Former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald said he feels “100 percent vindicated” in the wake of the August settlement of his wrongful termination lawsuit against the school where he was the head coach for 17 seasons.

Fitzgerald, speaking publicly for the first time since his firing in July 2023, told ESPN’s “College GameDay” podcast that he has spent the past two years preparing to return to coaching and is actively seeking a return to the college sideline.

“I feel very fortunate,” Fitzgerald said, when asked how he has been received in the college hiring space. “I feel fully vindicated. It’s been great working through this process. There’s been conversations with a lot of folks. It’s been face-to-face, it’s been on Zoom, it’s been phone calls. [My candidacy has] been received very well.”

Northwestern fired Fitzgerald amid allegations of hazing in the football program, and Fitzgerald subsequently sued the school for $130 million for wrongful termination. The lawsuit was settled in August, with the terms not disclosed.

After the settlement, Northwestern released a statement that noted “inappropriate conduct in the football program did occur.” It added: “The evidence uncovered during extensive discovery did not establish that any player reported hazing to Coach Fitzgerald or that Coach Fitzgerald condoned or directed any hazing.”

The school went on to compliment Fitzgerald’s combined 26 years there as a player and coach and “wishes Coach Fitzgerald the best in resuming his football career.”

There have been significant university changes since the settlement was announced. The most prominent was the resignation of president Michael Schill, who fired Fitzgerald, two weeks after the settlement.

Fitzgerald said there are specifics about the settlement that he is not allowed to speak on. But he said, generally: “I feel 100 percent vindicated. You alluded to the statement earlier. I’ll let that speak for itself. … I feel very vindicated. Especially for our players and their families. The facts are the facts.”

Northwestern had launched an investigation into the football program after allegations of hazing and sexual abuse made by a former Wildcats player in late 2022. The former player said the hazing, often led by a group of older players, was organized and widespread in the program.

Fitzgerald was fired days after he was initially suspended two weeks by the school. Fitzgerald said he took the suspension because he was the leader and “took full responsibility” for what happened, despite not having any knowledge, because that’s what a leader does.

“We had a zero-tolerance policy for hazing within the program,” Fitzgerald said. “I educated the guys. We used our resources within the athletic department, within the university.”

He said the investigation revealed “inappropriate behavior” by players and that he was ready to be sure those implicated were “held accountable” for not living up to the standards of the program.

“I was looking forward to doing that,” Fitzgerald said. “I was not given that opportunity. That is a regret that I have. I would have loved to have been able to do that. I would have been the right person to help those guys through it.”

He added that he is ready to implement systems and processes at his next stop to be “relentless in making sure our guys are about the right things and doing the right things.”

Fitzgerald went 110-101 over 17 years at Northwestern, made 11 bowl appearances and won a pair of Big Ten West division championships. He turned down opportunities at multiple high-profile college jobs, including Michigan in 2011, and several NFL overtures.

Since his firing, he has spent time at NFL camps and many colleges and studied schemes and changes in the landscape to be prepared for what’s next.

“I just feel like I’ve got a Ph.D.,” Fitzgerald, 50, told ESPN of his time off. “I’m well rested, no bags under the eyes, ready to put the whistle around my neck and put the neck roll on and get ready to go. Somewhere, hopefully, this will work out and [we’ll] go win some championships.”

Fitzgerald stressed alignment in what he was looking for at his next stop. He said he has been able to study college football clear-eyed, both from the looking at the landscape and seeing programs up close via friends around the profession.

He observed that a school’s revenue share number is “the new zero” and the differentiators will be “real NIL” and developing homegrown talent through strong relationships.

“That’s the reality for college football today,” he said. “That takes everyone in that community — the head coach, the AD, the marketing folks. It takes alignment with the chancellor and president.”

Fitzgerald expressed gratitude for the time with his family, including getting to coach two of his sons as a volunteer high school football coach at Loyola Academy.

Asked what emotions he has toward Northwestern, Fitzgerald told ESPN: “I love Northwestern. Unfortunately, things went the way that they went. It’s all about how you respond. If you talk to anyone that’s been around me, [my wife] Stacy and our boys the last few years. The Fitzgerald family is going to respond and respond boldly.

“It’s not been an easy road. We let the facts speaks for themselves, and we’re ready to move forward and move on.”