Luke Fickell exposed a new twist in this weird day of Wisconsin football coverage. It started with a released statement by Chris McIntosh about his confidence in Fickell and the problem for the football program is not Fickell but instead there aren't enough resources invested. McIntosh is working to change that to help Fickell out. Which sounds like, "Hey, we are going to let him run it back again next year" sort of statement.
However, Fickell said in his press conference later in the day on Monday, that he hasn't been told he will be back next season. Which is about as head-scratching of a moment as you can have. It shows the vacuum and the holes in leadership all the way around.
Luke Fickell asked if he's been told he'll be back as coach next season at Wisconsin: "I have not been told. I’m not worried about that. I understand if we don’t meet expectations and we don’t do the things we need to do, anything can happen."
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) October 20, 2025
Luke Fickell says he was not told he would return next season for Wisconsin
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What is happening at Wisconsin right now? It's a complete dumpster fire of leadership from the bottom of the ladder to the top. The players look like they've quit on Luke Fickell. Fickell looks like he's quit on Wisconsin. Chris McIntosh says they support Fickell and the team and want to give them more resources. Fickell says, that he may not return next year if things don't improve, "if we don't meet expectations...anything can happen."
There's absolutely no leadership and Chris McIntosh needs to go. The problem is not funding, and it would be wrong for boosters to continue to throw money into this cesspool of leadership. Instead, they should demand a change at the top before they keep sending their checks in. The only way forward is with better leadership.
This newest quote continues to put to light the lack of leadership that is happening. Is Fickell the coach of the future or not? Is it funding or is it not? What is Chris McIntosh doing? And why is he so committed to tying his cart to Fickell's? There's a lot more questions than answers right now and the Wisconsin athletic director is creating quite the mess.