The Penn State Nittany Lions’ coaching carousel is spinning faster than a Beaver Stadium white-out, with reports surfacing Monday that athletic director Pat Kraft has “genuine interest” in luring former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald back to the Big Ten fray, positioning the 50-year-old Hall of Famer as a top target to steady a program reeling from James Franklin’s abrupt midseason firing. Franklin, the 13-year incumbent who’d steered Penn State to a 9-2 mark and a projected Rose Bowl at-large bid before his November 10 dismissal amid locker-room unrest and a 31-14 home loss to Ohio State, leaves a $49 million buyout crater—now negotiated down to roughly $9 million after his reported landing at Virginia Tech. FOX Sports insider Bruce Feldman, dropping the Fitzgerald nugget on Chris “The Bear” Fallica’s podcast, cited “industry sources” close to Kraft: “Penn State brass sees Pat’s track record of doing more with less as a perfect fit—imagine that Northwestern magic with Happy Valley’s resources.” The move, if it materializes, would reunite Fitzgerald with a conference he dominated from the West Division, twice dragging the ’Cats to the Big Ten title game (2018, 2020) en route to a 110-79 record that included three 10-win seasons and back-to-back championships in 1995-96 as a star linebacker.
Fitzgerald’s candidacy isn’t without thorns—a 2023 hazing scandal at Northwestern that forced his July firing after a 1-11 swan song, followed by a wrongful termination lawsuit settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Yet, Feldman emphasized the intrigue: “Before the mess, Pat was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2018 and Bobby Dodd winner in 2020—overachieving with scraps in Evanston. State College? Elite recruits, $100 million facilities, NIL firepower. He could be the stabilizer Franklin wasn’t.” Kraft, in his third year after stints at Temple and Pitt, has cast a wide net—rumors swirled around Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz (mutual interest, per 247Sports), Duke’s Manny Diaz, and even NFL castoff Brian Daboll (whose son worked under Franklin)—but Fitzgerald’s Big Ten pedigree and understated style (no Saban bravado, just results) have insiders buzzing about “serious conversations” as early as this week. The Nittany Lions, sitting at 7-4 after a gut-punch 24-21 loss to Michigan, eye a Holiday Bowl berth but crave a hire to salvage the 2026 cycle’s dismal rankings (No. 25 nationally, per 247Sports).
Fitzgerald, a College Football Hall of Famer as a player (two-time Bednarik and Nagurski winner) and Northwestern lifer (17 seasons, 1999-2023), hasn’t coached since the scandal but has voiced a hunger for a return: “The game’s in my blood—right program, right time,” he told ESPN in a September sit-down. Penn State’s brass, stung by Franklin’s 117-41 ledger marred by zero Big Ten titles and a 1-5 bowl skid, sees echoes of Fitzgerald’s ‘Cats miracles: 2018’s Citrus Bowl rout of Utah, 2020’s Rose Bowl berth amid COVID chaos. “Pat maximizes the mundane—turnover margins, special teams grit,” Feldman noted. “With Penn’s talent (Drew Allar at QB, Abdul Carter’s havoc), he could crack the playoff code.” Skeptics point to the late-career duds (3-9 twice, then 1-11), but boosters whisper of a $7-8 million pact, incentives galore for titles and top-10 finishes.
The ripple? Seismic. X ignited with #FitzToPSU trending at 1.2 million mentions, fans splicing Fitzgerald’s 1996 Rose Bowl heroics over Beaver Stadium montages: “From Wildcat wizard to Lion king—yes!” Alums like Saquon Barkley reposted: “Pat’s the recruiter we need—bring the ‘Cats energy!” Rivals salt the wound: Ohio State’s Ryan Day quipped, “Northwestern 2.0? Good luck with that hazing homework.” Kraft’s timeline? Accelerated—interim DC Jim Perry helms the Maryland finale November 30, but a Fitzgerald splash could lock 2026 flips like five-star QB Ryder Lyons (currently leaning Oregon). As Penn State licks wounds from Franklin’s VT pivot (early talks for a $4 million Hokies deal), this pursuit underscores the stakes: stabilize or spiral in the NIL arms race.
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