Die Saalfelds » The momentum building between the Green Bay Packers

and Pat Fitzgerald is reportedly taking another step forward in the coming days. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter Dean Lowry Jersey , the Packers are planning to formally request an interview with Fitzgerald for the team’s vacant head coach position.Fitzgerald, the head coach for Northwestern University, has grown to become one of the favorites for the Packers job. He has a strong connection with Packers president Mark Murphy, who hired Fitzgerald at Northwestern in 2006 when serving as the university’s athletic director. The Packers hired Murphy in 2007.According to Schefter’s report, the Packers will submit the request following Northwestern’s bowl game on Monday. The #22 Wildcats play the #17 Utah Utes in the Holiday Bowl on Monday evening.This report comes on the heels of Ian Rapoport’s comments on Saturday, which indicate that Fitzgerald is one of the leading candidates for the job. Packers beat writer Tom Silverstein also notes that general manager Brian Gutekunst has admired Fitzgerald for his work at Northwestern as well, going back to Gutekunst’s days as a scout.Fitzgerald, 44, played at Northwestern in the mid-1990s, so it appears that it would be difficult to pry him away from his alma mater. Both he and Northwestern’s athletic department could decline the interview opportunity. However Kentrell Brice Color Rush Jersey , the Murphy connection and the opportunity to stay close to home may be enough to at least get him to talk to the team in earnest about the job. On Monday night, Northwestern University head football coach Pat Fitgerald made an impassioned statement following his team’s 31-20 Holiday Bowl victory over Utah. In a post-game interview, Fitzgerald said that he would not be leaving Evanston, and that Northwestern is “home forever” for him.To be fair, coaches have made statements like that before only to bolt for other jobs soon afterwards. Perhaps the best example took place in December of 2006, when then-Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban said “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.” Two weeks after making that statement, he agreed to a contract with the Crimson Tide.However, fans should give credit where it is due, and in this case, Fitzgerald is sticking to his word. According to Tom Silverstein of Packersnews.com https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Geronimo-Allison-Jersey , Fitzgerald has declined the offer from the Packers to interview for their open head coach position and has rejected overtures from other NFL teams as well. He’s staying at Northwestern, where he has presided over the best stretch of success in the football program’s history.While Fitzgerald turning down requests from other teams is not particularly surprising, the connection between him and Packers president Mark Murphy was one that appeared to be intriguing. In 2006, Murphy — then Northwestern’s athletic director — hired Fitzgerald to be NU’s head coach. However, even that familiarity apparently was not enough to convince him to take the interview with Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst.The Packers have already interviewed three candidates for the job, with five more interviews happening in the next three days and at least one additional yet to be scheduled. However, despite his relationship with the man making the final call in Green Bay, Fitzgerald will not be among the group of individuals in the running.