Former Bears Coach Says No To Joining Northwestern Football Staff

EVANSTON, IL — Former Chicago Bears coach Dave Wannstedt declined an opportunity to take on a key role with Northwestern’s football program this fall after the school fired longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald, the coach told a Chicago radio station on Thursday.

Wannstedt, who works as an analyst for 670 The Score and for NBC Chicago, and who has previously coached at both the NFL and college levels, said in an interview on The Score on Thursday that he interviewed with Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg for the position over the weekend. Last week, the university announced that defensive coordinator David Braun will be the Wildcats’ interim coach this season, taking over for Fitzgerald who was fired after 17 years.

Wannstedt said in the radio interview on Thursday that he had two lengthy conversations with Gragg, but ultimately declined due to the time commitment the school was looking for. 670 The Score, citing sources, said that the school is expected to name Skip Holtz, the son of former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, to the position as early as Thursday.

“I just saw this position a little bit differently than they did,” Wannstedt said in the radio interview.

He added: “It was just the commitment and I just didn’t feel like it was right for me personally….this is about Northwestern, these players, and these coaches. Not about who they bring in. Give these coaches and players the respect that they deserve to play this season without any more distractions – if that’s even possible.”

Wannstedt also served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and at the University of Pittsburgh for six seasons. He most recently worked as the Tampa Bay Buccanneers' special teams coordinator in 2013.

Wannstedt told the station that he told Gragg the importance of having someone in place who would be there on a full-time basis. But he said he felt it is also important that players feel like they are playing for their head coach. Wannstedt said that the situation was described to him as being “fluid” with the controversy surrounding the athletic department regarding the hazing scandal.

Two lawsuits have been brought this week by former Northwestern football players who claim to be victims of hazing during their careers. On Wednesday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced that he and his co-counsel, Steve Levin, will soon file a lawsuit on behalf of at least 15 former Northwestern athletes who said “extreme sexual hazing” was normalized within the school’s athletic department.

Wannstedt said he did not address, nor did he bring up what has happened within the program during his conversations with Gragg. He said in discussing the possibility of joining Northwestern’s program that he does not believe Northwestern 100 percent knows what it wants in someone to take the program forward. He said to his understanding, “clean-up” was not part of the job description.

Wannstedt said he did not want to oversee play-calling or being in the press box, which he said in the responsibility of the coaching staff. Northwestern has already announced all of Fitzgerald’s staff will return for the 2023 season. He said for the players to know who they are playing for is the “only chance” they have at having success after last season’s 1-11 finish.

Skip Holtz, who has served as the head coach at East Carolina, South Florida, and Louisiana Tech, is the current head coach of the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions. Holtz was also an offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and South Carolina under his father.

The school has not announced any plans to add to Braun’s staff and Wannstedt described the position as an “overseer” of the program.

“Maybe Skip is the guy long-term,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t know. But that was the scenario with me. We’re talking about the players. They’re the ones that really get stuck and the coaches and their families. It’s only gotten worse in the last week or two. It hasn’t gotten any better, I can tell you that.”

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