The Wisconsin Badgers could decide to bring back a former staff member who took another job with the offensive coordinator position open.
Gino Guidugli, the quarterbacks coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, is someone who could potentially fill the offensive coordinator void for the Badgers. Guidugli previously served on the Wisconsin staff after being hired by coach Luke Fickell, his former boss with Cincinnati. The coach only stayed with the Badgers until February, however, and never made it to a game before accepting the vacant quarterbacks coach role with Notre Dame.
Guidugli was coincidentally offered the quarterbacks coach role by his former staff mate and current Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. Freeman was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats until 2020.
While Guidugli left the staff, there is reportedly no bad blood between Fickell and Guidugli and a reunion would be welcomed. Guidugli would kill two birds with one stone as well, by serving as both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The coach had previously served under the same titles for Fickell in 2022 with Cincinnati before coming over to Madison.
Over the past few years, Guidugli has worked closely with the likes of Desmond Ridder and Riley Leonard, who are both accomplished quarterbacks. The coach has been rather successful in the development of his quarterbacks, creating a reputation as someone who works closely alongside his players. Guidugli might not be a household name, but the coach is highly respected among both his peers and players.
Wisconsin Badgers Must Aim For a Hire With Quarterback Development In Mind
While Wisconsin Badgers fans can say what they want about quarterback Braedyn Locke, the reality is that the quarterback has been set-up to fail and so has the quarterback room.
Former offensive coordinator Phil Longo was hired with the development of both a quarterback for the future and the offense in mind. Wisconsin snagged transfer portal quarterbacks like Tyler Van Dyke and Tanner Mordercai to hypothetically give time for the development of another quarterback. However, this plan went on to blow up in the faces of both Longo and the rest of the staff.
In the future, Wisconsin needs to either pony up and pay the pretty penny that a major quarterback will cost in the transfer portal, or develop a current commitment. Regardless of which avenue the team decides to go down, the Wisconsin Badgers must find a hire that will ensure the success of the quarterback position like Guidugli will.
As the Locke experiment has shown the past two seasons now, a solid quarterback who does not make costly mistakes is all a team really needs on offense to get things moving. If the Wisconsin Badgers can find someone who can fix the quarterback situation and trend the position room upwards, then the team and the offense would certainly be in a much better situation moving forward.
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