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Wisconsin HC Fickell is 'very open' to working with Leonhard

Former Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell. Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell is 'very open' to working with Jim Leonhard

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 11/28/22

Jim Leonhard didn't get the promotion at Wisconsin. The Badgers decided not to promote him from his interim head coach position to full-time head coach and instead went outside of the building to hire Luke Fickell away from Cincinnati.

That certainly has to put Leonhard in somewhat of a strange position. He's easily one of the top defensive coordinators in football and he very well could be a great head coaching candidate.

He's been at Wisconsin since 2016 and has earned the respect, love, and admiration of players and fans alike. But would a change of scenery make sense for the long-time Badgers assistant?

Could he perhaps find himself a head coaching gig elsewhere, or move on to the NFL?

Those questions remain to be answered and only Leonhard can answer them, but it's worth noting that Fickell did tell the media that he has met with the defensive coordinator turned interim head coach, and he is willing to work with Leonhard moving forward.

"I look forward to spending some more time with him on Wednesday," Fickell said per the team website. "I'm really open-minded. Being in a unique situation (as Ohio State's interim head coach in 2011) that was probably very similar to Jim's position, I really understand a lot of the things he could be going through.

"I told him, 'I want to do what's best for you. I want to do what's best for the program. I want to do what's best for these kids. I don't know if we know exactly what that is. Where's your heart and your mind? I'm sure you need to take a little time here (to think about things). "'Let's continue to talk and get to know each other better and see where it goes.'"

Fickell said that he is "very open" to exploring possibilities with Leonhard and of course he is. Leonard could keep Wisconsin's defense as a top unit in the nation for a very long time and be a major piece of the puzzle for Fickell moving forward into this next era of Badgers football.

One has to wonder if being passed over for the job will cause Leonard to want to seek greener pastures, though. After all, Fickell can explore every possibility with Leonhard other than the possibility of him being the head coach.

Sadly for Leonard, Wisconsin has made it clear that at least in the here and now, that's not an option.

Leonard went 4-3 as Wisconsin's interim coach after the firing of Paul Chryst in early October.

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