3 replacements for Northwestern after firing Pat Fitzgerald

No. 2 Northwestern option to replace Pat Fitzgerald: Ken Niumatalolo

At this stage in the summer, Northwestern won’t be able to find too many people with head coaching experience willing to take over a program in shambles. With a fresh buyout, someone like Bryan Harsin should be enjoying his vacation until other jobs come available. Clay Helton would represent an option for a solid culture reset, but leaving Georgia Southern right now wouldn’t track. But someone like former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo might have an incentive to jump into the fire.

Niumatalolo had been linked to Power 5 job openings even before the Midshipman chose not to renew his contract after 16 years in charge. It’s not likely he would get another opportunity like this any time soon if he waited for other jobs to pop up.

Winning at a service academy is no easy feat but Niumatalolo manages to keep Navy competitive for much of his tenure. He went to 11 bowl games and managed a few 10-win seasons along the way.

He took a role as UCLA’s Director of Leadership, but that’s not the kind of position that would be hard to break from in order to take over a head coaching role.