What's the amount of wins he needs next year to keep his job?
I say 8/9
I say 8/9
OT-Luke Fickell Job Security
- Thread starter ButtersHawk
- Start date
He hasn't accomplished much. He hasn't been truly awful.
Given he still hasn't been there long, I'm guessing they give him at least another year unless 2025 is a disaster and they end up one of the bottom 2 or 3 teams in the league.
Given he still hasn't been there long, I'm guessing they give him at least another year unless 2025 is a disaster and they end up one of the bottom 2 or 3 teams in the league.
Im big friends with a Wiscy fan. Many would take Chryst back in a second. Be careful what you wish for
I knew he would suck.
He’s proven it before in this league.
He’s proven it before in this league.
The guy at work I talk most with about sports is a badger fan. Same sentiment. Maybe not Chryst, per se, but def hates that they've gotten away from being the big ass OL, thick running backs, power O style.
“Fickell's $40.1 million contract buyout (as of 12/1/24) ranks 13th-highest in college football. The success at Wisconsin has not yet fully arrived, but Fickell is compensated like one of the best coaches in college football.”
He needs to show improvement. Win a game he shouldn't and recruit at least a top 25 class. You have to look at Notre Dame, Florida, South Carolina and Auburn as indicators.
Notre Dame is a playoff team after losing early to NIU at home. Florida has reached Bowl eligibility and two consecutive top 25 wins while finally starting to land recruits they should be getting, all this after being declared dead before week 4. South Carolina has vaulted to a top 25 team, and Auburn is showing heart at the end of what was thought to be a lost season.
Fickell needs to show improvement and hope for the future during his third season. The first season is a honeymoon. The second is the one where you have your own kids and struggle while the heat is turned up. The third is where you either show major improvement or you show you don't have it.
Notre Dame is a playoff team after losing early to NIU at home. Florida has reached Bowl eligibility and two consecutive top 25 wins while finally starting to land recruits they should be getting, all this after being declared dead before week 4. South Carolina has vaulted to a top 25 team, and Auburn is showing heart at the end of what was thought to be a lost season.
Fickell needs to show improvement and hope for the future during his third season. The first season is a honeymoon. The second is the one where you have your own kids and struggle while the heat is turned up. The third is where you either show major improvement or you show you don't have it.
Fickell is a good coach. New system takes time, especially when you move on from a power offense like Wisconsin. Fickell inherited very few players that fit his system. Any fan who thought he would come in and be successful right away was delusional.
He’s a deadman walking.
Next years schedule is brutal and the talent pool is not deep.
He may be a good coach but I don’t think he’s a good fit for the Big Ten.
In the Big Ten, you have to be able to run the football. There’s just no two ways around it (amazingly it’s something Nebraska still hasn’t figured out since Frank Solich was run out of Lincoln). Second, you have to be stout defensively and be able to stop the run.
Fickell’s time in Madison is going to go a lot like Mike Riley’s time in Lincoln.
I agree, 8/9.
8 will still feel "average-ish" to Wisconsin fans, but the'll live with it. They more or less fired Chryst for being an "8 win guy", but 8 does show progress.
That defense was just terrible last night. They will probably lose the Axe due to poor defensive play. The knives will be out after that game. There's no way their D coordinators survive the off-season without some sort of change.
EDIT: you have to wonder how many fans wish they would have stuck with Leonhard right about now.
8 will still feel "average-ish" to Wisconsin fans, but the'll live with it. They more or less fired Chryst for being an "8 win guy", but 8 does show progress.
That defense was just terrible last night. They will probably lose the Axe due to poor defensive play. The knives will be out after that game. There's no way their D coordinators survive the off-season without some sort of change.
EDIT: you have to wonder how many fans wish they would have stuck with Leonhard right about now.
Last edited:
Agreed. They look like a "finesse team". Their defense is scrawny and showed terrible tackling technique, not built for Big Ten football in November.
The problem is he changed their entire identity.
This is a good example of why I am in favor of Woods or Wallace as the next HC. You keep your identity and continuity when KF is done.
This is a good example of why I am in favor of Woods or Wallace as the next HC. You keep your identity and continuity when KF is done.
Based on Badger fans I know, it's a majority...
He has one more full year to prove the program has positive momentum. He lost his starting QB this year which probably affords him some grace, but the rush defense has been really bad as well. Wisconsin AD might be under some pressure too. If things aren't looking up in a significant away I could see a negotiated buyout after next season.
I think this has changed with current transfer rules. If I remember correctly he brought 6 players with him from Cinn. His #1 RB is from OU and his #2 WR is from Cinn, #4 WR is from USC and #5 WR from OKST all with 200+ receiving yards.
We would definitely end up with a Cignetti clone and look like 2019 LSU in a year and a half
The added component to the Fickell hire is that Wisconsin basically traded their elite-level defensive coordinator for an offensive-minded coach. Now, Fickell just fired his OC and now is back and square one on offense and their defense has taken a very large step back. So the sentiment has to be "we trade Jim Leonhard for this?"
We at IU are glad Fickell didn’t keep Chryst’s long time OL coach, Bob Bostad. He was the only good assistant coach hire by Tom Allen his last 3 seasons. Bostad is also the only Allen assistant Cig re-hired. The OL he’s pieced together has been a pleasant surprise this season.
Is Leonhard still at Illinois with Bielema?
Is Leonhard still at Illinois with Bielema?
The sane fans killed their BB program too. Winning games 60-56 wasn’t as exciting as losing games 85-82….fans are fools. No fan base is exempt. They have all done it at sometime.,
Nah, we need to recruit better. Party if that is NIL, part is the coach
They played OSU tougher than most, I would think they give him until contract end.
Last edited:
And how many millions are you donating to our NIL? Things are going to get worse...
I think he will be shown the door if they don’t get to bowl game eligible IMHO… I don’t get this team they nearly beat Oregon but come back the next week and get a flat tire 🛞 vs Nebraska? Granted it’s tough on the road for any team in the BIG but this is absolutely not a great start for Luke Pickle 🥒
They did land a 4 star QB in Carter Smith I believe out of Michigan…. Now if that sticks or not is another thing
Why stop what you do best? Running the ball etc as it’s been stated and try to bring in an air raid offense you’re just not built for? That takes years of recruiting on the key players to fit your system… it won’t happen over night but it surely won’t happen in a few years … even with the portal
Wisconsin has no identity. For years, they emulated Iowa, then they surpassed Iowa at their own game—and now, they’re Minnesota.
Similar threads
