It's hard to believe that Wisconsin football is still a destination job after the last few years of watching the program crumble. And really, it hasn't been a top program since Barry Alvarez. That being said, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, it's still one of the best football coaching jobs in the country. Rittenberg says that Wisconsin has the ability to offer something that most places can't.
Rittenberg joined ESPN Madison and was asked if Wisconsin is still considered a destination job like it was when they hired Luke Fickell. His response was, "Absolutely!"
"I think people look at the history, they look at the fan support and what that stadium is and when it's fully activated...I think there is a lot of respect for the history that Barry has created there, and I think that a lot of coaches are going to look at as a place, 'Man, I just need to get this place back to its identity.'"Adam Rittenberg
"𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄."@ESPNRittenberg assures Badgers fans that Wisconsin will still be a highly coveted spot for coaches if the job opens up again soon 👀 pic.twitter.com/gWplRFyvFd
— ESPN Madison (@ESPNMadison) September 25, 2025
Adam Rittenberg believes the next coach will jump at the opportunity to coach at Wisconsin
Related: Urban Meyer has a Luke Fickell prediction that screams trouble for Wisconsin
According to Rittenberg, Wisconsin still has several advantages, despite its current challenges. There's the history and there's the opportunity. The interesting nugget is that Rittenberg talks as if it's a forgone conclusion that it will eventually open. While he does say, "whenever that happens." He discusses how the next hiring cycle will be robust and will likely involve competition with other programs looking for new head coaches.
This shouldn't deter Wisconsin from doing what needs to be done, especially if the ship never gets righted during the season, because, according to Rittenberg, it will be able to offer a better opportunity than most, if not all, of the other openings this round.
It will be interesting to see what Wisconsin does about Luke Fickell. There isn't another game this season in which they are projected to win. If they follow the odds and prediction tools, they could easily finish the season with only two wins. It would be a tough sell to a proud fanbase to say that the Badgers should run it back again with Fickell.
Rittenberg says if the job does open, it won't be hard to find a great candidate to replace Fickell.