Pat Fitzgerald Scandal: Follow Alabama Coach Path of O’Brien & Sark?

Sex crimes? Racism? Saban and Alabama have fixed the careers of coaches like Texans ex Bill O’Brien. But Pat Fitzgerald’s Northwestern scandal may be beyond the pale.

Northwestern has fired head football coach Pat Fitzgerald, and make no mistake - the troubling accusations about the program's hazing scandal under his supervision are next-level - and not to be directly compared to the problems a coach encounters for committing the “crime” of losing too many football games.

But in a broad sense? Former Houston Texans boss Bill O’Brien is a living and breathing example of a primrose path toward reputation rejuvenation … and no one would blame Fitzgerald if - once the situation is done with its lawsuits and its lies - the name “Nick Saban” pops into his head.

It is possible that the horrible accusations here ruin forever Fitzgerald's reputation; assuming he is culpable in any way, that seems an appropriate price to pay. Or …

He gets hired to join Saban’s staff at powerhouse Alabama. Lane Kiffin, now back to being high-profile at Ole Miss, did it. Steve Sarkisian, back to being high-profile at Texas, did it. And Bill O'Brien?

When things went sour for him following a largely successful stint in Houston, O’Brien was tossed a lifebuoy by Saban. He joined the ‘Bama staff in 2021 as an assistant for Saban and is now - voila! - back in the NFL as Bill Belichick’s offensive coordinator with the Patriots.

Of course, this situation is not that situation. Northwestern went 1-11 under Fitzgerald last season, which is problematic enough. But this? The school fired him Monday after The Daily Northwestern published a detailed look into a toxic environment that included a "culture of enabling racism."

Would all of this be beyond the pale for Saban and Alabama? That we don’t know. Can Fitzgerald ever fix this? At Alabama or any other program? That we don’t know, either.

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