Addressing Key Concerns Surrounding MSU’s Pat Fitzgerald
In this story:
Michigan State has hired former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald to lead Spartan football.
MSU moved on from Jonathan Smith last week after two unsuccessful seasons. Athletic Director J Batt knew the team needed a new voice in the locker room and a stronger leader.
He quickly found that Fitzgerald, who spent a few seasons away from coaching after being fired from Northwestern in the summer of 2023. Fitzgerald is the winningest coach in program history with 110 career victories at a place that is difficult to win at.
But there are certainly many concerns surrounding Fitzgerald's hire, on and off the field. Let’s address those concerns today.
“Fitzgerald went 7-29 over his last three full seasons at Northwestern!”
Yes, he did. Things ended poorly for Fitzgerald’s tenure in Evanston.
Several factors contributed to Fitzgerald’s downfall at Northwestern, including a lack of high-end recruiting and poor offensive results. The new Spartan coach must recruit better to East Lansing and nail his offensive coordinator hire, no question.
He has the means to recruit to MSU much better than he did at Northwestern, with a large financial gift and no academic restrictions. It’s no guarantee he does, but the resources are there.
“There were hazing lawsuits filed against Fitzgerald during his time at Northwestern.”
Yes, there were. And it’s a pretty big black eye on him as a coach.
Fitzgerald has settled with the university, so he did not go to trial against Northwestern for a wrongful termination lawsuit. Still, it is not a great look for Michigan State, a program with a history of off-field concerns, to bring in a coach who has dealt with similar situations.
While an investigation discovered that Fitzgerald did not condone or direct any hazing, it may not give many fans much reassurance. However, Fitzgerald should not let that kind of culture take place in his locker room at MSU.
“Fitzgerald has been out of coaching for the last two seasons. How will he adjust to the modern-day age of college football?”
Listening to him speak about what it takes to survive in today's college football landscape, it certainly sounds like Fitzgerald understands.
Teams must spend money to build championship-level rosters and utilize the transfer portal directly. That doesn’t mean bring in 40 portal players; it means using the portal as a tool to supplement your roster with immediate needs.
Fitzgerald will have free rein to recruit and bring in talent however he pleases, so we could see a vision unfold in East Lansing like never before.
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