East Lansing, Michigan – Pat Fitzgerald talked to eight schools about potentially coaching their football teams, looking for the best place to restart his career. before choosing michigan state,
East Northwestern The coach and All-American linebacker signed an incentive-laden, five-year, $30 million contract to lead the Spartans back to relevance.
“When the opportunity came up, it was almost easy for me,” Fitzgerald, 51, said Tuesday.
Fitzgerald will be guaranteed $5 million in his first year and will be paid at least $500,000 more in each of the next four seasons. If he helps Michigan State win seven games in any of his first three seasons, an additional year and $500,000 will be added to his contract.
If the Spartans win only six games or more in the regular season, they will receive a $500,000 bonus; He will receive an additional $1 million for seven wins and a $1.5 million bonus for an eight-win season.
According to an Associated Press poll, if Michigan State wins the national championship for the first time since 1952, Fitzgerald will receive more than $1 million in bonuses — and $400,000 for leading the school to its first Big Ten championship since 2016.
Accessing any of these incentives won’t be easy.
Michigan State fired Jonathan Smith After going 9-15 and 4-14 in Big Ten play on Sunday, he received more than $30 million to buy out the remainder of his contract. The team’s two top players, standout receivers. nick marsh and running back makhi frazier, Plan to enter the portal,
The program has struggled since Mark Dantonio retired and broke a 13-year record with consecutive 7–6 seasons and a .500 Big Ten record two years in a row.
With limited options in the winter of 2020, inexperienced athletic director Bill Beekman hired Mel Tucker after going 5–7 one season. coloradoTucker leads the Spartans to an 11-2 record in 2021 the school expelled him Following an investigation into a sexual misconduct complaint against him at the start of the 2023 season.
Fitzgerald lost his job at Northwestern. In July 2023, after working for 17 years at his alma mater, due to a hazing scandal.
“He knocked me down,” he said. “It shook me to my core.”
fitzgerald School sued for $130 million for wrongful termination And reached an agreement In August the school said in its investigation that “there is no direct evidence that Coach Fitzgerald knew of the harassment.”
The day he called it quits, Fitzgerald visited with NFL and college teams prepare for his next opportunity,
“I’ve been dreaming about this day for a long time,” she said, crying. “There will never be a more motivated coach.”
Fitzgerald led the Wildcats to a Big Ten West championship in 2018, when he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and had a 110–101 record in 2020. The Chicago area native starred on the 1995 Northwestern team that won the Big Ten and played in the Rose Bowl.
Athletic director Jay Batt said, “Pat is a perfect fit for Michigan State football because he understands the Big Ten, has great relationships throughout the Midwest and he embodies the values our program was built on.”
Michigan State fans gave Fitzgerald a rousing welcome when he arrived at the Breslin Center, where the seventh-ranked basketball team played. iowa,
Fitzgerald addressed the crowd, urging them to speak louder.
“Let’s blow the roof off,” he shouted.
