It's about to get messier for the Northwestern Wildcats following the dismissal of Pat Fitzgerald from the team due to hazing allegations on the team. The school fired Fitzgerald as head coach of Northwestern football, but some players have also taken direct shots at University President Michael Schill and Athletic Director Derrick Gragg.

“To zoom in to make a statement like this and leave before allowing time for questions has me baffled… terrible,” tweeted Northwestern football tight end Charlie Mangieri, who was likely referring to an online call made by Gragg, as pointed out by Adam Rittenburg of ESPN.

Another Northwestern football tight end, Marshall Lang, also had the following to say: “Michael Schill and Derrick Gragg didn’t even have the balls to show up in person to tell the team. Too busy on vacation to even care. Embarrassing administration”

The firing of Pat Fitzgerald is not the end of the controversy for Northwestern football and the school as a whole. A lot is still needed to be known and uncovered about the exact nature of the allegations made by an unnamed former player. After his firing from Northwestern football, Fitzgerald released a statement about his intent to wage legal war over what he believes is an unjust termination.

Fitzgerald initially was suspended by Northwestern for two weeks before the school made the decision to fire him.

Fitzgerald served as head coach of Northwestern football for 17 seasons from 2006 to 2022, steering the Wildcats to five Bowl wins in 10 total Bowl appearances.