Skip to main content
Join Now

Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald spotted at New York Giants practice

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz11/19/25NickSchultz_7
Pat Fitzgerald
David Banks | USA TODAY Sports

As Mike Kafka began his second week of practice as New York Giants head coach, his former coach was in attendance. Former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald was in attendance on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

Kafka played quarterback at Northwestern from 2005-09, and Fitzgerald took over as head coach in 2006. The two remain close, and Fitzgerald took a visit to practice as the Giants get ready to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 12.

During his career at Northwestern, Kafka worked his way up to the starting quarterback role in 2009 and made his mark in the Outback Bowl that year. He set the game’s records for completions and pass attempts as he went 47-for-78 for 532 passing yards – a new Outback Bowl and Northwestern program record – with four touchdowns.

After bouncing around the NFL from 2010-15, Kafka returned to Northwestern as a graduate assistant under Fitzgerald in 2016. He then joined the Kansas City Chiefs’ staff from 2017-21, working his way up from offensive quality control coach to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Brian Daboll then brought him aboard as the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 2022 until Kafka took over as interim head coach last week.

New York lost its first game under Kafka’s leadership last week, falling to the Packers 27-20 in the final minutes. It marked the first game with Jameis Winston under center after Jaxson Dart’s injury. Shortly after Kafka took over as interim head coach, Winston jumped Russell Wilson on the depth chart.

Pat Fitzgerald’s name has been in coaching circles

Of course, Pat Fitzgerald’s name has also been a hot one around the college football coaching carousel this year. Northwestern fired him in 2023 amid allegations of hazing within the program, but the two sides settled a wrongful termination suit. In a statement, the university said, “The evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing.”

As a result, Fitzgerald said he felt “vindicated” and is looking to make a return to the sideline. He told ESPN’s College GameDay podcast teams are receiving his candidacy well, too.

“I feel 100% vindicated,” Fitzgerald said earlier this month. “I mean, you alluded to the statement earlier, I’ll let that speak for itself. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk about other things a part of that settlement, but I feel very, very vindicated.”