cross-posted from: https://fanaticus.social/post/225811

Holtz's assignment is temporary for the upcoming months and won't interfere with his USFL job as the head coach of the Birmingham Stallions, according to ESPN sources. He enters a difficult situation at Northwestern, which fired coach Pat Fitzgerald this summer in the wake of a flurry of hazing allegations. A spate of lawsuits have followed the firing. Holtz will be tasked with being a veteran resource to interim Northwestern coach David Braun to help he and the Wildcats navigate the season.

cross-posted from: https://fanaticus.social/post/208168

Yates, a former quarterback and wide receiver who played at Northwestern from 2015 to 2017, became the first plaintiff to identify himself in a lawsuit against the school.

Three unnamed former players last week filed complaints with a different set of attorneys, which name former football coach Pat Fitzgerald, current university president Michael Schill and others as individual defendants (Yates' lawsuit only names the university). Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is working with Yates, said at a news conference Monday that he expects to file more than 30 lawsuits from former Northwestern athletes (football and other sports) in the coming weeks and months.

Off-season: 2 Northwestern: 0

[Fitzgerald’s attorney Dan] Webb is researching legal strategies and has not filed a lawsuit, but he cited "two different major breach of contract claims" with Northwestern as well as significant reputational damage.

Northwestern has not informed Webb whether it is seeking to withhold the remaining salary on Fitzgerald's 10-year contract signed in January 2021. Fitzgerald is owed more than $40 million from the school.