Having never been named Big Ten Coach of the Year, Pat Fitzgerald was in fine company. Jim Tressel, Lloyd Carr and Urban Meyer also never got the recognition.
But it's more fun to win, right?
Fitzgerald on Tuesday was named the league's top coach, winning unanimously. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh also had a great case until his team got drilled by Ohio State.
Fitzgerald's crew won the Big Ten West by going 8-1 in league play with a three-point loss to Michigan. That Michigan loss came just days after the Wildcats lost the services of Jeremy Larkin, who had to medically retire. Larkin was the team's top rusher, top pass-catcher and its option quarterback on the goal line.
Fitzgerald kept the team together after a 1-3 start. He dealt with an unusual situation at quarterback early in the season when Clayton Thorson had to sit out certain series to ease the workload on his reconstructed knee.
Northwestern never has the most talent, having signed just two four-star recruits (via the 247sports.com composite) over the last four seasons. (Larkin, a three-star, was the highest-rated member of the 2016 class.)
Fitzgerald also had to pull out some motivational tricks to get his players up for the Minnesota game after the Wildcats had clinched the West at Iowa. Fitzgerald played the no-respect card, insisting they should be ticked off about being listed as underdogs.
"I very rarely use external motivators," Fitzgerald said. "I threw the guys a curveball. It worked."
With Saturday's Big Ten title game looming, Fitzgerald rested his starters for much of the game against Illinois. The Wildcats gutted out a 24-16 victory.
Last year Northwestern announced it had extended the contract of Fitzgerald, the former All-America linebacker at Northwestern, for 10 seasons.
Needless to say, the school has no buyer's remorse.
Athletic Director Jim Phillips called Fitzgerald winning the award a "huge deal. No question he is deserving of it. He always deflects the recognition, pushing it to the kids and the (assistant) coaches. But he is the leader of this operation."
