After leading the Wildcats to a 7-2 season and Big Ten West title coupled with the departure of Jim Phillips to the ACC as their new commissioner and some other potential key changes in Evanston, there was a considerable amount of chatter in NFL circles about a push to bring Pat Fitzgerald to the league.
The school has announced that Fitz is cementing his already strong roots into Evantson even further with a new 10-year deal taking him through 2030.
Fitz shared the following in the school's release (which URL not-so-coincidentally uses FitzForever at the end):
"From the moment I stepped on campus as an undergraduate, I have believed this is the finest University in the country, with the potential to offer an unmatched student-athlete experience. Stacy, Jack, Ryan, Brendan and I have always been grateful to call Northwestern our home, and be part of the Wildcats family."
"We all have a lot to be proud of, but our best is yet to come."
Pete Thamel was among the first to share the news.
No terms of that contract have been made available yet.
This fall will mark his 16th season leading his alma mater, making him currently the 6th longest tenured head coach at one school.
Fitz has catapulted Northwestern into a Big Ten contender, winning at least seven games in five of the past six seasons, including two ten win seasons during that stretch (2015 and 2017) and a nine-win season (2018).
This isn't the first long-term contract extension Northwestern has inked their head coach to. Back in 2017, Fitz previously signed a 10-year extension as well.
While Northwestern is a private school that doesn't have to make their salaries public, Steve Berkowitz shares that, per tax return info from the university, Fitz made $5.1 million back in 2017. That was an increase of $1.5 million from what he made in the year previous.
Athletic director, and future ACC commissioner, Jim Phillips shared the following of the extension.
"We have one of the best coaches in college football and, more importantly, a leader uncommonly suited to this University. Over the course of his tenure, Coach Fitzgerald has built a culture of unwavering belief in excellence both on and off the field, and led our Wildcats to unprecedented sustained success. They boast incredible achievement in the classroom, in the community and in competition, and will for years to come."
We will share terms of the new deal as they become available.
In the meantime, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.