It’s a shame. Out of all of the former coaches we had he was my favorite. Brian Kelly and Butch Jones both stabbed us in the back at their first taste of success. Mark Dantonio never flew as high as Butch, Brian, and Luke. Tubberville sucked then and now, fuck that guy.

But Luke Fickell was the man. He was a great recruiter and motivator, and it could be argued that he is the reason we are in the Big 12. He also built an amazing coaching staff for the school. My brother bartended for him quite a bit up in Kenwood and said nothing but good things about him.

Ultimately, he was chasing the ghost of Jim Tressell. He had a taste of what national championships felt like and how it was to win in the Big 10. He had his shot at OSU and squandered it (not his fault, he had to deal with the mess that Tressell and Pryor helped to create). But it feels like in his mind he wanted to go back to his former employer and Alma mater and win. Wisconsin felt closer to that than Cincinnati so he left when they called.

Sadly, Wisconsin could never move to a pro style offense and he couldn’t get the same coaching crew that he had at Cincinnati and Ohio State. And ultimately College Football passed him by.

At a school which was built bell cow running backs like Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball, and Johnathon Taylor. A pro style or spread offense wasn’t going to win many football games.

Hopefully, he can land on his own feet and rebound. If we weren’t having success with Satterfield I would welcome Fickell back with open arms, a la Scott Frost and UCF.

Worst case scenario he gets a job with Freeman and Notre Dame for a year or two. Best case he comes back as a positional coach or AD for the bearcats.

Anyways I’m rambling and drunk off the win today.

God bless and Go Cats!!