Northwestern coaches wearing Pat Fitzgerald's old jersey number on practice shirts

This offseason, the Northwestern athletic department has been mired in controversy. Most of those issues have stemmed from the hazing, much of which was sexual in nature, that occurred within the football program. That, ultimately, led to the firing of head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Within Northwestern, there seemed to be debate about firing Fitzgerald, who was a star player for the team before becoming the head coach. Now, the remaining assistant coaches seem upset with Fitzgerald’s absence and showed it off by wearing shirts that had his number 51 on them.

Take a look at the shirt with Pat Fitzgerald’s number on it that several coaches were seen wearing at practice, here:

Several Northwestern coaches/staffers, including OC Mike Bajakian, are donning "Cats Against the World" shirts with No. 51 — Pat Fitzgerald's old jersey number — on them. pic.twitter.com/ZFQ3tNU1Vv

— Bradley Locker (@Bradley_Locker) August 9, 2023

Along with having the number 51 on the shirts, they also read, “Cats against the world.”

The coach in the photo appears to be offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian. He’s been with Northwestern since 2020. Last season, the Wildcats ranked 107th in total offense and 128th in scoring offense.

Northwestern football staffers recently confirmed knowledge of the hazing practices that went on within the program. A former player added, “Fitz absolutely knew about hazing in this program.”

Despite that, the university did not find evidence to prove that Fitzgerald knew about those hazing practices. Instead, they found that the coaching staff should have had knowledge of it and had opportunities to discover the hazing.

Initially, Pat Fitzgerald was given a two-week offseason suspension before university leadership reconsidered and fired him.

Despite moving on from Fitzgerald, the issues within Northwestern football appear to be cultural. Those remaining assistants also appear to be loyal to Fitzgerald. So, it’s hard to assume that any major cultural changes are coming while they’re still on staff.

Several lawsuits have already been filed against the football program, school, and other teams within the school’s athletic department over this scandal. Recently, Northwestern hired US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to lead an independent review of the athletics department. That review will be made public. However, the initial report has not been made public.

David Braun reveals rallying cry to Northwestern players

While the Northwestern players chose to skip Big Ten Media Days, interim head coach David Braun did make an appearance. There, he revealed his rallying cry to the team this season.

“The first thing that I told him was that it was my responsibility moving forward to give them clarity and direction. And my intent was to be there to support and serve them moving forward. And I challenged the group,” Braun said.

“A lot of people have been impacted by — by decisions made, by things that — decisions that have been made over the course of the last couple of weeks, and our guys right now, in that facility, are going through a lot, and we have an opportunity to either run from that, or an opportunity to truly stare that adversity in the face, stare it down and go attack this opportunity to make the fall an incredible story, that truly embodies what this team is all about. I’ve challenged them with that, and I can say that they’ve responded to that challenge in an absolutely inspiring fashion.”