SAN ANTONIO - Can we call him Coach for Life Pat Fitzgerald yet?
It'd be easy to see why he'd want the title at Northwestern and why the school would want to bestow it on him. The football program is on the rise, he was one of the best players in school history and, oh yeah, his Wildcats made life miserable for heavily favored Missouri in the Alamo Bowl on Monday night.
Northwestern lost 30-23 in overtime, meaning the school hasn't won a bowl game since, like, 753 B.C. If not for a missed extra point in regulation, the Wildcats would have been celebrating late into the night. But they have a lot to be thankful for, starting with the fact that Fitzgerald is their head coach.
The easiest thing in the world would be for Northwestern to count on his loyalty. He loves the place. His players hang on his every word. And it doesn't seem likely other schools will try to steal him away anytime soon, not after just his third season as a head coach.
The school will resume talks with him on a contract extension soon. A deal is going to get done, athletic director Jim Phillips said Monday. But don't look for Northwestern to get complacent when it comes to its young head coach. If he keeps having regular seasons like 2008, when the Cats went 9-3, other schools will come calling.
"You never want to take him for granted," Phillips said. "Because he loves Northwestern shouldn't be a reason why he stays at Northwestern. It should be because it's the right place for him and his family, and it's where he wants to be.
"So I'm not confused about that, and I'll never get distracted over that part of it. Certainly the idea of him leading his alma mater is fantastic and it means everything to him, but I don't want to take that for granted."
If you haven't noticed, Notre Dame has been something of a mess the past few years, and the name "Pat Fitzgerald" wouldn't sound bad with the words "Fighting Irish coach" in front of it. He's 34, still a babe by coaching standards, but if the success continues in Evanston, he'll be older, more seasoned and more attractive to other schools.
It's why Phillips and NU need to be vigilant. If Northwestern believes he's the right man for the job long term, then it needs to keep him happy. And if Fitzgerald remains happy, he needs to realize how important happiness is.
Here's hoping he learned a lesson by watching his coach at Northwestern, Gary Barnett, who had so many dalliances with other schools while at NU, including Notre Dame, that he had to go through rehab for job-interview addiction. He landed at Colorado, where his coaching career crashed and burned.
NU has progressed from 4-8 to 6-6 to 9-4 under Fitzgerald. And he watched with admiration Monday as his team, which was a 12<SUP>1</SUP>/<SUB>2</SUB>-point underdog, fought hard all night.
"Very disappointing, but I'm very proud of the way our football program took a big step forward this year," he said.
Quarterback C.J. Bacher, who has been up and down this season, completed 27 of 42 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns. A coach wants to see seniors go out with a victory, but Fitzgerald was proud of Bacher's effort. He knew what he had in the kid.
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