Northwestern HC Pat Fitzgerald Won't Interview for Packers, Other NFL Openings

Northwestern football head coach Pat Fitzgerald is staying put.

Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune spoke Thursday with Fitzgerald's agent Bryan Harlan, who said his client has received multiple NFL overtures but will not interview with any team.

Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the Green Bay Packers were one of those teams. He also confirmed that Fitzgerald will not be making the NFL leap.

The 44-year-old head coach has amassed a 96-70 record at his alma mater and just led the Wildcats to the Big Ten Championship Game. Northwestern has also won three straight bowl games from 2016-2018.

Fitzgerald also played football at Northwestern from 1993-1996 and helped lead the team to a Rose Bowl appearance and Big Ten title in a stellar 1995 campaign.

He's been at Northwestern every calendar year from 1993-2018 sans 1998 through 2000, when he was an assistant at Maryland, Colorado and Idaho. Given that he's established long-standing roots in Evanston, Illinois, prying him from Northwestern seems like a impossible task.

That sentiment comes to light in a Thursday tweet from Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, who also spoke with Harlan:

Breer's 2011 remark is noteworthy, as Fitzgerald was just 36 years old at the time and had led the school to a so-so 34-29 record from 2006-2010. He hadn't even guided the team to a bowl win, but clearly, NFL teams could recognize his potential, which has been realized in the latter half of his 13-year head-coaching career.

Ultimately, Fitzgerald can likely stay in Evanston as long as he wants. Prior to his arrival, the Wildcats had just four winning seasons from 1972-2005.

They went 3-62-1 from 1976-1981 and didn't have a winning season for a 24-year stretch at one point. The Gary Barnett era in the 1990s temporarily ignited Northwestern football, but the team then had just two campaigns above .500 from 1997-2005.

Fitzgerald changed the culture of the program, which has enjoyed eight winning years in 13 tries under the current leader. During his tenure, the school has also won four bowl games, three more than the Wildcats have under other coaches.

Per Greenstein, Fitzgerald's contract runs through the 2026 season.