CHICAGO -- Pat Fitzgerald is back in the Big Ten as the first-year head coach at Michigan State, and when asked Wednesday at Big Ten media days if Fitzgerald is returning to the league with a chip on his shoulder after three years out of coaching, Fitzgerald was ready with a quip.
"I wouldn't say I have a chip on my shoulder," Fitzgerald said. "I wouldn't say our program has a chip on our shoulder. I'd say we have a bag of chips on our shoulder, and I'll leave it at that."
The former Northwestern head coach is back in a league where he won 110 games over 17 seasons with five top-25 finishes. The program he's now leading has endured four consecutive losing seasons and is on its third head coach since Mark Dantonio retired in 2020, but Fitzgerald's aim and enthusiasm are no different than usual in Year 1.
"We're going to get back to playing tough, hard-nosed Spartan football that's going to make our fanbase and Spartan nation proud," Fitzgerald said. "The expectations are to win the Big Ten championship, full stop. If a head coach walks up here and doesn't say that, I'd want to check their pulse."
Fitzgerald's tenure at Northwestern ended in July 2023 amid allegations of hazing in the program. Fitzgerald sued Northwestern for $130 million for wrongful termination after his firing and reached a settlement with the school last August. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
During his three seasons out of college football, Fitzgerald got to coach two of his sons as a volunteer high school football coach at Loyola Academy. He thanked Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and others in the coaching profession who allowed him to visit their programs and learn while he prepared for his next job.
The Big Ten he's returning to is more competitive than ever with the addition of former Pac-12 members Oregon, USC, Washington and UCLA, which Fitzgerald praised as "championship-level teams." The NIL world has evolved plenty, too, with the arrival of revenue sharing in college athletics, and Fitzgerald faced a significant rebuild of Michigan State's roster at the end of 2025.
But the opportunity to return to the Big Ten and lead a program that's been through its own turbulent period, with the firing of Mel Tucker during the 2023 season followed by the firing of Jonathan Smith after a 9-15 run through two seasons, was one he immediately embraced.
"When President [Kevin] Guskiewicz came to see me -- and it happened fast -- and J Batt, I was praying and hopeful that it was going to work itself out. I wasn't going to walk to East Lansing -- I was going to sprint. The opportunity, once it was presented to myself, Stacy and our family, it was a no-brainer."
Batt has since left to become the athletic director at Kentucky. Guskiewicz was also set to leave for the same position at Clemson but reversed course earlier this month and will remain at Michigan State. Fitzgerald said he's excited to "lock arms" with Guskiewicz moving forward.
He's also encouraged by the quarterback he inherited in Alessio Milivojevic, who started Michigan State's final four games of 2025 and has become the Spartans' "unequivocal team leader" this offseason in Fitzgerald's estimation.
The process of developing competitive depth and leadership around him is ongoing with fall camp starting next week, but Fitzgerald expressed no shortage of confidence in his return to Chicago about what he'll be able to build up over time at a program that's committed to getting back to winning big.
"My emotions are irrelevant," Fitzgerald said. "I've been entrusted with the leadership position at one of the most successful and historical football programs in the country, and it's a great honor."
