To say this has been beyond painful would be a gross understatement. Nothing we have seen out of Luke Fickell leading the Wisconsin Badgers should be seen as even remotely respectable. Over the course of 2.5 seasons, he and his staff has completely torn away from the very fabric of what made Wisconsin football so special for the previous four decades. It does not have to ever be this hard...
However, Badgers fans need to have patience and accept this incredibly harsh reality. Fickell is not going to be let go after getting his skull caved in by his alma mater of Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers could lose 100-0 and it will not matter. This is because the timing of it all is not right. Wisconsin will take its beating at home to Ohio State, then one on the road vs. Oregon next.
But after what looks to be another almost certain defeat at the hands of the Ducks, then the Wisconsin administration could conceivably put Fickell out of his misery. Wisconsin will be 2-6 with six straight losses, all to Power Four teams, and the last five to Big Ten opponents. He may need to win out to achieve bowl eligibility, but right before the second bye is the right time to fire the coach.
Keep in mind Oregon has already beaten three teams who went on to fire their head coach this year.
Evidence mounts but time is not yet on Wisconsin's side with Luke Fickell
To say that his massive buyout will keep Wisconsin from firing Fickell is just silly at this point. If Wisconsin is serious about turning this around, they will do it before it is too late. Look no further than the Penn State Nittany Lions moving on from James Franklin after a 0-3 skid and a 3-3 start. He led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff last season, winning two games in the tournament.
But what has Fickell done? He has been at-best a .500 coach who cannot beat teams with winning records. He continues to struggle vs. Power Four opponents. For as great of a head coach he looked to be at Cincinnati prior to coming to Madison, Wisconsin undeniably bought a lemon. If the program wants to get back to good, then it needs to move on from him and get in line to try and court Franklin.
No, it does not have to be Franklin, only the right fit for Wisconsin. That man exists, but the Badgers need to do their homework to find him and hire him. Overall, Wisconsin has to accept that it no longer has the right head coach to lead the Badgers. Fans have become so apathetic of late. While the timing of it all can be better, Badgers fans must accept Fickell's termination comes later this month.
The instant Fickell is allowed to coach a game into November, nobody should even watch this team.