Warren Fitzgerald has seen a revival on the football field in recent years under Juwan Shakespear and the Detroit Lions have recognized it.
Spakespear, now in his sixth season at the helm of the Spartans, was named the Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Week for Week No. 2 of the 2026 campaign. The honor is presented each week by Carhartt.
Fitzgerald is 2-0 on the season with an incredible 97-0 scoring edge over its first two opponents, Warren Mott and Fraser.
Shakespear, a graduate of Sterling Heights Parkway Christian, becomes the first coach from Warren Fitzgerald to be honored with the Detroit Lions High School Football Coach of the Week award in the 30 years of the program. He has a 28-23 overall record as a head coach with the Spartans and has helped turn the program into a consistent competitive team in the six-division Macomb Area Conference.
Fitzgerald shared the Macomb Area Conference Gold Division crown in both 2023 and 2024 before going on to win the MAC Gold title outright last season with a perfect 5-0 league record. Fitzgerald finished 8-2 overall last season in one of its more successful regular seasons before drawing CHSL Central Division member and state powerhouse Warren De La Salle in a Division 2 pre-district round (56-34).
The Spartans outscored the opposition 384-189 last season and that included three shutouts and at one time a seven-game win streak. The only setbacks were a Week 2 loss to Port Huron (38-36) and the postseason defeat to De La Salle, a program that owns five state titles in the past 25 years.
Fitzgerald gradated several four-year varsity players but have reloaded this season and are picked as the favorite in the MAC Gold this season. The Spartans open up MAC Gold Division play Friday against Marysville (0-2).
Fitzgerald was 8-2 overall in Shakespear’s first season in 2021, including second in the MAC Silver Division at 4-1 to reach the postseason. The Spartans dipped to just 2-7 overall and 2-3 in the MAC Gold Division in 2022 with a very young team that featured several freshmen and sophomores. The Spartans have qualified for the Division 3 postseason in four of the last five seasons under Shakespear but have yet to win a district title.
The program has qualified for the MHSAA state playoffs 13 times in its history.
Shakespear also serves as Fitzgerald’s athletics director and has also served as both a head or assistant coach with the school’s girls basketball program and track and field programs as well during his tenure.