What Wisconsin football is looking for in its next offensive coordinator
The Badgers are officially on the market for a new offensive coordinator. Here's what Luke Fickell is looking for.
When Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo, it sent a clear message: the Badgers offense needed a new path forward, and a change in leadership was needed to make that happen.
For the second straight season, the Badgers offensive production has been underwhelming, ranking 91st in total offense (363.1 yards per game) and tied for 97th in scoring offense (23.9 points per game). On top of that, Wisconsin's offense sits at 104th nationally in EPA per play.
The timing of the decision may have raised eyebrows, but holding onto Longo any longer likely would have only postponed the inevitable. It wasn’t going to work.
“This is never something I ever, ever envisioned doing or wanted to do, and especially doing it when there are still games to be played in a season,” Fickell told reporters. “But I felt like for all involved and, most importantly, for our program and the kids in that locker room, what we needed to do right now was to move forward."
The search for the team's next offensive coordinator won’t just shape the team's future—it could very well determine the long-term success of Fickell’s tenure in Madison, which has fallen well short of expectations, going 12-11 overall and 8-8 in Big Ten play since the start of last season.
When asked, Fickell (sort of) provided a glimpse into what he’s looking for in his next offensive coordinator hire, stressing the importance of building on the foundation the program has established while addressing areas for growth that need to align with his vision for the future.
“I do like what we do," Fickell said. "I mean, it’s not like we want to go back and think we’re going to be in 22 personnel. We've got to have variety. We've got to be able to spread the field. But we've got to continue to build upon the things that we’ve done.”
Fickell stressed that Wisconsin’s offense must strike a balance between modernizing its approach and staying true to the program’s historical identity.
The next coordinator will need to be capable of leveraging the team’s strengths—such as its dominance in the trenches and running the ball—while evolving to meet the demands of today’s game.
"Regardless of who’s actually calling the plays, the progression is how you continue to evolve the offense in particular for what best fits Wisconsin," said Fickell. “What best fits Wisconsin is using the things that you do have, and I don't think that that means you deviate from a ton of different things that we've done... but we know that we got to continue to grow and progress and be multiple in what we’re doing.”
Fickell’s track record when hiring assistants suggests he values familiarity and shared vision, with seven of the 14 coaches he’s brought to Wisconsin having worked with him in the past.
While he’ll likely lean on that network to find someone who aligns more closely with his vision for the offense than Longo did, Fickell has also shown a willingness to look outside for the right fit. Throughout Longo’s tenure, there was an apparent disconnect between his system and the identity Fickell wanted for the Badgers.
That said, the stakes for this hire couldn’t be higher. Fickell’s decision will shape not only the Badgers' offense but also the perception of his ability to lead this football program in the right direction.
The ideal candidate will need to embrace some of Wisconsin’s historical strengths while introducing a more modern, spread approach that doesn’t abandon the run game. By all accounts, Fickell is looking for an offense that can grind out teams on the ground while leaning on the offensive line yet has the ability to stretch defenses vertically to keep them honest.
"I think we do understand and recognize where the strength of our program is, and that's on the offensive line," Fickell added. "We've got to continue to build upon that moving forward, that won't change.
"It's how do you evolve, how do you grow, and how do you continue to evolve what you're doing, so it's not staying the same."
Who Fickell hires next will shape not just the offensive identity but the trajectory of this era of Wisconsin football. The head coach’s promise of "competing for championships" hinges on this decision.
“I can tell you this,” Fickell said. “It’ll be the right one, the right person.”
For both Fickell and athletic director Chris McIntosh, this hire has to be the right one. If Wisconsin is going to get back on track and take the proverbial next step under coach Fickell, the decision will play a significant role in determining just how much pressure he faces next season.
Another misstep in hiring an offensive coordinator would raise serious questions about whether or not Fickell is the right man to lead this program.
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