Following the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in 2006, 31-year-old and former All-American Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald assumed the position becoming the youngest Division I FBS coach at the time. Fitzgerald is already the second-longest tenured Big Ten head coach, the sixth-longest tenured head coach in Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision and is entering his 16th season leading the Wildcats. The Wildcats earned their first-ever Big Ten West title and berth in the Big Ten Championship game in 2018. Fitzgerald was named the consensus Big Ten Coach of the Year and a finalist for the 2018 Dodd Trophy that season. Most recently, Fitzgerald earned the 2020 Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year. On October 24, 2020, Fitzgerald recorded his 100th career win in a victory over Maryland. His overall record is 106-81.