Off Tackle Empire, for Big Ten coverage

Until now, it has been reported that Michigan merely made a third-party inquiry to Fitzgerald.

The reality is that Michigan's interest in Fitzgerald was so sincere, representatives of the school laid out salary parameters, according to sources.

[...]

Fitzgerald, 36 with three kids and a $2.3 million home in Northfield, is not driven by money, those close to him say. He showed that by declining to interview with Michigan officials, who were willing to meet him in Texas or wherever he wished.

Had negotiations ensued, Michigan likely would have offered around $3 million, according to sources.

At the end of the day, I think we're all competing to improve. We're proud of the fact that we've won three Big Ten Championships since '95. That's third-best in the league in that time period.

We've consistently been improving. We're a couple games short of being .500 overall record. I think we're 82 and 78 or something like that in that time during the regular season. When I was being recruited back in '93 they said that never would have happen...

Obviously we've changed the attitude and tides here in the Big Ten, and that's by recruiting the right fit and right quality young men and tremendous support from the University and our fans and alumni. I think we're just scratching the surface.