Wisconsin's Luke Fickell isn't really off the hot seat. It's honestly too early to tell where he sits and how things will shake up. He is certainly off to a great start on the season with a record of 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big Ten. He also has some big recruiting classes in 2027 and 2028 already building and loading. Those have helped cool his seat, and yet his job will be weighed at the end of the entire season.
ESPN's Adam Rittenberg brings up a problem. A problem that maybe Wisconsin fans have even thought about. What happens if Wisconsin has FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) of a great coach in this next hiring cycle because they stuck with Luke Fickell? His theory works like this: there are two great coaches who will be getting calls this offseason for a major job, and both have ties to Wisconsin. If the Badgers stick with Fickell, they won't be able to land either.
According to Rittenberg, "Two of the most appealing candidates in the cycle, [Jason] Eck and [Jake] Dickert, both have ties to Wisconsin. Eck played offensive line for coach Barry Alvarez's Rose Bowl teams in the late 1990s. Dickert grew up near Milwaukee and played college ball at Wisconsin-Stevens Point." He goes on to quote an industry source that says, "[Eck and Dickert] want your job."
Rittenberg's problem with Wisconsin and Fickell is that by keeping Fickell, they could miss the next up-and-coming coach, Dickert or Eck. Yet, Rittenberg presents a false dilemma, and he's wrong to even present the dilemma.
Jason Eck and Jake Dickert are not "sure things" and neither is Luke Fickell
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First, who knows if Eck and Dickert are even the next up-and-coming coaches. Sure, both are riding great success right now, but there's literally no sure thing in coaching. You know how many G6 or lower-level Power 4 coaches that get hired as the "next big thing" don't work out? A lot more than succeed. A lot more.
There's no guarantee these two would make the jump. Most of us thought Luke Fickell would, and so did the media world. He was called a "home run hire." Yet, it hasn't worked. And even if it does now, years later, it took a lot of pivoting, changing, adapting, and reinventing to get there.
And this is probably the larger point. If Fickell works out, then why would Wisconsin have FOMO? They are sad about missing out on a potentially successful coach when they already have one? Like, imagine Fickell gets eight or nine wins this season, wins a bowl game, and Wisconsin's athletic director comes out and says, "Fickell is the guy."
Sure, there may still be some doubts from many who watched the program be miserable. But he's now way more of a sure thing than either lottery pick. We know he can win at this level because he JUST DID. Now, can he do it back-to-back years? Again and again in the Big Ten? That remains to be seen, but you aren't going to fire an eight- or nine-win coach who had four wins last season. You celebrate that and pray he continues to find success.
So, there's no FOMO if Fickell is winning. Now, if the season falls apart, go get one of those Wisconsin connections and do it fast. But until we see the final result, there's no use looking over our shoulder... at least not too much.
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