Column: Time is of the essence to overhaul Wisconsin football
The longer Wisconsin waits to make necessary changes to the football program, the worse the Badgers' problems, both on and off the field, will become.
There are only so many times I can pen a column in vehement support of removing the Wisconsin football team’s head coach.
I was done with Luke Fickell after the Maryland game, and as the losses on the field continue to pile up in increasingly humiliating fashion, I’m even more confident in that assertion than I was back in September.
Still, after a public vote of confidence from athletic director Chris McIntosh — his second in 30 days — it doesn’t look like Fickell is going anywhere, at least for the time being.
After all, it can’t get much worse than this. This team is careening towards a 2-10 record at full speed, which would be an awful look. Still, it’s not any uglier then what’s transpiring on the field right now. Point is, if Fickell has survived this stretch, it’s tough to imagine what it would take for McIntosh to fire him at the moment.
In his statement, the athletic director pledged more financial support for the program but pretty much left it at that. Don’t get me wrong: an influx of cash would be welcome for one of the most frugal programs in the Big Ten. But that’s not going to solve all of Wisconsin’s problems.
Again, I’ve made it clear that I believe the current regime has overstayed its welcome. But at the moment, firing Fickell and cleaning house appears to be off the table. And as much as I strongly oppose that reality, whatever changes McIntosh has planned in lieu of terminating Fickell need to occur as soon as possible. Because Wisconsin football, and quite frankly, its entire athletics department, cannot afford to let this program sink further and further into irrelevancy.
As the man who kicked Paul Chryst to the curb and hired Luke Fickell to no shortage of fanfare, McIntosh’s legacy is directly intertwined with the head coach. But the former Badgers alum, who was an All-America offensive tackle during his playing days, needs to understand that, though his hire was a failure, he shouldn’t have any shame in admitting defeat.