INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Northwestern coach David Braun walked to the podium and told everyone he was excited to be back at the Big Ten preseason kickoff Tuesday, he meant it.
Every word.
Few attendees at last year’s Big Ten media days figured Braun, then saddled with an interim tag, could turn a one-win team around in the midst of a hazing scandal. But the 39-year-old, first-time head coach did the unthinkable — rallying the Wildcats to seven regular-season wins, a bowl win over Utah, being named the league’s 2023 Coach of the Year and earning the full-time gig.
“Personally, it’s been incredible,” Braun said. “Our family has gotten settled in, we love the area. Our boys love school, they’re staying busy with baseball and camps. I’m very grateful to be here at Northwestern and having had the opportunity to settle in.”
Professionally, Braun’s ascension has been astonishing.
Braun had no playing or coaching experience at the FBS level when he was hired as defensive coordinator by former coach Pat Fitzgerald in January 2023. Braun joined the Wildcats after winning two national championships as an assistant at North Dakota State.
Six months later, his whole world was thrown into turmoil when school officials fired Fitzgerald on July 10 as allegations of sexual abuse of players by teammates, racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults emerged.
Braun was promoted July 14 and less than two weeks later found himself giving his first public remarks, in Indianapolis, essentially defending a program he barely knew — solo.
The three Northwestern players scheduled to attend — Bryce Gallagher, Rod Heard II, and Bryce Kirtz — issued a statement saying they had opted out so the focal point would remain football. Athletic director Derrick Gragg’s only comments came on the Big Ten Network.
And while Braun was awaiting the birth of his fourth child, he never checked his cellphone while answering every question during the 45-minute allotment. Behind the scenes, it was every bit as most anticipated.
“It was not easy, to say the least,” running back Cam Porter said. “It was a lot of communications between teammates, a lot of hard talks, a lot of tough talks, a lot of nurturing. But, at the end of the day, we made a decision. We were like ‘OK, are we going to just let the season go to waste?’ So we used it as an opportunity to come together.”
But Braun’s candidly low-key approach worked.
After using the strategy to successfully navigate the litany of questions last July and August, the guy who grew up watching Big Ten football in Wisconsin won the support of players inside Northwestern’s locker room.
The results were amazing.
Braun celebrated win No. 1 in Week 2 against UTEP and his first Big Ten win in Week 4 against Minnesota. When the Wildcats toppled Wisconsin in Week 11 to snap a 14-game road losing streak, it convinced the school to remove the interim tag and give him a five-year contract.
Northwestern hasn’t lost since and enters this fall on a four-game winning streak.
What’s next for the program, though, remains unclear. Northwestern opens conference play at Washington, last season’s national runner-up, finishes the season with consecutive games against defending national champ Michigan, perennial national championship contender Ohio State and rival Illinois.
And with all but two home games being played at a temporary 15,000-seat stadium while Ryan Field undergoes a two-year renovation project, Northwestern’s home-field advantage may not be muted.
Yet Braun and the Wildcats can find some solace knowing they’ve already faced bigger challenges and thrived.
“There is no doubt in my mind the reason that we found success in 2023 was because of the leadership on our team. It was a player-led team,” Braun said. “The unique challenge for this 2024 collection of coaches and players is this group collectively hasn’t done anything yet. Can we find the same level of leadership within our team? I believe it exists. I’ve seen it, but we have to put that into practice in fall camp.”
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