Two-time national defensive player of the year and current Idaho linebackers and special teams coach Pat Fitzgerald has been confirmed as a candidate to fill a coaching vacancy that opened after the resignation of Northwestern defensive backs coach Brad Bolinger on July 1.
“I have been contacted by Northwestern about the position,” Fitzgerald said. “But I have been asked not comment until next week.”
Bolinger spent two years at NU before leaving the program. He is getting married next weekend and has decided to pursue a career in another field. Before coming to NU, Bolinger worked on coach Randy Walker’s staff at Miami (Ohio) for two years.
The Cats’ defense was a weakness for the team last season, finishing ninth in the Big Ten in total yards allowed and yielding an average of more than 33 points a game.
Under university guidelines, the position must be posted for 10 working days before it can be filled, so the earliest an announcement could be made is at the beginning of next week.
An NU official said head coach Randy Walker and his staff are all on vacation this week and are not available for comment.
As a middle linebacker with the Wildcats, Fitzgerald earned recognition as one of the greatest football players in school history. In addition to winning both the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik awards, given to the nation’s top defensive player, in 1995 and 1996, he was a two-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
“Pat was the catalyst behind the best defense at NU,” said former NU quarterback Steve Schnur, a Fitzgerald teammate. “He was hard-nosed, intense and intelligent.
“Everyone looked at Pat as the coach and leader on the field.”
After an unsuccessful attempt at a playing career in the National Football League with the Dallas Cowboys in 1997, Fitzgerald got in touch with his NU defensive coordinator, Ron Vanderlinden, who had been hired as the head coach at Maryland. As a graduate assistant coach on the Terrapins’ staff, Pat worked with the defensive front seven.
“Pat made the transition to coaching very smoothly,” said Vanderlinden, now the linebackers coach at Penn State. “He has the right stuff to become a sensational coach.
“(As a player) he understood offensive tendencies and personal groupings. He did a great job mentally.”
The following year, Fitzgerald became a graduate assistant coach at Colorado where he worked with defensive backs. With the Buffaloes, he was reunited with former NU head coach Gary Barnett.
From there, Fitzgerald went to Moscow, Idaho, in 2000 when fellow Colorado assistant Tom Cable was hired as the Vandals’ head coach.
“Pat does a great job at articulating to players what to do,” Idaho defensive coordinator Ed Rifilato said. “There are a lot of great players out there, but not all of them can coach. Pat is a great coach.
“He is young, energetic and has a tough work ethic.”
His experience at NU – with the departure of last year’s seniors, no more players remain from either the Rose Bowl or Citrus Bowl squads that Fitzgerald led – might provide an advantage over other candidates.
“He will be able to relate to players very well,” Schnur said. “He has been there and done that, which brings automatic respect. It also helps in the recruiting process. You are recruiting for something that you went through.”
While the decision is not his to make, Vanderlinden said he knows Fitzgerald would be a good addition for Walker’s staff.
“With Pat’s name and reputation,” Vanderlinden said, “I think that he would be a natural at NU.”
