In every age, a hero emerges from exile to reclaim the glory that was rightfully his. Napoleon returned from Elba to march through France. Donald Trump walked out of the jailhouse and into the White House. Tiger Woods took a break from booze and chicks to win another Masters.
A new hero charted a similar course in 2025. His name is Pat Fitzgerald.
Two years ago, Northwestern University president Michael Schill fired Fitzgerald, the school's beloved football coach, for perpetuating what he called an "unacceptable" culture of hazing. It was a bogus charge from the beginning: Hazing, otherwise known as the working man's torture, molds character, builds camaraderie, and forms strong American men. Sounds pretty acceptable.
We wouldn't expect Schill, a pussy, to understand all that. But we would expect him to get his facts straight. It turns out he couldn't even do that. Fitzgerald sued Northwestern for $130 million, arguing he had no knowledge of any hazing that may or may not have occurred. The suit's discovery phase proved him right, and he walked away with a fat settlement in his pocket.
It came at a bad time for Schill, who, after firing Fitzgerald, spent his time playing footsie with terrorists and lying to Congress about anti-Semitism on his campus. That didn't please the Trump administration, which froze nearly $1 billion in federal funds to Northwestern. Fitzgerald's settlement was the nail in the coffin: Schill resigned just weeks after it was reached.
That's not to say Fitzgerald was done winning. Earlier this month, he signed a five-year, $30 million contract to coach Michigan State University's football team. If he wins at least seven games next year, he'll get a $1 million bonus.
It's a tough task, to be sure. But Fitzgerald is used to those. He went up against Schill and the entire Northwestern bureaucracy, including its donors in Doha, and made them cry uncle. And now, when he hits the campaign trail to bring fresh blood to East Lansing, he'll have a new accolade to tout: He is a Washington Free Beacon Man of the Year.