Interim Northwestern football coach began college coaching career at Culver-Stockton

CANTON, Mo. — The interim coach responsible for stabilizing the Northwestern football program during a tumultuous offseason began his coaching career at Culver-Stockton College.

Last Friday, David Braun was elevated from defensive coordinator to interim head coach by the Northwestern administration. He replaces Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired last week amid a hazing scandal in which multiple former Wildcats cited issues with the football program’s culture.

“The opportunity to lead this team at this crucial moment in its history is not something I take lightly, and I’m grateful for the trust placed in me by Dr. Gragg and Northwestern leadership,” Braun said in a press release. “Our focus today and every day moving forward is on supporting these men, many of whom have only been on campus for several weeks, in their preparation for the 2023 football season and the 2023-24 academic year.”

Braun had been hired in January to be Northwestern’s defensive coordinator after spending the previous four seasons at North Dakota State. He was named the Football Scoop FCS Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 2021 when the Bison employed the top-ranked scoring defense in FCS and won the national championship.

A graduate of Winona State where he was a two-time all-conference defensive lineman, Braun spent the 2010 season as the defensive coordinator at Culver-Stockton College in Cameron Keller’s first season as head coach.

The Wildcats went 1-10 that fall. Braun left after that season to return to Winona State as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and begin his climb up the coaching ladder.