Would sitting head coaches like Mike Campbell and Dave Clawson be tempted to move to Evanston?
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Replacing Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern: Bruce Feldman’s candidates, from Duke to the NFL
Mike Kafka, New York Giants offense coordinator
Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach
Dave Clawson, Wake Forest head coach
Mike Elko, Duke head coach
Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan head coach
Sherrone Moore, Michigan offensive coordinator
Tommy Rees, Alabama offensive coordinator
Paul Chryst, former Wisconsin head coach
Here’s a look at some potential replacements for Pat Fitzgerald in Evanston, IL.
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Northwestern coaching candidates
Willie Fritz
The veteran head coach of Tulane is coming off his most successful season in New Orleans, leading the Green Wave to an 11-2 record where they won the AAC title and defeated USC in the Cotton Bowl. He was strongly considered for the Georgia Tech opening during last fall’s coaching cycle before ultimately sticking with Tulane. Turning 64 next year, this could be his final shot at a Power Five gig and the amount of respect he has garnered around the sport would make him a good candidate to hold things down at Northwestern.
Derek Mason
Mason is currently taking a sabbatical from coaching after serving as defensive coordinator for Auburn and Oklahoma State for the last two seasons. An assistant head coach under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw at Stanford, Mason landed the head coaching job at Vanderbilt in 2014 and posted a 27-55 record through seven seasons. While that mark isn’t great, it is incredibly difficult to win in the SEC at a private institution like Vandy and there’s similarities between them and Northwestern. Would a refreshed Mason consider taking on this challenge? It’s worth it for Wildcat officials to give him a call.
Chris Creighton
Creighton has been one of the more underrated coaches in college football for the last decade at Eastern Michigan. Taking over in Ypisilanti, MI, in 2014, he turned around a historically moribund Eagle program and has led them to five bowl game appearances in 10 seasons. If anyone can adapt to tough situations, it’s Creighton and Northwestern should think outside the box and consider him.
Coaching Candidates to Replace Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern
Short-Term Replacements (2023 Season Only)
David Braun, Defensive Coordinator, Northwestern
Reports indicate Braun is expected to direct Northwestern's program while an interim coach is decided. This is Braun's first season at Northwestern after working from 2019-22 at North Dakota State.
Bronco Mendenhall, Former Virginia/BYU Head Coach
Considering his name popped up in last year's coaching carousel, the guess here is Mendenhall might be looking for more than just a one-year pit stop. But if Northwestern looks for an outside leader, Mendenhall (135-81 overall in combined stints at BYU and Virginia) certainly fits as a quality hire.
David Shaw, Former Stanford Head Coach
Shaw stepped down at the end of the '22 season after 12 years in charge at Stanford. His experience at an academic power and steady leadership could be a good fit for a season.
Ken Niumatalolo, Former Navy Head Coach
Niumatalolo went 109-83 at Navy from the 2007 bowl game until the end of the '22 season. Although his tenure in Annapolis ended in dismissal, Niumatalolo would be a solid one-year director of the program.
Jim Grobe, Former Wake Forest/Baylor Head Coach
Grobe has experience navigating a late change atop a program, as he went 7-6 as the head coach during the '16 season at Baylor after Art Briles was fired. Grobe previously went 77-82 as the head coach at Wake Forest and finished 33-33-1 at Ohio (1995-00).
What if Northwestern wants to hire a new full-time coach now? And if not, keep in mind or file these names away for after the '23 season:
Jeff Monken, Head Coach, Army
Monken is a native of Illinois and has guided Army to a 64-49 mark since taking over in '14. Also, he previously went 38-16 as the head coach at Georgia Southern from 2010-13. It's no secret Monken runs the option offense but that approach could be tweaked in the Big Ten.
Sean Lewis, Offensive Coordinator, Colorado
Lewis joined Deion Sanders' staff in Boulder this offseason after a four-year stint at Kent State as the program's head coach. Although Lewis only went 24-31, Kent State is one of the MAC's toughest jobs and getting to two bowl games ('19 and '21) was a major accomplishment for the program. Lewis also has Big Ten experience thanks to a stint as a player at Wisconsin (2004-07).
Chris Creighton, Head Coach, Eastern Michigan
Creighton is a good example of why a head coach can't simply be judged on record. His overall mark at Eastern Michigan is 46-61, but the program has been to five bowl games over the last seven years and has posted four seasons of at least seven or more victories. That's a major step forward for a program that had only one bowl trip and three years of seven or more wins prior to Creighton's arrival.
Mike Kafka, Offensive Coordinator, New York Giants
Could Northwestern look to another former player to lead the program? Kafka quarterbacked the 'Cats from '05-09, throwing for 3,430 yards and 16 touchdowns in his final seasons in Evanston. After a short playing career in the
NFL, Kafka worked for a season as a graduate assistant at Northwestern ('16) and eventually worked his way to quarterbacks coach with the Chiefs in '18. After four years in Kansas City, Kafka was hired as the Giants' offensive coordinator prior to the '22 season.
Willie Fritz, Head Coach, Tulane
Fritz has won at every coaching stop (Central Missouri, Sam Houston, Georgia Southern, and Tulane). He's 43-45 with the Green Wave - a program that mirrors Northwestern in some respects with its academic challenges - and guided the program to an AAC title and a Cotton Bowl win last year. Fritz would be an ideal candidate to target after the '23 season.
Just sayin': Sadly I'm not seeing Coach O on anybody's list to be a candidate at Northwestern....
dailynorthwestern.com
