Northwestern coach David Braun’s improbable tale continues writing itself

Within the undulating hills and woodlands of western Waukesha County, the village of Wales, Wisconsin boasts a hardworking, tight-knit feel that defines small midwestern towns. With less than 3,000 residents, area children filter into the Kettle Moraine school district — where many dream of taking the field for the Kettle Moraine High School Lasers one day.

Forged on 55 acres of farmland, the school’s academic and athletic facilities blossomed from the ground up, building their foundations on the fundamentals of family.

After serving as head football coach at Kettle Moraine for 13 seasons, the school’s then-athletic director Mike Fink needed to fill a vacancy at the Lasers’ helm. For a coach who’d been around the football program for 23 years, Fink said he couldn’t bring forward a run of the mill candidate.

“The football program was struggling — we’d been through a couple of coaches,” Fink said. “I was looking for someone that could bring respect for the kids (and) stability.”

Fink’s search drove him right back to a player he described as another coach on the field. He called a familiar face — his former captain, two-way star and two-time all-conference player — and implored the young candidate who was just a few years removed from college to apply.

As he’d always done on the gridiron, Northwestern interim head coach David Braun followed Fink’s command. He applied for the job and interviewed with the hiring committee. But despite the athletic director’s glowing endorsement, the committee went in another direction, citing Braun’s young age and inexperience.

Though outvoted, Fink stuck to his guns. With four wins and a mended culture centered around family under his belt in Evanston, Fink’s prophetic promise proves truer by the day.

“I kept telling the committee and the HR director, ‘you don’t understand, this guy is light years beyond his chronological age,’” Fink said. “At the meeting, I said to them, ‘I guarantee you he will be a head coach at a Big Ten program down the road, and we will miss the boat.’”

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After his high school alma mater passed up on him, Braun returned to his collegiate roots, serving as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Winona State from 2011 to 2014. He made several more stops along the road in the following years, proving his pedigree at every turn.

FCS powerhouse North Dakota State handed Braun a chance too grand to pass up in 2019. During his tenure in Fargo as defensive coordinator and safeties coach, the defensive guru gained national attention. He garnered Football Scoop’s FCS coordinator of the year honors in 2021 and a pair of national titles.

“Coaching for the past 15 years, pretty much everywhere he’s went, he’s done a tremendous job,” said Luke Radke, Braun’s former high school teammate, who now leads instruction and evaluation at the nation’s top recruiting resource for kickers, punters and long snappers. “He’s a high riser — very much a student of the game — and everywhere he goes there’s a large amount of respect.”

Opportunity once again came knocking in January 2023, when Braun made the jump to the Power Five ranks and accepted the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator position. But about six months later, NU and Braun’s fate flipped on his head.

The coach once considered too young for a high school gig now held the keys to a Big Ten Program — albeit a team in utter turmoil, at the crux of a hazing scandal that gained national attention. He’d never been the lead man throughout his college coaching career, but Braun has never been one to run from the fire, according to his high school co-defensive coordinator Jim LaVoi.

“I never saw weakness (in) David Braun in my life,” LaVoi said. “Everything he did, he was competing.”

Less than two weeks into his official tenure as the team’s interim coach, Braun traveled to Indianapolis, where he stood alone in the national spotlight. Before NU’s athletic director or president had publicly addressed the summer that turned the program and University on its head, a recent hire with a child on the way formally introduced himself — and the program — at Big Ten Media Days.

In two sessions that totaled an hour, Braun spoke of a program packed with self-belief and internal motivation. He said the ’Cats were ready to “write their own story” about overcoming adversity. Throughout his tenure, Braun has sustained his mantra of the team writing its own narrative with all of its goals in plain view.

“This opportunity is a dream come true to be a part of Big Ten Football,” Braun said. “The circumstances surrounding our family’s opportunity … were not dream-like scenarios. … They have crystalized our family’s purpose. (My wife) Kristin and I truly believe that football is the ultimate vehicle to have a positive impact on young men.”

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Throughout his journey, players have consistently referred to Braun as the dictionary definition of a player’s coach — a figure who resonates with their experiences, on and off the field.

The former four-sport athlete and captain of Kettle Moraine’s football, baseball and track squads has walked in similar shoes to each of his players, balancing academic and athletic responsibilities with familial bonds. Radke noted how his former teammate took pride in making an impact, regardless of the role or situation.

Although he earned all conference honors on the baseball diamond, Braun’s true passion poured onto the football field, where he manned both ends of the trenches at offensive and defensive line.

Embodying the spirit of Braun’s play, Fink recalled a scrimmage against Homestead High School, where Braun began coughing profusely. When the coach approached his defensive stalwart, he found Braun’s facemask smothered in “dog sh–.” Sure enough, Braun ran right back into his position for the next down.

“He was the leader of that squad defensively, able to get after the quarterback (and) put pressure on people,” Fink said. “He was able to sometimes get our kids to a level that maybe if he’s not there, they’re not able to do that. He’s the one (opposing teams) would gameplan to stop defensively.”

