Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell has been in charge of the football program for a whole 25 days. In that time, he has accomplished a great deal. It has not always been easy, though. Fickell has had to have some tough conversations and make some unpopular decisions. However, as Fickell told Mike Heller on 97.3 The Game, “Discomfort breeds growth.” In his interview with Heller, Fickell described the transition at Wisconsin and how he plans to coach the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on December 27.
The above link is to Heller’s interview with Coach Fickell. The complete December 22 episode can be heard here.
Highlights of Mike Heller’s Interview with Wisconsin Badgers Head Coach Luke Fickell
Heller began his interview with Coach Fickell by saying that in the past 25 days, he [Fickell] is working on staffing, recruiting, Bowl prep, and Christmas. Such is the life of a college football coach, huh?”
“And probably in that order. You played the music there, and I was like ‘I won’t be home, I won’t see my family, and I haven’t gotten a gift yet…for anybody.”
Fickell also addressed the challenge of recruiting players without having a full coaching staff at Wisconsin yet:
“You gotta figure, do I want to rush into getting all of these guys in place and have a kid or a family have a better grasp on who is coaching them, or do I think maybe we gotta take our time and do the right thing. Same thing as well as with the guys. You know, I told the kids ‘You’re going to have to trust that you’re at the right place and that we’re going to have the right person.'”
Heller mentioned that in some recent games that he has watched, new head coaches were interviewed during the game from their offices on campus. They were not at the game actively coaching the team. Fickell, however, will be on the Wisconsin sideline and actively coaching on December 27. Heller asked Fickell to explain his decision.
“Well I think it was from what I went through in 2010 and 2011. To say, ‘Okay, what’s going to give us the best opportunity.’ And then you look at the landscape and how tough it is to maintain a lot of your guys in a lot of these situations. And also, what is going to give me the best opportunity to build those relationships.
“But also, to help me understand and recognize things that maybe I don’t know about Wisconsin as a program.
I highly encourage Badgers fans to listen to the full interview linked above. Coach Fickell is doing wonders for this program. The future of Wisconsin football is exceptionally bright.
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