Hall of Fame
Position: Linebacker
Years: 1993-1996
Place of Birth: Orland Park, IL
Date of Birth: Dec 02, 1974
Jersey Number: 51
Height: 6-2
Weight: 243
High School: Carl Sandberg HS (Orland Park, IL)
The only two-time winner of both the Chuck Bednarik and Bronco Nagurski Awards, Pat Fitzgerald was the heart of the Northwestern defense that led the Wildcats to their first Rose Bowl in 47 years. A two-time consensus First Team All-America selection, he recorded 299 career tackles, including 20 for a loss, en route to being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 1995 and '96. Fitzgerald's athletic prowess ignited an NU defense that led the nation in scoring in 1995, generating back-to-back Big Ten titles. The Orland Park, Ill., native was named both Chevrolet's and Sports Illustrated's Defensive Player of the Year in 1995. Fitzgerald signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent following his Northwestern career only to discover that coaching was his true passion. He served as an assistant at several universities before returning to his alma mater in 2001. Fitzgerald spent the next five years as an NU assistant coach before taking the head coaching reigns in 2006. He is the youngest head football coach among Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) schools. A 2003 Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Fitzgerald is active in local charities and speaks to Chicago-area schools about drug prevention. He resides in Evanston, Ill.