Facing off against the likes of Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle Joe Thomas, among other elite talents, Braun made his name known throughout the region as a force to be reckoned with.

LaVoi said the defensive end’s dominant play extended far beyond his physical gifts — his preparation and intelligence were unmatched on the field.

“His work ethic was second to none, and his preparation was phenomenal,” LaVoi said. “He was a positive influence on everybody … and a great practice player, great teammate — all those things combined inserted success.”

Alongside Radke, Braun helped lead the Lasers to their first Wisconsin state playoff appearance in over a decade in his senior season. While Kettle Moraine has become more of a powerhouse in recent years, LaVoi credits players like those two for building the foundation for success.

From the jump, Fink foresaw that the future Winona State commit was destined for something more.

“(With) everything he did in the gym — and he was (also) outstanding in the classroom — to see the success he’s achieved does not surprise me at all,” Fink said. “He was a filmaholic … would understand everything that was going on (and was) always asking questions.”

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After taking over NU’s program in July 2023, Braun needed to surpass an initial hurdle before he could even ponder hitting the recruiting trail. With any head coaching change, players receive a 30-day window to depart a program in the transfer portal. Now thrust into the interim role, Braun needed to convince his players to stay put.

Despite every current ’Cats player having committed to former head coach Pat Fitzgerald and not Braun, all but five players opted to continue donning the purple and white this fall. LaVoi said it likely took Braun just one meeting to capture the ‘Cats’ belief.

“He’s an awesome individual — one of the most humble guys I’ve ever met,” senior linebacker Xander Mueller said. “Especially as a head coach, he’s a great leader for us and a great role model.”

Stabilizing his team’s core behind several savvy veteran leaders, Braun has shifted course back to building for his team’s future. He’s insisted he’s not after blue chip prospects that top recruiting rankings, instead he wants “warriors” who love the game of football.

With the interim title evoking a sense of uncertainty throughout the program, Braun and the rest of his staff don’t know if they’ll retain their roles at the season’s end. Through it all, he’s maintaining the commitment he and his wife, Kristin Braun, made when he accepted one of the nation’s toughest head coaching roles in July — controlling the controllables.

This story of truth, as Braun labeled it, veers over to the recruiting trail. He isn’t just tasked with convincing recruits to buy into the “world class academics and Big Ten football” that’s been the team’s selling point for decades.

Instead, he must paint a transparent picture of a fluctuant future.

“At the end of the day, recruiting is presenting a story and giving young men and their families thorough information,” Braun said. “The story that exists at Northwestern is a really special story to tell.”

Fink said Braun’s honesty and transparency is on full display whenever they interact on the recruiting trail.

The longtime high school football coach said he gives players and parents the same message about his former superstar.

“He’s one of the few coaches that you can trust every word he tells you,” Fink said. “He’s not gonna make you a promise and tell you something different, then just push it aside. He’ll take care of you as a young man and you’ll develop all the way through.”

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Just under four months into his interim tenure, Braun appears to grow in confidence and moxie with every game. As he’s always done, the coach leans on his wife, family and those around him at each step of the way.

He said building the foundations of success is all about people.

“It’s all about creating genuine relationships with players, staff and coaches,” Braun said. “This group is really shining through in terms of their character, their resiliency and their togetherness. … That’s what’s been so humbling about this opportunity.”

Though he’s experienced a steep learning curve in his transition from defensive coordinator to head coach, Braun has taken the challenge in stride.

The coach’s second major lesson from his tenure remains ever-apparent. There’s always more learning that must be carried out.

“You never have it all figured out,” Braun said. “You just show up every day doing your best (and) continuing to have a mentality of humility and growth — a willingness to take input and constructive criticism and learn from those around you.”

Although Braun never lived every Wisconsin high school football player’s dream of reaching the state championship at Camp Randall Stadium, he’ll coach in the stadium for the first time Saturday.

About 60 miles from his hometown, Braun has the chance to lead NU to victory in front of a flock of friends and family.

“Coaching Big Ten football and doing it with a group we have here is really special,” Braun said. “I’m just really excited for this team to have an opportunity to go to Madison.”

And according to his former teammates and coaches, Braun — like most local football players — grew up dreaming of playing for the Badgers. LaVoi said the weekend will certainly pose a whirlwind of emotions and shedded tears for Braun.

With the weight of a proverbial homecoming and looming bowl eligibility on his shoulders, Braun carries one major goal into the weekend: leading the ’Cats to their first road victory this season.

Having spent countless hours at Camp Randall while growing up, Braun looks to build on his legacy due west of his old stomping grounds.

“It’d be awesome to go into Camp Randall with this group of guys and bring a victory back to Evanston,” Braun said. “We’re gonna bust our butt throughout the course of the week, making sure we’re doing everything in our power to put our guys in a situation to do just that.”

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