One day after the losing to Oregon, 16-13 Wisconsin has fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo, the team announced.
Wisconsin has fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo, a day after the team lost 16-13 to No. 1 Oregon.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 17, 2024
Coach Luke Fickell: "After continuing to evaluate the program, I decided we are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team."
Longo's firing ends his time in Wisconsin after 23 games and and just 12 wins. His air raid offense never took off in Madison, despite have success with his previous program North Carolina. Head coach Luke Fickell had brought in the offensive coordinator to bring in a new perspective to the program after years of smash mouth football, but ultimately decided to end the partnership early after another disappointing season.
"This morning, I informed Phil Longo that he will no longer serve as our offensive coordinator," said Fickell in a statement. "After continuing to evaluate the program, I decided we are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team. I appreciate Phil's commitment to helping us build our program over the past two seasons and wish him well moving forward. This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success."
Wisconsin will now finish the season with a new voice in quarterback Braedyn Locke's headset. Who they'll chose to lead the offensen now has yet to be announced. Longo's job security had been a heavily debated topic among fans for weeks, and now they'll head to Nebraska with a fresh start. The Badgers have two opportunities to win a game and keep their 22-year bowl streak alive.