Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is reportedly no longer a candidate for the Green Bay Packers head coaching vacancy.

The Packers are starting their search for a new head coach after firing Mike McCarthy last month, and there was speculation that Fitzgerald would at least earn an interview with the franchise.

However, it now appears that is not the case, via Bill Huber of 247Sports.

After Pat Fitzgerald’s Northwestern Wildcats rallied past Utah in the Holiday Bowl, he said, “I’m not going anywhere. This is home forever.”

That wasn’t just postgame talk. On Thursday, Fitzgerald’s agent, Bryan Harlan, said Fitzgerald will not be interviewing for “any NFL jobs.”

The Green Bay Packers were expected to put in a request to interview Fitzgerald, who Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy hired in 2006 when Murphy was Northwestern’s athletics director.

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While the connection with Murphy made sense on the surface, it seemed to be a long shot for Fitzgerald to actually be named the new coach of the team.

Now, Green Bay will turn its attention to trying to find the right fit for the role, with plenty of worthy candidates likely interested.

There's no doubt that this is a highly attractive job due to the current roster, which includes Aaron Rodgers under center.

It doesn't feel like the Packers are that far off from being able to completely turn things around and become a Super Bowl contender once again, but it's going to take the right hire to help this team realize that possibility.