Pat Fitzgerald Won’t Consider NFL Jobs

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald will not leave the collegiate game for the NFL, his agent tells Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).

Fitzgerald has recently been adamant that he won’t leave Northwestern, but NFL clubs were still interested in his services. The Packers, for one, were expected to request an interview with Fitzgerald, and Silverstein reports Fitzgerald actually received multiple inquiries from the league. Packers president Mark Murphy hired Fitzgerald at Northwestern, but that connection wasn’t enough to sway Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald, 44, has been mentioned as an NFL candidate since at least 2015. A former player at Northwestern, Fitzgerald began coaching the Wildcats’ defensive backs in 2001, and was eventually named head coach in 2006. He’s since transformed the program, posting a 92-70 record during his time in Evanston.

Fitzgerald inked a 10-year extension with Northwestern in 2017. His salary is not publicly available, but Fitzgerald is believed to be among the highest-paid coaches in the Big Ten.

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