Posted by: Pete Roussel on February 27, 2013

Northwestern opens spring practice today with the same nine assistant coaches that began the 2012 season.

In fact, Pat Fitzgerald's staff is 1 of 2 coaching staffs in the entire country with the same nine assistant coaches now as they did at the start of the 2011 season.  Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill is the other coach without any turnover.

Fitzgerald is on the verge of his eighth season as the head coach of the Wildcats. The last five seasons have ended in bowl games including a win over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl last season, which landed Northwestern a final Top 25 ranking for the first time in Fitzgerald's tenure.

The offensive staff includes Mick McCall (offensive coordinator / quarterbacks), Matt MacPherson (running backs), Bob Heffner (super backs), Adam Cushing (offensive line), and Dennis Springer (wide receivers).

The defensive staff consists of Mike Hankwitz (defensive coordinator / safeties), Marty Long (defensive line), Randy Bates (linebackers), Jerry Brown (defensive backs).

Fitzgerald told ESPN, "At this point, what I've been able to evaluate through our Winning Edge workouts, this is the fastest team that we'll put on the field since I've been the head coach. It allows us to have great competition. We've got depth and guys that can run across the board."

He said, "You always learn from the past but look forward. We're very proud of what we accomplished, but this is a new team and a new dynamic. The new chemistry is being formed through our 'Winning Edge' workouts, and we're going to roll right into spring practice and hopefully be able to carry over that momentum. We ran our typical gauntlet of conditioning after our first workout, and our guys just absolutely crushed it. I walked into the staff room afterward and said, 'This is as focused and as disciplined a group as we've had.' Now it's our job to put them in the right position as a coaching staff to continue to develop that chemistry and mental toughness."

The Wildcats open the 2013 at Cal. The next three games include Syracuse, Western Michigan, and Maine.

Meanwhile, some strange things have been taking place in the Northwestern locker room.

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