As an Ohio State Buckeyes football fan, I recall watching Luke Fickell play for the Scarlet and Gray in Columbus, Ohio, as a nose guard from 1993 through 1996.
Fickell was a gritty, undersized interior defensive lineman who found ways to make plays along the Buckeyes’ defensive front with range down the line of scrimmage.
Since his playing career came to a close, Fickell has returned to the college ranks, now playing the role of coach.
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Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell: One of College Football’s Hottest Seats
Before diving into what the term “job security” means for Fickell in 2025, let’s first take a look at how Fickell arrived at the University of Wisconsin.
Luke Fickell’s Coaching History
After Fickell’s playing days were over at Ohio State, he became a graduate assistant (GA) on Ohio State’s coaching staff in 1999. Fickell left Ohio State in 2000 and coached the University of Akron Zips’ defensive line through 2001.
In 2002, Fickell came back down I-71 to Ohio State, assuming multiple coaching positions:
- 2002-2003: Special teams coach
- 2004: Linebackers coach,
- 2005-2010: Co-defensive Coordinator/linebackers coach
- 2011: Interim head coach
- 2012-2016: Defensive coordinator
Fickell became one of the hottest commodities after his coaching success at the University of Cincinnati from 2017-2022, taking the Bearcats to heights they had never reached, and arriving in the College Football Playoff in 2021.
Fickell led the Bearcats to an undefeated regular season in 2021 with wins over Notre Dame and Indiana. The Bearcats’ magical season continued in the American Athletic Conference Championship in a matchup with the Houston Cougars, where Fickell and the Bearcats prevailed over the Cougars 35-20 to win the AAC Championship.
Fickell’s success at the mid-major University of Cincinnati set him up to jump to a Power Five school, eventually accepting the job as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin hired Fickell as its head football coach in 2022, taking over as the replacement for Paul Chryst.
Luke Fickell’s struggles at Wisconsin
Fickell took over at Camp Randall Stadium in 2022 as one of the hottest names in college football, but after two full seasons with the Badgers, Fickell’s record is just .500 at 13-13.
The expectations from the Wisconsin Badgers faithful were enormously high. Perhaps the fan base expected too much from Fickell, but they are right to want more than the 5-7 record Fickell delivered in the 2024 season.
After a tumultuous second season, Fickell’s seat is undoubtedly heating up.
Cleveland.com’s Andrew Gillis shared that Fickell was “Voted on by various media members as the coach on the hot seat as part of the annual Big Ten media poll. Fickell received 11 of the 23 votes.”
Sports Illustrated’s Lorin Cox added that Fickell made Tom Fonelli’s coaches on the hot seat listing, and Fickell graded out with a 3.67 score, which would fall under the category of “pressure is mounting”.
Despite potential problems with NIL or playing in the cold up north at Camp Randall, Fickell needs to get the Badgers to the College Football Playoff, or at the least the Big Ten Championship, showing the program is trending in the right direction after the 2025 football season.
If he doesn’t, Fickell could be in line to look for a new head coaching position.
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