Luke Fickell came to Wisconsin with all sorts of fanfare. He was the winner of the 2021 National Coach of the Year and a coach that proved he could build a program. However, his time at Wisconsin has so far been lackluster, and a major reason for that was the offensive system he brought with him. He tried to turn the Badgers into a spread offense, which didn't work at all.
He took a program that spent decades building up the ground-and-pound style of offense—old school, physical, tough, gritty—and tried to spread it out. It failed, and he's finally moving on. This offseason, he switched offensive coordinators from Phil Longo, an Air Raid specialist, to Jeff Grimes, a coach known for balance and physicality.
On the Jim Rome show yesterday, Luke Fickell talked about why he made the switch, and it should warm every Wisconsin fan's heart to finally hear him speak in this way, with this sort of plan. You can watch that section of the interview here:
“I didn’t say we need to be the old school #Wisconsin but we needed to get back in the ways of physicality.”@CoachFick on @jimrome talking about the offense’s next steps heading into his third season with @BadgerFootball #OnWisconsinpic.twitter.com/E1NITdtNyc
— ESPN Madison (@ESPNMadison) June 11, 2025
Luke Fickell says Wisconsin needs to get back to the ways of physicality
The most damning part of what he said was when he came to the conclusion that the air raid can't make up for average or below-average quarterback play. It's almost like he realized it's a bit gimmicky, and in the Big Ten, that won't work week in and week out. Here's the quote:
"We need to be about the offensive line. I didn't say we need to be the old school Wisconsin but we need to get back in the ways of physicality. It doesn't mean being in the Air Raid system you can't do that...I think the Air Raid system and some of those spread systems where it's all predicated on the quarterback. I would tell you it's hard to outperform average quarterback play.""Luke Fickell
The goal now is to be more balanced, to rush the ball, pass the ball, use play-action, and not depend on one player to make things happen. He said if the quarterback is struggling in a game, you need to still find a way to win. That's what the best college programs do super well. Wisconsin has not under Fickell, but he says they will starting this season with Jeff Grimes calling the plays and running the offense.