Talk about a fall from grace. Just last year, Luke Fickell was sitting pretty at No. 17 in CBS Sports’ Power Four coaching rankings. Going 7-6 in his first season with Wisconsin in 2023 flashed signs of promise. After all, he even had an undefeated stint at Cincinnati in 2021 culminating in a CFP berth. Fast forward to now, he’s tumbled way down, the biggest drop of any coach. And it’s not just a slip, it’s a full nose-dive. And CBS didn’t hold back either. 

On the Cover 3 Podcast on May 22, Tom Fornelli said it loud and clear — “The biggest drop of any coach was Luke Fickell, who last year we had 17th, he dropped 23 spots all the way down to 40.” Now, this host and CBS analyst is no Luke Fickell hater. In fact, he’s a self-proclaimed Big Ten homer. So if even he’s not giving Wisconsin’s HC the benefit of the doubt, you know the concerns are legit. His co-host Chip Patterson chimed in saying, “We’re looking for places to blame for why Wisconsin ain’t Wisconsin… and I think that that’s in these rankings that’s being put at Fickell’s feet.” But the sudden cold shoulder isn’t baseless…

Wisconsin was supposed to revive and level up under Fickell. “I think the decline started before he got there so I don’t think it’s on him,” Fornelli added. “I think he was brought in to fix it, and he just hasn’t fixed it.” You see, the HC’s 12-13 in his two seasons with the Badgers after falling to 5-7 this past season. Add in that interim stint at Ohio State in 2011, that bumps him to 19-20 as a Power Four coach and 11-15 in the B1G. Not exactly inspiring for a coach getting paid $8 million a year. 

Luke Fickell built Cincinnati into a CFP squad, so Wisconsin obviously expected fireworks. But what they got instead was offensive chaos, QB roulette, and a broken 22-year bowl streak. That’s expectations turned sour. Sure, there are excuses. Injuries, transition pains, no more Big Ten West to feast on. But at the end of the day, the scoreboard doesn’t care. And CBS sure didn’t. And coming to think of it, the 2025 schedule doesn’t care about the stake that’s on the Badgers’ HC. 

Luke Fickell and the $40 million concern 

Wisconsin extended Luke Fickell through 2031 with a one-year contract. But get this, his buyout is north of $40 million. So, unless he completely crashes and burns, the Badgers are probably stuck with him for better or worse. But the pressure is sky-high, and the host from The Next Round podcast didn’t mince words. Ryan Brown straight up said that he might not survive this season. “That’s a brutal schedule,” he said. “It will snowball on him, I think, early in mid-season, and he’ll be either a lame duck head coach that everybody knows about, or he’ll be fired mid-season.” That’s brutal honesty from someone outside Madison. 

And he’s not wrong. Wisconsin’s 2024 schedule is a nightmare. Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, and Iowa. It’s all the who’s who of college football powerhouses. So, Luke Fickell’s margin for error is razor thin. And even bowl eligibility feels like a stretch now. But to his credit, he’s trying to right the ship. He brought in 25 transfers and signed a top-tier recruiting class. Any chance he can counter the gauntlet of a schedule with that? 

Wisconsin bet big. Real big. And if Luke Fickell doesn’t deliver in Year 3, that seat won’t be just warm. It’ll melt.