“It’s about, number one, being aligned,” Fitzgerald said Monday. “When the board and the president, the athletic director and the head football coach are aligned, great things and special things can happen.”

Fitzgerald said Northwestern benefited from that same alignment, a primary reason he won 110 games and make 10 bowl appearances. For 17 seasons, he established a winning culture through mutual trust among university leadership. 

“That program we built was on bedrock,” Fitzgerald said. “But that’s what we’re building here, and obviously, I’m not doing a good enough job yet to get us there. But every day, every rep, we’re getting closer and closer to that.”

Of all the university leaders, Fitzgerald's connection with athletic director Dan Bartholomae remains the most critical as they coordinate in restoring MSU's past successes.

The emphasis on alignment predates Bartholomae’s tenure, when J Batt was hired as MSU’s athletic director in June 2025. MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz has harped on the advantages university alignment brings to a football program.

Even as college football has rapidly shifted since FItzgerald's final season in Evanston, that trust remains fundamental. Name, image and likeness, revenue sharing, and the transfer portal have flipped how coaches build their rosters, spurring the need for unity.

Schools across the country are already preparing next season's approach to the transfer portal despite not being halfway through the college football season. Player evaluation is constant. Fitzgerald and the MSU coaching staff are committed to rebuilding this roster, but are focused on preparing the team for the team's next game on the schedule.

"We talk personnel every day, Gas (general manager Bryan Gasser) and I. But as far as, like, that nth degree, with the coaches right now, our focus is trying to get better in football," Fitzgerald said.

For the first time in weeks, the Spartans showed signs of "getting better" and proved they could compete against a Big Ten opponent, Fitzgerald said. Although MSU fell 38-37, it overcame a 17-point deficit with a strong second-half effort that it’ll look to rekindle in Spartan Stadium against Northwestern.

Saturday’s matchup will mark the first time Fitzgerald occupies the opposite sideline from his alma mater. He will face his former defensive coordinator, David Braun, whom he hired in 2023, the year he was fired as head coach. The two have maintained a relationship since Braun took over the program, and Fitzgerald praised him for all that he has accomplished in just three seasons.

“David's done a terrific job,” Fitzgerald said. “Really happy for him. (He’s) someone that I got to know through the interview process, and then to bring him on board. He's done an absolutely terrific job leading the program, putting his stamp on it and doing it his way, which every great head coach does.”

Though Fitzgerald still roots for his former squad and coordinators, his attention is solely directed to the Spartans’ success this week. The past is the past, and he’s honed in on the present.

“I’m really proud of my time there as a player and as a coach,” Fitzgerald said. “But I’m a Spartan, and I’m fired up to be here, and I’m honored to be here. And our focus is getting the team ready to play this Saturday.”