The Badgers shocked the college football community when they hired Luke Fickell as their next head coach. This was a “swing for the fences” hire and it has worked out well so far. Many recruits have shown interest in the program and the transfer portal was a huge success this offseason. Many analysts agree that this was a home run hire. Luke Fickell cracked the top 10 on The Athletic’s coaches list.
𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙄𝙉’𝙄𝙉 𝙃𝙊𝙏 🔥@CoachFick sits at #️⃣9️⃣ on @slmandel’s top 25 head coaches list 🫡 pic.twitter.com/vFpftLVV57
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) March 10, 2023
Luke Fickell On The Athletic’s Coaches List
Fickell comes in at no. 9 on the list just cracking the top 10. Stewart Mandel, the maker of the list, was impressed that Fickell produced nine NFL draft picks in one year at Cincinnati, a group of 5 program. Mandel is also impressed with the coaching hires. “It will be interesting to see how he adjusts as a Big Ten head coach, but his early staff moves have been impressive,” Stewart writes. Fickell will have to deal with many high-profile programs but there is the confidence he will be able to do so.
Love Wisconsin Sports? Listen to 97.3 The Fan on iHeart Radio
Other Big Ten Coaches
There are many other Big Ten coaches on the list. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) and Ryan Day (Ohio State) are at no. six and seven respectively. Lincoln Riley (USC) comes in at no. five who will be joining the Big Ten in the next couple of years. James Franklin (Penn State) comes just behind Fickell at no. ten. Two other Big Ten coaches are lower on the list with Matt Rhule (Nebraska) and PJ Fleck (Minnesota) at no. 16 and 21 respectively. This list shows how prestigious the Big Ten is in terms of coaching.
It is great to see Luke Fickell crack the top 10 on The Athletic’s coaches list. Check out the full list here and get excited for Wisconsin football this fall.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @sorcerermatt, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here!
