Pat Fitzgerald likes to say that the goal for Northwestern's program should be to compete for championships, at least on the Big Ten West level. That's a lofty goal for a program like this one, especially considering that the Wildcats have never seriously competed for a conference or division championship in Fitzgerald's 10 years as head coach. But it can be done in the modern era (see: 1995, 1996 and 2000), and it's the publicly stated goal of the program.
That's why, when asked about potential staff changes after NU's win over Duke to move to 1-2 on the season, Fitzgerald's answer was puzzling.