Why Wisconsin football added Robert Steeples to its coaching staff
Wisconsin football added cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples this offseason as part of a rebuilt secondary and reshaped defensive staff.
Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Luke Fickell didn’t enter the offseason expecting to hire a new cornerbacks coach. But when the right opportunity presented itself, he felt compelled to pursue it.
That opportunity came in the form of Robert Steeples, a well-traveled coach and former NFL cornerback whose path crossed with Fickell’s through a few mutual connections rather than a formal search process.
Wisconsin wasn’t actively looking to fill another defensive backs coaching role. Instead, the conversations behind the scenes happened organically and quickly helped reshape the direction of the defensive coaching staff.
Fickell acknowledged that the initial mindset wasn’t about adding another coach to his staff whatsoever. The Badgers were plenty comfortable with their structure. But after sitting down with Steeples, the calculus shifted.
“We have some opportunities now in college where you aren’t limited to the number of coaches that you have,” Fickell explained. “I can promise you there are staffs twice the size of ours, and there are staffs not nearly as big. So, you’ve got to figure out what’s best for you and your staff.
“Coach Steeples crossed our path through mutual people who said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to talk to this guy.’ He’s a great coach, he wants to coach, and he’s got opportunities to move. My first impression was that we’re not really looking for a coach, but I’d love to talk to him. This world changes so quickly, and you’ve always got to continue to build relationships. After two conversations, it was like, we’ve got to find a way to make this work.”
What stood out wasn’t just Steeples’ on-field knowledge, but his ability to operate across multiple lanes: coaching, recruiting, and player development, all at a time when Wisconsin’s secondary needed a reboot.
