Arizona Cardinals: 5 coaching candidates to replace Steve Wilks

4. Pat Fitzgerald

The schematic differences between the college and professional games continue to decrease as time goes by. As such, it’s logical to think we’ll see more college coaches make the jump to the NFL in the near future. Fitzgerald isn’t the first guy fans will think of to make that leap, but he’s got a lot of fans in professional football.

The fact that he’s made Northwestern a consistent bowl team in the Big 10 is pretty miraculous. Fitzgerald can’t recruit the same sort of talent that many of his competitors in the league can. That means he’s been forced to win games by out scheming opponents. That’s a quality that would be particularly attractive to the Cardinals.

In fairness, he’d need to tweak his offense to succeed at the pro level. Rosen isn’t a quarterback who’s going to thrive in a classic spread system. Fitzgerald has the acumen to make that transition though.

Many of the concepts he’s used at Northwestern are currently en vogue in the NFL. Specifically, his ability to spread defenses out and guard the perimeter could be tailor-made for the Cardinals current group of pass catchers. Fitzgerald could really get the most out of a guy like Christian Kirk.

If Arizona is going to reel in Fitzgerald, they’ll need to move quickly. The Packers are already working to schedule an interview with Northwestern’s head man.