Pat Fitzgerald

Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is an American former football player and coach who serves as the head football coach at Michigan State University. He previously served as the head coach at Northwestern University from 2006 until 2023. Fitzgerald was promoted to head coach at Northwestern following the sudden death of head coach Randy Walker prior to the 2006 season. He was 31 at the time, making him the youngest head football coach in the Big Ten Conference and NCAA Division I FBS. Fitzgerald became the longest-tenured head coach in Northwestern football history. He played as a linebacker for Northwestern from 1993 to 1996, winning both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award twice as the best defensive player in college football. He was awarded a Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1997 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.