Wisconsin eyes Luke Fickel: Badgers focus shifts to Cincinnati coach in place of Jim Leonard, reports say

Wisconsin target Cincinnati According to multiple reports, head coach Luke Fickell will take charge of the football program. The amazing development comes after the Bearcats and Fickell finished the regular season with a loss Tulane On Friday while the Badgers finished the season 6-6 with a 23-16 loss at home to Minnesota on Saturday. a A meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled in Wisconsin to discuss the future football coach’s salary at 5 p.m. ET, which means the announcement could come as soon as Sunday.

Wisconsin fired Paul Crist in early October, ending a period that saw the former Badger player and assistant go 67-26 across eight seasons. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonard, another former Badger player, was named the program’s interim coach and considered a candidate for promotion to a full-time status at the end of the season. Under Leonard, the Badgers went 4-3 to finish the 2022 season.

Fickell has deep ties to the Big Ten as a former captain Ohio State Longtime player and assistant coach for the Buckeyes, he even served as the team’s interim head coach in the aftermath of Jim Tressel’s firing in 2011. He continued as Urban Meyer’s defensive coordinator from 2012-16 until he was hired by Cincinnati, promoting the Bearcats into one of the best programs in the conference. American athlete ahead of the school’s transition to the Big 12 in 2023.

After going 4-8 in his first season, Fickel led the team to the program’s third-ever 11-win season in history in 2018 and was named AAC Coach of the Year. He followed that up with another 11-win season in 2019 and adding a league title before snapping to back-to-back AAC conference championships and finishing in the top 10 in 2020 and 2021. Upon the conclusion and success of the 2021 season, Cincinnati became the first five collegiate school ever to appear in a playoff appearance football in college.

Long considered a potential job candidate, Fickel is 57-18 in his six seasons with the Bearcats and has stuck around rather than jumping at the first conference powerhouse opportunity. ESPN reported that no deal was signed but the Badgers hope that program will lure Fickel away from Cincinnati while they hope to complete the deal “within the next 48 hours”.