Northwestern to Name David Braun Interim Coach After Fitzgerald Firing, per Report

He was just hired as the program’s defensive coordinator in January.

Northwestern has reportedly promoted defensive coordinator David Braun to become the program’s interim head coach after the university fired Pat Fitzgerald on Monday, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Braun was just hired at Northwestern back in January to become the team’s defensive coordinator. Before that, he spent four seasons in the same role at North Dakota State. He has yet to coach a game at the Power Five level.

Fitzgerald was first suspended for two weeks and then later fired after 17 years at the helm following an investigation into hazing allegations within the football program. The investigation found that allegations of hazing made by a whistleblower in November 2022 were “largely corroborated.”

On Saturday, Nicole Markus, Alyce Brown, Cole Reynolds and Divya Bhardwaj of The Daily Northwestern—the university’s student newspaper—reported details from the investigation, which included allegations of coerced sexual acts. The Daily Northwestern also reported allegations of racism within the program.

On Monday, Fitzgerald announced that he retained a lawyer, arguing that Northwestern president Michael Schill “unilaterally revoked [their] agreement without any prior notification and subsequently terminated [his] employment” by firing him after initially suspending him.

Northwestern is expected to retain the remainder of the football coaching staff at this time.