Signs continue to point to Chris McIntosh refusing to fire Luke Fickell

Wisconsin has been shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 1977. The football program hit rock bottom weeks ago, but now they are building a shanty at rock bottom to live in for a while. It's brutal to watch, and hard to stomach that the once crown jewel of Wisconsin athletics is now the laughing stock of the Big Ten. And yet, hope continues to be elusive as the Badgers' Athletic Director hasn't fired head coach Luke Fickell and may be unwilling to.

The early reports from reporters that stay connected are that McIntosh is working hard to NOT fire Fickell, even as the pressure mounts. Both reports are behind a paywall, but the public reported knowledge from BadgerExtra's Colten Bartholomew and Jim Polzin is that McIntosh met with players this week, and they walked away from that meeting thinking Fickell was safe.

Chris McIntosh will need to be the first to be fired if reports are true about his stance on Luke Fickell

Related: The best part from Wisconsin getting boat raced by Ohio St was hilarious fan disdain

The other report actually comes out of On3.com's Pete Nakos. Once again, it's behind a paywall, so respectfully, we can only say the public stuff. Click the link if you are an On3 subscriber. But essentially, he's hearing the same thing as Polzin and Bartholomew that McIntosh wants to run it back next year.

That's not good and indicates that Chris McIntosh will need to be fired first. Now, this could all be smoke and mirrors as McIntosh works behind the scenes on getting Fickell fired, securing his buyout, and all that. But if what's being reported is true, it's a hope-stealing idea.

Luke Fickell has run the program into the ground, and it's not getting any better. Next week, it's No. 8 Oregon, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Fickell put up another goose egg on the scoreboard.