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Pat Fitzgerald reportedly fired for cause, mulling litigation against Northwestern
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Pat Fitzgerald was fired for cause by Northwestern, his attorney told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg on Tuesday.
In doing so, Northwestern hopes to be off the hook for the remaining $42 million left on his contract after he signed a 10-year extension in January 2021. In a statement released Monday evening after his dismissal, Fitzgerald said he had retained high-profile attorney Dan Webb — the former U.S. attorney for the northern district of Illinois — as his legal counsel and was looking at his options.
Webb told Rittenberg that they are mulling bringing what he said would be a “very large damage case” against Northwestern.
Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald for cause, his attorney Dan Webb tells ESPN. Webb is evaluating possible litigation around what he describes as “major” breaches of contract for Fitzgerald’s employment and the agreement with the school before Friday’s suspension.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 11, 2023
“I cannot understand how you could terminate someone for cause when [Northwestern] admit that their own lawyer does not have any evidence that my client ever knew anything at all about any of the alleged hazing behavior,” Webb told Rittenberg.
He also added that Fitzgerald’s dismissal created a “huge reputational issue” for the longtime Wildcat head coach and if they decided to go to trial, they would seek “a huge amount of money.”
The university placed Fitzgerald on a 2-week suspension on July 7 following an investigation into hazing within the football program. Findings from that investigation revealed that claims of hazing “were largely supported by evidence” but, in announcing the initial suspension and then again during the announcement of his termination, Northwestern said the investigation failed to find “any credible evidence” that Fitzgerald knew about the alleged incidents.
“Last Friday, Northwestern and I came to a mutual agreement regarding the appropriate resolution following the thorough investigation conducted by Ms. Hickey,” Fitzgerald said Monday night. “This agreement stipulated a 2-week suspension. Therefore, I was surprised when I learned that the president of Northwestern unilaterally revoked our agreement without any prior notification and subsequently terminated my employment.”
Northwestern also decided on Tuesday to retain all of the assistant coaches and support staff that had worked under Fitzgerald for the upcoming 2023 season — a decision that was met with backlash from the public.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.