With program legend Pat Fitzgerald fired after the results of a hazing investigation, Northwestern's search for an interim head coach has begun, and it will be far from easy to pick his immediate successor.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported that the team's assistants and support staff would be retained despite Fitzgerald's firing for failing to know of hazing within the program. Typically the interim job would go to an experienced assistant or coordinator within the program, but the investigation's results have made that process incredibly complex.

Let's break down why it is difficult to find someone to fill Fitz's shoes internally, and why it may be equally difficult to find someone externally.

Defensive coordinator David Braun has been appointed as the team's current day-to-day liaison and spokesperson, but pointedly not yet as its interim. Braun was a strong hire from a decorated tenure at North Dakota State, where he was named the FCS Coordinator of the Year in 2021 and won national titles in 2019 and 2021.

While many were enthusiastic about Braun's hire as a coordinator, his resume is very thin to take the head job at this level. This will be his first season as a coach in the FBS, let alone the Power Five.

Furthermore, Braun has never held a head coaching job in his 15-year career. He has a bright future in coaching, and has done an admirable job speaking to and leading the team over a turbulent past few days. But even if he appears to be the favored candidate within the program, it would be a big leap to hand him the head job. Is he ready to lead the program as head coach, even for the short-term?

The longest tenured coordinator, Mike Bajakian, has been at Northwestern since the 2020 season. After a 1-11 2022 season, he was nearly fired himself after a dismal offensive performance, and Fitzgerald admitted he spared Bajakian only because he didn't want to replace both coordinators at once.

Bajakian has nearly 30 years of coaching experience but has never been a head coach. Bajakian joined Braun in making emotional statements to the team at its meeting after Fitzgerald's firing, and players said that those messages connected with them. He deserves credit for supporting the players, but he may not be qualified to be the interim coach.

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MORE ON THE NORTHWESTERN HAZING SCANDAL:

Inside the team meeting for Pat Fitzgerald's dismissal | Fitz hires attorney to fight firing | Northwestern fires Pat Fitzgerald l Northwestern hazing scandal continues to grow l Timeline of events l Explosive hazing allegations call Fitz, NU administration into question l What does Pat Fitzgerald's suspension mean for NU? l Pat Fitzgerald suspended two weeks in hazing investigation

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Safeties coach Matt MacPherson has been with Northwestern for the entirety of Fitzgerald's tenure and holds the title of associate head coach. That would normally make him the slam-dunk choice to be the interim. But in this situation, he is stained by the ongoing scandal. While the administration has made the decision to retain Fitzgerald's support staff and assistants in spite of the investigation's results, MacPherson's long history with the program is a liability, in this case, and not a point in his favor.

Braun's choice as the day-to-day liaison signals that he is the frontrunner in the building, but Northwestern will also conduct a brief search outside the program. The problem is that, with the season just two months away, Northwestern is unlikely to pry someone away from another program. So they may have to pull a coach off the couch who is not currently working.

The man who would make this decision, athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg, has had his own job called into question for the lack of leadership during the past five days as the events that led to Fitzgerald's firing unfolded. Furthermore, as Chicago radio station 670 The Score broke on Monday, Gragg is also dealing with a scandal within the Wildcat baseball program. His first coaching hire as AD, Jim Foster, has been accused of bullying, abusive behavior, and creating a toxic team culture.

Whomever takes the interim coach role at Northwestern, whether it's Braun or a candidate outside the program, faces one of the most difficult jobs in the country.

They will be hired by an athletic director under intense scrutiny and a president, Dr. Michael Schill, whose actions have also been called into question. Players feel abandoned after losing their leader. Many fans are not happy with either the decision to fire Fitzgerald, or the way in which it was handled. A movement is now underway to halt plans for the $800 rebuild of Ryan Field. And the specter of Fitzgerald, perhaps the most beloved figure in Northwestern sports history, and his impending lawsuit, looms over everything.

That's not a very enticing job description.

Northwestern's decision makers don't have much time to act. The start of fall camp is a just a few weeks away. Expect them to make a decision in the next couple days. If they can't lure any idle coaches, or any names that they plan to pursue for the 2024 season, they will name Braun the interim coach.

Then, the staff can truly start their preparation for the 2023 season after one of the most shocking and surreal stretches in program history.