It felt like after the loss to Iowa that Luke Fickell would need to win out for Wisconsin fans to be happy and allow Fickell another season. He didn't even get two more games before he coached his way to another disastrous loss. There are a ton of upset Wisconsin fans out there calling for Fickell to be fired. Some of them have never left; others are jumping on the bus.
The most common question when a coach needs to be fired is: "Who would you replace him with?" The last thing you want to do is have a James Franklin situation where Penn State fired Franklin and then didn't really have a better option lined up. The Nittany Lions are still suffering from that fateful choice. The good news for Wisconsin is there's a great option out there, and one that would love to come to Wisconsin...Jason Eck.
Some will say Jake Dickert is an option too, as he has ties to the state, but he's signed a new deal with Wake Forest. Eck hasn't signed an extension with New Mexico, and he's the top coaching candidate out there. He has his New Mexico Lobos in the playoff hunt with only one loss on the season.
This is now the second year in a row that Eck has proven to be one of the best coaches out there, and some program will come to swoop him up. The good news is, Wisconsin may get first dibs if they can move on from Fickell. Eck was an offensive lineman for the Badgers from 1995-1998. He then became a graduate assistant at Wisconsin, and that propelled the start of his coaching career.
Jason Eck knows Wisconsin and would get things back to the way it should be in Madison
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Eck knows how Wisconsin works; he knows what makes Wisconsin successful. He also coaches like the most successful coaches in Wisconsin history. He's fully involved, coaches up his players, looks for development, and works on a physical and nasty style of play. Eck loves the trenches as a former lineman, and he loves seeing the running back explode.
His New Mexico defense is elite this year; he's yet to let a team score more than 20 points in any contest. Even the loss to Oklahoma was a 14-6 contest. There is clearly a better option out there for Wisconsin; the big question will be: will the new athletic director, Shawn Eichorst, pull the trigger?
The biggest hang-up will be that Luke Fickell has truly improved the team this year, from four wins to (currently) six. Fickell is still owed a good amount of money in his buyout, and Wisconsin would have to be comfortable paying it.
If Wisconsin doesn't pull the trigger, they may lose the best head coach in the coaching pool and one who would choose the Badgers over any other option. That doesn't happen often, so Eichorst better think through it clearly and make the decision as soon as possible. It's time to bring Eck home to Madison, and send Fickell and Grimes packing.
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