Luke Fickell Will Defer To Jim Leonhard In Bowl Game

When Luke Fickell was hired, many wondered what would happen to interim head coach Jim Leonhard. Unfortunately, Leonhard decided to move on from the program but vowed he would stay through the bowl game. This begged the question of who would do the coaching during the bowl game. In an interview on Monday, Luke Fickell said that he would stay in the background and let Jim Leonhard take the lead for the bowl game.

Luke Fickell Will Let Jim Leonhard Coach

While Fickell may be looking to change how the program does things in the future, he is not doing it now. He recognizes that changing everything for one single game might backfire.

“I’m coaching in a way that’s letting, really, these guys kind of handle things the way that they’ve handled them,” Fickell said. “And they’ve been great. They’ve been really mature about it. Jim’s been awesome.”

This is a situation that can be awkward with the old coach still hanging around with the new coach there. It seems everyone is being adults about the situation. Fickell is letting Leonhard take the lead and finish what he started this season.

Bowl Game Is A Bridge

This game really is a bridge from the old to the new. Fickell will still be involved in the coaching of the game but will let familiarity with Leonhard help the team. This also gives Fickell an opportunity to do some player evaluation. If someone else is doing more of the coaching, he can focus on certain players to inform his decisions for next year. While it would be great to win the bowl game, it does not matter in the grand scheme of the season. Most Wisconsin fans have already started looking toward next season and the potential that Fickell and his recruiting class can bring.

It is great to hear that Luke Fickell is letting Jim Leonhard do some coaching. Everyone has been very classy in this tough situation and it makes the transition easier for fans and players. Hopefully, Wisconsin will be able to come out with a win in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday versus Oklahoma State.

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