NFL
By: Melo Williams
Wisconsin announced Sunday that it hired Luke Fickell to be the next Badgers’ football head coach.
Via social media for all things Wisconsin Badger football and Wisconsin news-related, the new hire was more than shocking, it was bomb-dropping and shell-shocking. A complete statewide shock.
If it wasn’t Jim Leonhard the only other thought around Wisconsin was Kansas’ head coach Lance Leipold as the next coach. Fickell was so far off the radar that no one ever saw this hire coming but Luke Fickell himself who has been turning down jobs and patiently waiting on the right job.
Patience is the virtue of life and Luke Fickell’s patience has landed him in Madison, WI the home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers football, where the history is rich in college football and the National Football League.
The Badgers play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football.
The program has been one of the most successful programs since the early 1990’s when Barry Alvarez became the Badgers’ head coach. Since then Badger football has been a staple in college football.
Over 700 wins, 18 Bowl wins, 14 B1G titles, 5 division titles, 32 consensus All-Americans, 14 former players and coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and 3 former players enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
308 players drafted into the National Football League.
Two Heisman winners, Alan Ameche (1954) and Ron Dayne (1999).
Sound like one of the best jobs in college football to have in one of the best cities in America.
In Madison, he replaces Paul Chryst, who was fired last month after Wisconsin got off to a 2-3 start. He was fired one day after the Badgers lost 34-10 at home to an Illinois team led by former Badgers coach Bret Bielema. Chryst went 67-26 in 7 1/2 seasons.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard took over as interim coach of the Badgers and had gone 4-3 in that role, leading to some calls for the former Badger safety to be named head coach even by current players publicly.
However, Athletic Director Chris McIntosh had other plans. Like Fickell was his guy. Given Fickell’s success and Midwestern roots, Badgers’ fans should’ve been more warm of the hire, but they weren’t.
As a native of Columbus, Ohio, who played at Ohio State and served as interim coach of the Buckeyes for one year after Jim Tressel resigned in 2011, Fickell on Sunday described his new position as “a destination job at a program that I have admired from afar for years.”
“My family and I are thrilled to join the Wisconsin family. There is a tremendous foundation here that I can’t wait to build upon,” he said in a statement. “This world-class university, athletic department, and passionately loyal fan base all have a strong commitment to success and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
“Luke is one of the top football coaches in the country,” McIntosh said in a statement. “He is a proven winner, recruiter, and developer of players.”
“Equally as important, he shares our values. Coach Fickell is focused on giving our student-athletes the best opportunities possible and is attuned to the changing landscape of college athletics.
“I have every confidence that he will respect and honor the foundation that has been set for our football program over the years while embracing the exciting opportunities ahead.”
Hired by Cincinnati in December 2016, after staying with the Buckeyes as an assistant to Urban Meyer, Fickell took over a program that had just gone 4-8 and produced the same record in his first season. From 2018 through this season, he went 53-10, including a 13-1 campaign last season that saw the Bearcats reach No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll, their highest-ever ranking, and became the first Group of Five teams to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Fickell’s recruiting prowess and his ability to develop pro players were on display at this year’s NFL draft, where Cincinnati had nine players go off the board, including cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner at No. 4 and four additional players in the first overall 100 picks. The overall total was the third most of any program, behind only National Champion Georgia (15) and fellow SEC power LSU (10).
Wisconsin had five players drafted this year, none were selected in the top 100.
At 6-6, Wisconsin is eligible for a bowl. A loss in a bowl game will give the Badgers their first losing season since 2001.
Cincinnati, 24th in the most recent CFP rankings, is 9-3 following a loss Friday to No. 19 Tulane. With Central Florida winning and Cincinnati losing the Bearcats are denied a berth in the American Athletic championship game on Saturday.
While leading the Bearcats to unprecedented heights over the past six seasons, the 49-year-old Fickell had become a coveted target for Power Five programs.
ESPN College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit weighed in with nothing but praise for Wisconsin’s new head coach.
“Everybody talks about the 2021 year, you look at these last three years, Luke knows what staying power looks like because of the culture he creates,” said Herbstreit in a video message.
“He’ll take that same model, put it in Madison with the resources they have, the tradition they have, look out, man. You’ve got a game changer in Luke Fickell.”
Even before this season began, Fickell had been linked over the years to vacancies at programs such as West Virginia, Florida State, Baylor, Michigan State, and Notre Dame.
“I am thrilled with our hire of Luke Fickell as the head football coach of the Badgers,” Wisconsin Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin said in a statement. “He is a transformative hire for our program.”
“I think it’s a home run hire,” former Badgers coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez said Sunday (via http://madison.com).
While this has to be disappointing for Leonhard, it’d be great for continuity purposes if he’d stick around and be part of Fickell’s staff, but that would seem awkward and unrealistic.
Badgers’ fans have been patiently waiting to make that next step on the national level. The Luke Fickell hire could be the start of that national recognition and respect.
With an opportunity to jump back over rivals Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota the Badgers have a chance to become an elite team in the Big Ten.
With the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins joining the B1G in 2024, and the Badgers already competing with Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn St, Athletic Director Chris McIntosh was up to something and was thinking 10 steps ahead of most and was foreseeing B1G football and the future college football landscape, when he thought of breaking away from the normal “do it the Wisconsin way” and hired Luke Fickell to lead the new chapter of Wisconsin Badgers football.
Badger fans I must admit it felt very weird and strange to me at first. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the hire of Luke Fickell. The reach on recruits Luke Fickell has in Ohio that Wisconsin didn’t, is so valuable for the Badgers to be able to get a legit quarterback and other players at other skilled positions to be able to compete on a national level. I won’t say National Championship is in the soon near future, but Wisconsin is one step closer to bringing a Natty football championship to Madison, WI. #OnWisconsin
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram @_MeloWilliams
I think you nailed it when you said McIntosh was ten steps ahead of everyone. He was.
I was unsure of the hire but after a couple days I liked it more. You added more details as to why the hire should be loved.
Great mention saying Badgers can find a QB finally
Badgers immediately became better than Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota hiring Fickell
Even if Leonhard doesn’t stay on Fickell staff, Luke bringing his staff anyway.
Badgers will be competing for a National Championship finally
I would question how committed is Fickell to Wisconsin. Leonhard would never leave Wisconsin
Leonhard will land a job soon in college or the NFL