Northwestern promotes David Braun to permanent head football coach
CHICAGO (CBS SPORTS/AP) -- Northwestern University has hired interim head football coach David Braun on a full-time basis, making him the permanent successor to fired longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Northwestern University President Michael Schill and Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg will introduce Braun officially on Thursday at Ryan Fieldhouse on the Evanston campus of the university.
"I am truly honored for the opportunity to continue leading Northwestern's football program," Braun said in a news release Wednesday evening. "Over the past five months, having the chance to lead this group has been the opportunity of a lifetime. Moving forward, my mission is to build on this positive momentum, aiming to create one of the best experiences in college football for our student-athletes.
Braun, who arrived as Wildcats defensive coordinator in the offseason, was named interim coach in July after Fitzgerald was fired amid widespread hazing allegations within the program. Braun was not part of the program at the time of the alleged hazing.
Braun, 38, has guided the Wildcats to a 5-5 mark through 10 games this season, complete with a 3-4 mark in Big Ten play. The team can clinch a bowl berth with a victory in Week 12 against Purdue.
It's a drastic jump for a Northwestern program that went 1-11 in Fitzgerald's final year the helm. The Wildcats defeated Nebraska in the opener Dublin, Ireland, before losing 11 consecutive games to end the season.
Braun now steps into his first full-time head-coaching position after previous stops as an assistant at North Dakota State, Northern Iowa and UC Davis among other schools. His time as defensive coordinator at NDSU under coach Matt Entz included national titles for the Bison in both 2019 and 2021. Braun played as a defensive lineman at Winona State (2004-07), where he began his coaching career as a gradate assistant in 2008.
"We asked Dave to support our student-athletes this season, and he has done an exceptional job," Schill said in a news release. "Under his guidance, Northwestern's football team has exceeded expectations on the field and excelled in the classroom. The turnaround he has led, under very difficult circumstances, is nothing short of phenomenal."
Braun quickly exceeded expectations in interim role
Considering the hand he was dealt, Braun has certainly made the most of the situation. He was thrust into the interim coaching role less than two months before the 2023 regular season kicked off when Fitzgerald, who had been at the helm since 2006, was suspended and subsequently fired once allegations of rampant hazing came to light. Another bumpy go-around after Northwestern's 1-11 finish in 2022 would have been understandable giving the circumstances in Evanston, Illinois, but Braun quickly challenged his players to press forward.
"We have an opportunity to either run from [the situation] or one to truly stare that adversity down and go attack opportunity in the fall to make it an incredible story that truly shows what this team is all about," Braun told reporters at Big Ten Media Days in July. "I have challenged them with that, and I can say they have responded to that in an inspiring fashion."
Braun is the first Northwestern coach with five wins in his first season since Walter McCornack went 10-1-3 in 1903. And he has a chance to become the first to finish above .500 in his debut year since Pappy Waldorf led the 1935 team to a 4-31- record. The Wildcats were a combined 4-20 in 2021 and 2022.
A 24-7 loss at Rutgers in Week 1 this season didn't do much to inspire, but Braun and Wildcats responded with a 38-7 home win against UTEP in Week 2. That began a trend of alternating between losses and wins that has continued through Week 11, with Big Ten victories over Minnesota, Maryland and Wisconsin.
Northwestern now has a chance to string together wins for the first time this season as it prepares to host Purdue. The Wildcats sit as 3-point underdogs to the Boilermakers, though they'll have home field working to their advantage. Northwestern then concludes the regular season at Illinois in Week 13. The Wildcats would be bowl-bound for the first time since 2020, when they won the Big Ten West Division, should they prevail in one of those two remaining contests.