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Northwestern coaching search: Possible candidates emerge following Pat Fitzgerald’s exit

Keith Farner

By Keith Farner

Published:

After Pat Fitzgerald’s exit from Northwestern, possible replacements have already emerged and they have a range of experience.

Among them are coordinators and other seasoned assistants at Power 5 programs and NFL organizations.

Some B1G assistants already mentioned include Michigan offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore, and Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline.

In the NFL, New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, a former Northwestern playern, is at the top of the list of potential replacements, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Former Wisconsin assistant and interim coach Jim Leonard was also mentioned as a possibility to be considered. Speaking of Wisconsin, former coach Paul Chryst has also been mentioned as he’s now a special assistant at Texas.

Other interesting names to consider are former Stanford coach David Shaw and former Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall.

Tulane’s Willie Fritz, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson and Duke’s Mike Elko are also possibilities because of the similarities of a strong academic school, and how they’ve exceeded expectations.

Keith Farner

Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.