Breaking Down what Pat Fitzgerald Hire Means for MSU Football

Let's talk about what the hiring of Northwestern's former head coach means for the Spartans.

Oct 29, 2022; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald looks on against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Michigan State athletic director J Batt made a "surgical" decision on Sunday by firing head coach Jonathan Smith and starting the process to hire Pat Fitzgerald.

It's going to be an eventful offseason in East Lansing, as Fitzgerald will have to put together a whole new staff and assemble a whole new roster in the coming weeks and months. Not much is going to be the same for the Spartans in 2026. Whether all that change leads to more wins is the question.

Nov 26, 2022; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald leads his team on the field against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, Spartan Nation publisher and founder Hondo Carpenter and beat writer Jacob Cotsonika break down MSU's hiring of Fitzgerald and the pros and cons of the decision.

Video of the entire episode can be viewed below.

Watch the MSU Spartans Insider Podcast here:

Fitzgerald's Background

Nov 19, 2022; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald walks the sidelines during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

This will be an interesting experiment for the Spartans, since Fitzgerald has been out of coaching for a bit. He was fired after 17 seasons at Northwestern after a hazing scandal at the school. Fitzgerald denied any knowledge of any hazing in Evanston, sued the school for wrongful termination, settled it with Northwestern, and the school said the evidence "did not establish" that any player had reported Fitzgerald of hazing.

On the football field, Fitzgerald went 110-101 during his time as the head coach in Evanston. He won a pair of Big Ten West titles in 2018 and 2020, led the Wildcats to five AP Top 25 finishes, and 10 bowl games.

One main concern about Fitzgerald is the final two seasons of his tenure, which were the beginning of the NIL era in college football. Northwestern went a combined 4-20 during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, bottoming out at 1-11 during Fitzgerald's final season.

Fitzgerald was also one of the most accomplished players in Northwestern history during the '90s. He was the team's star linebacker, helping the Wildcats reach the 1996 Rose Bowl, was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice, won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy twice, and won the Chuck Bednarik Award twice.

Oct 29, 2022; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats team before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The first big challenge for Fitzgerald will be getting all the pieces into place for next season. He doesn't have a staff currently around him that he can just move from one spot to the other, kind of like Smith at Oregon State.

He also doesn't have a bunch of active players who can follow him, so he and his eventual staff will need to work really hard in the transfer portal to get a bunch of players good enough to play at the Big Ten level.

Oct 22, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald on the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

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