Michigan State is hiring Pat Fitzgerald to fill its coaching vacancy, sources tell CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. The Spartans acted quickly to replace former coach Jonathan Smith, who was fired Sunday afternoon after two seasons in East Lansing.
Fitzgerald was initially reported as a top target in Michigan State’s search. This will mark a return to the Big Ten for the 50-year-old coach, who spent 17 seasons at Northwestern from 2006-22. He has not coached at the collegiate level since.
Fitzgerald, who was a hall of fame linebacker and a longtime defensive assistant with the Wildcats, departed Evanston with a 110-101 overall record. His 110 wins and 64 Big Ten conference wins were both program records. As were his 10 bowl appearance and his five wins in bowl games.
Fitzgerald also became the first Northwestern coach to ever lead the Wildcats to back-to-back bowl appearances. Northwestern made it to the postseason five straight times from 2008-12 and four straight times from 2015-18.
He was named the 2020 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year after guiding Northwestern to a 7-2 record, including an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game and a win against Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. The Wildcats also finished top 10 in the AP poll for the first time since 1995.
Fitzgerald’s tenure ended in controversy
Though he had his fair share of successes at Northwestern, Fitzgerald’s career with the Wildcats ended quickly. Outside of that COVID-shortened 2020 season, he won just seven games from 2019-22. Northwestern also finished with just one win in Big Ten play each year in that span except 2020.
Northwestern went 1-11 in 2022 — Fitzgerald’s final season — with losses to Miami (Ohio) and FCS Southern Illinois. Fitzgerald’s 14-31 record from 2019-22 was the worst of any four-year span during his tenure.
On July 8, 2023, Fitzgerald was suspended without pay for two weeks after reports emerged alleging graphic incidents of hazing within the program. He was fired three days later after university administrators opted to revisit his status when The Daily Northwestern student newspaper published details of the hazing provided by two former players.
Fitzgerald claimed that he was “not aware of the alleged incidents.” An investigation conducted by Northwestern also found that the hazing was “well-known by many in the program,” though it was not determined whether or not Fitzgerald knew about it.
In Aug. 2025, Fitzgerald and Northwestern reached a settlement regarding the former coach’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the university.
Michigan State acts quickly
Michigan State fired Smith and moved to hire Fitzgerald in a span of less than two hours. That’s big for the Spartans, as it seems they had a solid plan in place with the high school early signing period approaching this week.
That means Fitzgerald will have at least a couple of days to evaluate Michigan State’s roster and its current recruiting class, which ranks No. 32 in the 247Sports Team Composite. That’s good for 10th among Big Ten schools.
He’ll likely prioritize retaining the commitment of wide receiver Samson Gash, a four-star product of Novi, Michigan’s Catholic Central High School. Gash is one of two four-star prospects in Michigan State’s 2026 recruiting class.
Fitzgerald will also have plenty of time to assess things before the winter transfer window opens in January. He may need that time to adjust, given how long he’s been out of coaching.
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