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J.J. Watt reveals coaching college football has 'absolutely no appeal' to him

Danby: Daniel Hager10/16/25DanielHagerOn3
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© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Future Pro Football Hall of Famer J.J. Watt has stayed busy following his retirement, as he has made the transition to the CBS Sports announcing booth every Sunday. He expects to be there for a while, as he shot down any idea of him potentially jumping into the coaching world.

On Wednesday’s edition of ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ Watt was jokingly asked whether or not he would step in and coach at his alma mater Wisconsin. The Badgers have struggled mightily under head coach Luke Fickell, as they are just 14-17 since he took over in 2023.

“The life of a college football coach has absolutely no appeal whatsoever to me,” Watt said. “I like coaching football, just the pure on-the-field Xs and Os, like helping guys be better at what they do and create the best they can. But, then you add in all the meetings, you add in all the hours, and you add in recruiting and the traveling and having to go to these 17-year-old kids and be like, ‘Hey, you’re the greatest in the world, come to the university.”

Watt claims he has ‘no interest’ in coaching college football

“Then, you add the NIL and the boosters, and people coming at you after the game,” Watt continued. ‘You didn’t cover the spread, what’s going on…?’ I don’t want to deal with any of that sh*t, man. You could pay me $50 million, and I don’t want to go and do that. I have no interest in it.”

Watt played three seasons at Wisconsin (2008-2010) after transferring from Central Michigan. There, he was named First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-American in 2010, which led to him being selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Watt, who played 12 NFL seasons (10 with the Houston Texans), was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times, was named First Team All-Pro five times and led the NFL in sacks twice.

Although it might not be Watt, a new head coach at Wisconsin could soon be on the horizon. Fickell’s buyout sits at $27.5 million (25th highest in college football) and coaches have been fired for much less this season already. This includes Penn State‘s James Franklin and Oklahoma State‘s Mike Gundy, who had led their team to more wins than Fickell’s Wisconsin program over the past three seasons.