Pete Thamel reports Wisconsin targeting Cincinnati's Luke Fickell as next head coach

On3 imageby:Steve Samra11/27/22

SamraSource

Wisconsin is targeting Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to be the next leader of their program, per Pete Thamel of ESPN.

On Sunday afternoon, Thamel dropped the bombshell that the Badgers are hellbent on Fickell being their man.

Wisconsin has targeted Luke Fickell to be the school’s next head coach, sources told ESPN,” wrote Thamel. “No deal is signed, but there’s a strong push by the Badgers to try and land Fickell in the next 48 hours.”

Last season, Fickell led the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff, and he’s impressed over six seasons at Cincinnati, amassing a record of 57-18. Continuing, Thamel elaborated on why Fickell would be interested in leaving what he’s built for the Badgers.

“Fickell has strong roots in the Big Ten, as he’s a long-time assistant coach and coordinator at Ohio State and played there collegiately,” added Thamel. “He’d been picky about jobs over the years as Cincinnati rose to the top of the Group of Five, being selective about the Midwestern footprint.”

Of course, Fickell would replace longtime Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst, who was let go earlier this season and has watched his former defensive coordinator Jim Leonard takeover the Badgers over the remainder of 2022. Leonard was considered a candidate to eventually take over the job for many seasons, but hasn’t separated himself from the pack over his time.

There’s many reasons why Wisconsin would want Fickell, but Thamel believes the Badgers are impressed with his ability to build a program from the ground up.

“Fickell’s attraction to the Badgers brass, along with his record and roots in the league, is his ability to build a program,” stated Thamel. “Fickell turned Cincinnati into one of the country’s best development programs, taking modest recruits and consistently churning out strong teams.”

If Wisconsin can land Luke Fickell, it’ll be a wonderful hire that would put them in prime position to compete in the Big Ten. He could be exactly what the Badgers are looking for, and the juice would be worth the squeeze for Wisconsin.