5 Potential Head Coaches For Northwestern

Republished By Plato

Followers: 0

The University of Northwestern fired Pat Fitzgerald on Monday after an investigation into hazing in the program. They will now be looking for a new head coach. Here are five potential head coaches for Northwestern.

1. David Shaw

Shaw coached Stanford for 12 seasons, posting a record of 96-54. He made three Rose Bowls and had five seasons with over 10 wins. Unfortunately, things tailed off at the end of his tenure, as the Cardinal won 14 total games over the last four seasons (2020 was shortened to six games).

Northwestern is probably going to want to go outside their building for a potential head coach to change the culture. Shaw started off very well at Stanford and also had to deal with a school that had higher academic requirements, just like Northwestern. He currently doesn’t have a coaching job and could come back to coach the Wildcats.

2. Jason Candle

Candle has coached at Toledo for eight seasons. He is 54-32 with six bowl appearances. Last season he won the MAC and he also has an 11-win season, which happened in 2017. Candle will likely have some offers from power five teams if his success continues.

If Candle wants to go to a bigger conference right now, he could put his name out there for the Northwestern job. He has experience coaching in the Midwest, which could make the recruiting transition easier. At this point, it would be hard to find many better coaches on the market who might take the job given the circumstances.

3. Jesse Minter

Minter was Michigan’s defensive coordinator last season. He helped the team rank eighth as a scoring defense. Before joining Michigan, he was an assistant at Vanderbilt, Georgia State and Indiana State. He worked in the NFL with the Ravens and also was an intern for Notre Dame as well as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati.

It would be tough to leave a team that can contend, especially when Minter may have better offers after the season. Minter is a Midwestern guy, as most of his collegiate coaching stops have been in the area and he also played D-III football in Ohio. If he wants to be a head coach right now, Minter could make the move.

4. Collin Klein

Klein played his football at Kansas State and has been an assistant for the team over the last several years. He started as a grad assistant. Klein left for the 2016 season to be the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa. Since that season, he returned to Kansas State and has been the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.

It would be hard to lure Klein away from his alma mater, but if he wants to be a head coach there is a chance. He helped Kansas State score 32.3 points per game last season and the team won the Big 12 Championship. Northwestern might be best suited going after a young coach who hasn’t been connected to the program and Klein fits that mold.

5. Chuck Martin

As the head coach of Miami (Ohio), Martin has posted a 45-59 record in nine seasons. That record is brought down by two seasons at the start of his tenure, where he was trying to rebuild a program that was in a really bad state. He has won a MAC Championship and made four bowl games.

Martin could be a good fit because he is from around the Chicago area. He also has coached around the midwest, as he also was an assistant at Notre Dame before taking the Miami job. After building a solid program in the MAC, which started from really low beginnings, he could be the guy to start building at Northwestern.

Make sure to check out our college football page for more content like 5 potential head coaches for Northwestern!

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!