Paul Sullivan: For college coaches like Lane Kiffin and Pat Fitzgerald, the past is no problem

Paul Sullivan: For college coaches like Lane Kiffin and Pat Fitzgerald, the past is no problemStory by (Justin Ford/Getty Images North America/TNS) (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS)1 / 2

Paul Sullivan: For college coaches like Lane Kiffin and Pat Fitzgerald, the past is no problem

(Justin Ford/Getty Images North America/TNS)1 / 2

Paul Sullivan: For college coaches like Lane Kiffin and Pat Fitzgerald, the past is no problem

(Justin Ford/Getty Images North America/TNS)2 / 2

Paul Sullivan: For college coaches like Lane Kiffin and Pat Fitzgerald, the past is no problem

(Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS)Paul Sullivan, Chicago TribuneWed, December 3, 2025 at 10:30 AM UTC·6 min read

CHICAGO — Lane Kiffin and Pat Fitzgerald couldn’t be more different.

Kiffin, an offensive guru, is known as a serial wanderer, always chasing a better coaching job and the money that comes with it. Fitzgerald, a defensive guru, was ensconced at Northwestern for 17 years and, until a few years ago, seemed in line for a lifetime job at his alma mater.

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The two big-name college coaches’ paths crossed in a most unusual way the last two days, with Kiffin giving up his Ole Miss job — and a shot at a national championship next month — for a seven-year, $91 million deal to coach at LSU, while Fitzgerald was hired Monday to replace Jonathan Smith at Michigan State.

It’s nothing new in the mad, mad, mad world of college football, where the games that go on behind closed doors are often more interesting than what happens on the field. Turning a blind eye to the past is often required when schools put winning before everything else.

The Kiffin saga dominated news cycles on the final weekend of the regular season, completely overshadowing Fitzgerald’s return from a three-year exile. ESPN treated the Kiffin story like the second coming, sending poor Marty Smith to Ole Miss to provide constant updates, leading to a handful of AI-generated memes showing the reporter aging with microphone in hand while awaiting Kiffin’s decision.

It finally came down Sunday with the expected outcome, that Kiffin was fleeing for the greener pastures of Baton Rouge, La., to work for a university that just handed Brian Kelly a $54 million buyout to go away.

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Kiffin spoke of how “difficult” a decision it was and how he “prayed a lot” about what to do.

“I talked to God and he told me it’s time to take a new step,” Kiffin told Smith. “It’s a new chapter.”

I’m not sure what Smith’s follow-up question was because the ESPN video ended there. But I’d be interested in why God told Kiffin it was time to leave Ole Miss when the 11-1 Rebels are on the verge of their first playoff appearance and he was treated like a god in Oxford, Miss.

Did God tell Kiffin the money was just too good to pass up, or that LSU had a better chance of winning a national championship than Ole Miss?

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And why is God so interested in where Kiffin winds up coaching when he should be busy dealing with world peace and the suffering of the poor and displaced, not to mention the rise of authoritarianism across the globe?

Is he really that big of an SEC fan?

Meanwhile, what was Michigan State thinking when it targeted Fitzgerald, whose recent record doesn’t scream “Hire this guy”?

Fitzgerald went 110-101 at Northwestern, including 65-76 in conference play. He went 4-20 over his final two seasons before being fired in 2023 after revelations of a hazing scandal that rocked the university.

That scandal eventually led to a wrongful termination lawsuit from Fitzgerald, who sought $130 million from Northwestern for breach of contract. The suit claimed the university “defamed Fitzgerald, publicly and callously destroying his reputation.”

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The hazing activities had names like “Carwash,” “Belly Flop Contest,” “Runsgiving” and “Shrek Squad” that included physical and sexual contact. Examples included players allegedly forcing other players to do naked pull-ups or holding down teammates and rubbing their genital areas against their teammates’ genitals, face and buttocks.

After almost two years, the university and Fitzgerald settled out of court in August for an undisclosed amount of money that certainly would’ve been enough for the former coach to live on comfortably for the rest of his life. But Fitzgerald was eager to get back into the profession he loved, and it was only a matter of whether the scandal would affect his chances.

The answer, it appears, was, “No problem, sign right here.”

Fitzgerald said on an ESPN podcast he was “fully vindicated” by the settlement, citing the fact Northwestern found no evidence he knew of the hazing while also conceding the coach was “incredibly upset and saddened by the negative impact this conduct had on players within the program” when apprised of it.

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Those with short memories may have forgotten the university originally handed Fitzgerald a two-week, unpaid suspension after an independent investigation of an anonymous complaint from a student-athlete in 2022.

Fitzgerald began his suspension without speaking to the media, getting out of town to beat the heat. The suspension appeared to be a slap on the wrist for a beloved coach who had always represented the university well. By the time the season began, all would be forgotten.

But after a public outcry following a report in the student paper, the Daily Northwestern, revealing anonymous players’ accounts of the hazing activities, then-Northwestern President Michael Schill fired Fitzgerald, citing a “broken” culture.

Schill later admitted he “erred” in his initial judgment, writing in a statement: “I focused too much on what the report concluded he didn’t know and not enough on what he should have known.”

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Fitzgerald then sent a statement to ESPN saying he was surprised by Schill’s decision to revoke what he termed a “mutual agreement” on the suspension and threatened to take legal action. David Braun was promoted from defensive coordinator as his replacement.

After the settlement was announced in August, Schill resigned in September. Three months later, Fitzgerald has a new, high-profile job at one of Northwestern’s Big Ten rivals. Perhaps that validates the “vindication” in his mind. Who knows?

Northwestern, meanwhile, is better off with Braun, who has helped the program recover from the stain of the hazing scandal and has done an admirable job in his three seasons, including his second bowl-eligible team in 2025. He’s not a big name, but his character appears beyond reproach.

Schill could’ve saved himself and the university a lot of money and aggravation had he simply fired Fitzgerald after the investigation concluded, instead of changing his mind following the student paper’s bombshell report. He was correct in suggesting Fitzgerald should’ve known about the widespread hazing.

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Even if he didn’t know a thing, the buck is supposed to stop there. Obviously it did not. Fitzgerald’s victory lap after the settlement had to have been nauseating to the athletes who were victimized by the hazing and still have to live with the memories. Fitzgerald has yet to publicly apologize for what happened to the players, concerned only for his future employment chances and his reputation.

Of course, it doesn’t matter now. Big-name coaches always wind up somewhere, and as long as they win in their new surroundings, the donors will be happy.

College football is a great sport, but it’s also ugly at times.

I really don’t know what can be done about this dilemma. But next time I’m talking to God, I’ll ask.

____

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