Pat Fitzgerald Hired as Michigan State HC After Smith Firing, Latest Contract Details

Michigan State has officially named its new head coach.

The Spartans announced Monday that former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald will take over.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Fitzgerald and Michigan State agreed to a five-year deal.

Chris Solari and Graham Couch of the Detroit Free Press first reported the Spartans' plans to hire Fitzgerald on Sunday. The report came just hours after Michigan State fired head coach Jonathan Smith.

Fitzgerald, who played linebacker at Northwestern from 1993 to 1996, cut his teeth at Maryland, Colorado and Idaho before landing a job as the Wildcats' defensive backs coach in 2001.

He became Northwestern's head coach in 2006 and remained in that position until he was fired in 2022. He owns a career record of 110-101, making him the Wildcats' winningest head coach in program history. He is also the longest tenured coach in Northwestern's history.

He led the Wildcats to three 10-win seasons and appeared in Big Ten championship games in 2018 and 2020.

While his tenure with Northwestern was mostly successful, he went 4-20 across his final two seasons.

The job with the Spartans will be Fitzgerald's first college football coaching gig since his exit from Northwestern. He revealed earlier this month that he was eyeing a return to coaching and reportedly interviewed with a handful of schools, including Arkansas.

Ultimately, he'll head to East Lansing.

The Spartans are hoping Fitzgerald will be the coach who turns things around after struggles in recent years. Michigan State fired Mel Tucker in 2023 and replaced him with former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith.

Smith finished 5-7 a year ago before posting a 4-8 season this year and was fired on Sunday following Saturday's season-finale against Maryland. He's reportedly set to receive a $33 million contract buyout.

Michigan State hasn't won a conference title or appeared in the College Football Playoff since 2015, and its last championship was almost 60 years ago. The Spartans haven't found much success in recent years, but they're looking to a veteran like Fitzgerald to right the ship.