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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern promoted David Braun to its permanent football head coach in large part because of how he supported players after a tumultuous summer that put the team’s culture under intense scrutiny.
Braun, 38, was introduced as coach Thursday at the school’s indoor practice field, before many current players who applauded the man who has helped them to a 5-5 record as interim coach. Northwestern selected Braun, who joined the staff as defensive coordinator under former coach Pat Fitzgerald in January, and was named interim coach July 14, four days after the school fired Fitzgerald in the wake of hazing allegations within the program.
“I have been very clear that at Northwestern the well-being of our students comes first,” university president Michael Schill said. “It is only by prioritizing our students’ health, safety and well-being that we can enable excellence on the field, excellence in the classroom, that we can encourage the personal and intellectual growth that is fundamental to our mission as one of the greatest universities in the world. Anyone who has heard or talked with Coach Braun knows that he embodies these principles in just a short time since arriving at Northwestern.”
Schill said he met with Braun several times during the past few months and came away impressed with the coach’s commitment to the athletes. Northwestern is facing lawsuits from more than a dozen former football players, alleging hazing and other mistreatment while in the program. The university commissioned former U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct reviews of the athletic department’s culture and its accountability mechanisms, which likely won’t be complete until 2024. After firing Fitzgerald, Schill said the football program’s culture, “while incredible in some ways, was broken in others” by hazing activities. No current or former players have been identified in any of the lawsuits filed.
Braun had quickly gained popularity among the players, many of whom took to social media after last week’s win at Wisconsin and used the hashtag #removethetag, referring to the interim tag. Northwestern has more victories this season than in the past two combined, and needs to win one of its last two games to get bowl-eligible for the first time since finishing No. 10 nationally in 2020.
After connecting well with North Dakota State’s players as defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022, Braun said he didn’t know what type of locker room he would enter at Northwestern.
“I immediately was blown away with the quality of young men that make up this program,” Braun said. “The relationships that you know you’ve allowed us to build is something that that I absolutely cherish. I’ll be very clear: The opportunity that exists for our family only exists because of you guys. Your willingness to buy in and galvanize and come together in really embody what this football program is all about.”
Braun, who had never worked at a power conference program before Northwestern, thanked those who led the school’s coaching search for their “willingness to see beyond maybe what a résumé says.” He wants Northwestern to “double-down” on becoming one of the nation’s top developmental programs, and emphasized the need to retain players, amid a landscape where the transfer portal and name, image and likeness carry increased importance.
Although Braun was eager to resume his preparation for Saturday’s game against Purdue, he addressed his vision for Northwestern’s future.
“The Big Ten is evolving, college football is evolving, so you better know who you are,” Braun said. “You better know who you are as a university, you better know who you are as an athletic department, you better know who we are as a football program. We will prioritize the student-athlete experience. In every decision we make, the question will be asked: How does this affect the young men that are part of our program?”
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