Northwestern football has informed coaches that interim head coach David Braun will have the interim tag removed and will remain as head coach following the 2023 season, Brandon Marcello reports. The Wildcats (5-5, 3-4 in Big Ten) are one win shy of securing bowl eligibility despite firing long-time head coach Pat Fitzgerald in July amid an investigation into reported hazing conduct within the football program.
The expected decision to promote Braun was expedited after Northwestern defeated Wisconsin, 24-10, last weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. An official announcement of the hire could come as soon as Thursday.
Northwestern is amid its best season in three years having already surpassed its combined overall win total (4) and Big Ten win total (2) from the final two seasons under Fitzgerald. The Wildcats are currently in a five-way tie for second place in the Big Ten West standings.
Braun was hired as the defensive coordinator at Northwestern in January and was not on the staff when the alleged hazing incidents occurred. Braun spent the past four seasons at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State as its defensive coordinator. He helped the Bison to a pair of national championships in 2019 and 2021, when they led the FCS in scoring defense.
Braun played defensive line at NCAA Division II Winona State in Minnesota before serving as a graduate assistant coach for the Warriors. He also coached at Culver-Stockton in Mississippi, UC Davis and Northern Iowa before being hired at North Dakota State in 2019.
During a press conference in late September, Braun said no conversations had taken place with Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg about dropping the interim tag or setting bench marks to become the Wildcats' next head coach.
"If I'm speaking really bluntly, I think it can be a very easy distraction or trap to fall into to allow your mind to wonder," Braun said. "Where myself and my wife have committed to is we feel like we were put in this role for a reason. That's to support our players, to serve our players and be an incredible steward of the program moving forward and letting all that take care of itself."
However, Braun did not shy away from his interest in continuing to lead Northwestern beyond the 2023 season.
"If that's what's meant to be in the long term that is an honor and a privilege we would take on with a great deal of gratitude and humility, but that's not what we're concerned with right now," Braun said. "We're going to support these players, we're going to serve them. We're going to be great stewards of the program, continue to recruit and as a family make sure we can look ourselves in the mirror 10 years from now and be proud of the way we handled it."
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Northwestern hosts Purdue Saturday at Ryan Field in Evanston. Kickoff is set for noon ET.