeled as having the highest of integrity.
Nobody expected Fitzgerald’s name to come up regarding the Wolverines. There is no correlation.
But there is! Bielema offered a really unique anecdote that makes Fitzgerald — in that singular moment — seem like a stand-up guy. Northwestern could have played the entire game against Wisconsin while knowing what the Badgers were going to do on every play. He did nothing with that information.
What an odd twist to this entire timeline! A coach that was fired during the offseason for alleged hazing incidents within his locker room is now the good guy here.