Northwestern’s David Braun making the most of an opportunity

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 26: Northwestern Wildcats players dump Gatorade on head coach David Braun of the Northwestern Wildcats after defeating the Central Michigan Chippewas in the 2025 GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on December 26, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images

He’s the second youngest head coach in the Big Ten at 41. He’s just .500 over three seasons at 19-19. But, he’s taken his team to two bowl games, winning both.

He also went 4-8 in the season between those bowl games, finishing 16th in an 18-team Big Ten. A work in progress.

For a team that Andrew previewed the other day.

David Braun was hired to be Pat Fitzgerald’s defensive coordinator in early 2023. An hazing scandal rocked the team, forcing out Fitzgerald and ushering in the Braun Era of Northwestern football. The Wildcats finished the 2023 regular season with a 7–5 record—the most wins for any first-year Northwestern football coach since 1903—and qualified for a Bowl game for the first time since 2020. Braun was named the 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year for his turnaround of the program.

Braun’s first experience at an FBS school was when he was hired by Fitzgerald. Prior to that, he was at Winona State (FYI it’s in Minnesota), Culver-Stockton College, UC Davis, Northern Iowa, and North Dakota State (which is moving to FBS this year). And, don’t get too excited; I made the same mistake thinking that Travis Johansen came from North Dakota State, too. He was at South Dakota State before arriving in Piscataway.

Braun spent 15 years as an assistant before being hired as Northwestern’s DC and then becoming the “accidental” head coach. He’s been praised for keeping things steady after Fitzgerald’s firing , for maintaining accountability from his players. “A lot of guys could get thrown into that opportunity and crumble under pressure because nobody thought we were going to have the year that we had [in 2023],” Northwestern wide receiver AJ Henning said. “So for him to come in and instill that belief within the team and stand in the fire and take all the criticism that was coming in from the media and continue to coach a football team to his best ability and we come out and have the year that we did, it talks a lot about who he is as a person and who he is as a coach.”

Some history: Since joining the Big Ten, Rutgers is 1-2 against the ‘Cats. RU’s last victory was in 2023, a 24-7 win over Braun’s team. Rutgers is 6-2 all time against the Wildcats, with the first game on Nov. 27, 1919 in Newark/Harrison Field; it was Rutgers’ first victory against a Big Ten team. And, yes, Northwestern is a charter member of the Western Conference ! Rutgers did actually defeat Penn State in 1918, a year before, but PSU was not part of the B1G then.

Worth noting: Rutgers defeated Northwestern 38-27 on September 23, 1989, at Ryan Field. The nationally-televised matchup marked the 1,000th game in Rutgers program history. Rutgers quarterback Scott Erney threw for 308 yards, and wide receiver Randy Jackson caught two touchdowns.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →