Why in the world would the NFL want Pat Fitzgerald right now?

Northwestern just had the worst season of his tenure, but Pat Fitzgerald wound up turning down an opportunity to interview with an NFL team.

The Carolina Panthers gave themselves a head start on a coaching search by firing Ron Rivera a few weeks ago, and apparently they are leaving no stone unturned. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald turned down an opportunity to interview with Carolina.

Fitzgerald has lingered on the periphery of NFL coaching carousel rumors for a few years. His success as the head coach at his alma mater is notable, with a 99-79 record over 14 seasons now and nine bowl appearances. Prior to his taking over, the Wildcats’ football program had made six bowl appearances in its history.

But Northwestern is coming off its worst season of Fitzgerald’s tenure, with a 3-9 mark that included wins over UNLV (4-8 this season) and UMass (1-11 this season) before a mild upset of a 6-6 Illinois squad in the season finale. So why any NFL team has interest in him right now is a real mystery.

La Canfora did add a potential landing spot for Fitzgerald looking ahead a year–the Chicago Bears. Head coach Matt Nagy will enter 2020 on a bit of a hot seat, and Fitzgerald wouldn’t even have to move to take the job.

Fitzgerald, apart from any questions about his ability to make a successful jump to the NFL, may only want to interview for specific jobs when or if they come open. As much as he could be choosy, he surely wasn’t near the top of the Panthers’ list of candidates. So taking what may have amounted to a token interview would have done nothing but stir the pot that he wants to leave Northwestern, which he seems to have no desire to do.