Pat Fitzgerald news: Ex-coach's legal team threatens "aggressive defense" against Northwestern and other leaders in their latest statement

Pat Fitzgerald was fired by Northwestern earlier this month, and now his legal team has threatened to have aggressive defense.

Fitzgerald coached Northwestern since 2006, and his firing came as a surprise, given the school announced his suspension just days earlier.

Fitzgerald's attorney, Dan Webb, took aim at the school threatening an aggressive defense following a lawsuit by a former player.

"The complaint has noavalidity as to Coach Fitzgerald and we will aggressively defend against these allegations with facts and evidence," Dann Webb said in a statement.

"Nothing in the John Doe complaint comes close to contradicting the conclusions of a months-long investigation led by Attorney Maggie Hickey – that Coach Fitzgerald had no knowledge whatsoever of any form of hazing with Northwestern Football Program.

"Again, we look forward to defending Coach Fitzgerald and taking all steps necessary to protect his legal rights, name, and reputation."

Pat Fitzgerald claims he had no knowledge of hazing

Although Pat Fitzgerald was fired and is now being sued, he has claimed since the beginning he had no knowledge of the hazing.

Even if Fitzgerald had no knowledge of the hazing, the school said as the leader of the program, he should have known about the issues.

"The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team,” Northwestern President Michael H. Schill said. “The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening.

"Either way, the culture in Northwestern football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others.”

During the investigation, 11 current or former Northwestern players have come forward to claim the hazing in the football program and that the hazing was "well-known by many in the program."

Fitzgerald maintains his innocence and is looking into legal action for his dismissal from Northwestern. It is also clear that this case and story is just in the beginning, and it could get bigger if more players come forward with their reflections of what happened.

At Northwestern, Pat Fitzgerald went 110-101 over 17 seasons.