Attorney says Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald for cause - ESPN

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald for cause, his attorney told ESPN on Tuesday, setting up a potential legal showdown between the College Football Hall of Famer and his alma mater.

Attorney Dan Webb said he communicated with Northwestern's general counsel, who informed him of the for-cause termination for Fitzgerald, who had led the team since 2006 and is a former two-time national defensive player of the year at the school. University president Michael Schill fired Fitzgerald on Monday afternoon, citing a partially «broken» team culture following an investigation into hazing within the program.

Webb is researching legal strategies and has not filed a lawsuit but cited «two different major breach of contract claims» with Northwestern, as well as significant reputational damage.

Northwestern has not informed Webb whether it is seeking to withhold the remaining salary on Fitzgerald's 10-year contract signed in January 2021. Fitzgerald is owed more than $40 million from the school.

Webb told ESPN that in addition to Fitzgerald's employment contract, Northwestern violated an oral agreement reached between the coach, Schill and the university's general counsel last week. Northwestern on Friday announced a two-week, unpaid suspension for Fitzgerald, one of several responding actions after an investigation into the hazing allegations found that the claims were «largely supported by the evidence.»

The investigation from attorney Maggie Hickey and the ArentFox Schiff firm did not find evidence that Fitzgerald or Northwestern's other coaches knew about the hazing activities but that they had opportunities to discover and report the behavior.

«I cannot understand how you could terminate someone for cause when