Wisconsin got a good coach too

[cthusker]

Usually a team runs the offensive and defensive systems their HC is familiar using. My guess is Wisky D will not change much but the offense is another question imo. There offense ranked 91st this season which is flat out lousy. So does Fickell make some wholesale changes in the off season? Just a WAG but I'll bet their offense is going be less run centric in 2023. Whatever he does the ticking clock might be shorter and the fans more impatient than here at Nebraska. We're pretty used to losing seasons while their fan base is not! Frank got in hot water with his 6-6 season even though he rebounded the next year. How much of a leash Fickell will have at WI is TBD imo.

 

[HayBroncSker]

I think a rivalry will grow if both teams become perennially nationally relevant. Back-and-forth games between .500 or below teams don't matter a whole lot. Tough to get really excited without something on the line.

 

[HuskerBLM]

I've always felt more of a rivalry with Wisconsin, I'm not sure how much that is reciprocated on their end. Our volleyball bouts certainly add to that rivalry.

I think the Iowa rivalry is a bigger deal to people that live in the area, but as a fan who lives outside Nebraska, I don't hold it in the same regard.

I think a rivalry will grow if both teams become perennially nationally relevant. Back-and-forth games between .500 or below teams don't matter a whole lot. Tough to get really excited without something on the line.

I would love to see this develop over time. Football, Volleyball, Basketball. I think our fan bases would have fun together yet still be highly competitive. The Rivalry of Reds They do Hockey, we do Baseball. I might need to go watch and cheer Badger Hockey wearing Husker gear, inviting some to come watch Husker Baseball. The parties could be fun! We (Nebraska/Wisconsin) already share a common thought--Iowa and their fans are irrelevant and classless.

 

[wcbsas]

I would love to see this develop over time. Football, Volleyball, Basketball. I think our fan bases would have fun together yet still be highly competitive. The Rivalry of Reds They do Hockey, we do Baseball. I might need to go watch and cheer Badger Hockey wearing Husker gear, inviting some to come watch Husker Baseball. The parties could be fun! We (Nebraska/Wisconsin) already share a common thought--Iowa and their fans are irrelevant and classless.

I would never cheer for Wisconsin in any athletic endeavor ... in fact I might cheer for Minnesota in hockey. Their fan base is borderline psychotic ... despite only 1 conference championship in 20 years, no national championships they think they belong in blue blood conversations. They view us as Kansas-esque hillbillies that have no right to belong to their conference.

Barry Alvarez has actually purposefully taken actions to harm Nebraska (his alma mater) after copying its profile at Wisconsin.
I hope Fickell is the second coming of Bill Callahan. I hope they fire Chris McIntosch and hire Shawn Eichorst. I hope they start wishing for the days of Don Morton!

 

[MiniDisk]

I think Chryst is their version of Frank Solich not MRiley.

solich isnt a 500 ball coach at either of his 2 stops, chryst pre-wiscy was.

 

[Brew City Husker]

NM

 

[Brew City Husker]

solich isnt a 500 ball coach at either of his 2 stops, chryst pre-wiscy was.

I’m pretty sure that Wisconsin didn’t fire Chryst for his record at Pittsburgh. .720 winning pct at Wisconsin. .738 before going 2-3 to start this year. Very Solich-esque.

Tom Osborne was 3-2 to start out the 1974 season, and 1-2 starting the 1981 season. He might not have finished either season in today’s “fire ‘em first, find another coach later” world.

 

[Yep]

I don’t see any leadership qualities in Fickell that says he’s better than Rhule. Quite the opposite actually. I don’t know how an AD sits down with Fickell and says “this is the guy” he’s got this blank stare like he’s off in never never land.

 

[MiniDisk]

I’m pretty sure that Wisconsin didn’t fire Chryst for his record at Pittsburgh. .720 winning pct at Wisconsin. .738 before going 2-3 to start this year. Very Solich-esque.

Tom Osborne was 3-2 to start out the 1974 season, and 1-2 starting the 1981 season. He might not have finished either season in today’s “fire ‘em first, find another coach later” world.

i never said they fired him for his record at pitt. dont know where you even came up with that.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

I think this will be a very interesting experiment ... Fickell is a good if not great coach, he may be a slightly more desired coach than Matt Rhule.

But I do think that Wisconsin is undertaking a dramatic shift in culture.

The whole Alvarez-Bielema-Chryst era was built on a certain style of football. A (1) run centric, (2) OLine centric, (3) QB game manager and (4) light's out defense. They not only built their game plan on that strategy but also built their recruiting, S&C and development programs on that style of football.

When Chryst essentially fired Rudolph he announced his intention to change strategies. Recruiting fell off and the whole Graham Mertz experiment failed.

Now Fickell comes in ... Chris McIntosch UW's AD is announcing his un-Wisconsin-like intention to move on from the style that has become the DNA of the Wisconsin program. Can the rest of the organization adapt? Will the walk-on program adjust? Will S&C take these corn-fed walk-on Wisconsin linemen and make AA's out of them?

It seems simple but the one thing about Wisconsin that has persevered in the 2000's is consistency. They have essentially been the same thing the last 20 years. Does Fickell tweak but keep that DNA or does he "modernize" and will the infrastructure, leadership and state embrace that change?

Pedey thought he could change cultures too

 

[Brew City Husker]

i never said they fired him for his record at pitt. dont know where you even came up with that.

I must have misinterpreted what you meant. When you said he was a .500 coach pre-Wisconsin I sarcastically implied that’s why they fired him. I think you were trying to make the point that Chryst was more like Riley than he was like Solich. My bad.

I disagree with your point, however. Chryst had a similar record to Solich’s at Wisconsin, though Solich had a slightly better record. Chryst played at Wisconsin, much like Solich played at Nebraska. Chryst maintained the “Wisconsin culture” of running the ball and playing solid defense, like Solich carried on much of what Osborne had instilled. And Chryst got fired by a new AD who didn’t hire him just by slipping to a 2-3 start, like Solich was fired after the program slipped under his direction.

Other than having a .500 record before he coached at Wisconsin, I don’t really get the comparison to Riley.

 

[Alaskajohn]

Does anyone have an update on where Wisconsin is in getting all of their position coaches sorted out?

 

[wcbsas]

solich isnt a 500 ball coach at either of his 2 stops, chryst pre-wiscy was.

Chryst was 19-19 at Pittsburgh over three seasons nothing stellar.

Solich was NEVER a head coach prior to being given the reigns of the, at the time, the most dominant football team in the country.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

Does anyone have an update on where Wisconsin is in getting all of their position coaches sorted out?

Fickell bringing key Cincinnati staffers, reports say

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell expected to bring coaches on both sides of the ball and key members of the support staff to join the Badgers' football program.

badgerextra.com

The Athletic’s Justin Williams reported Wednesday morning that Fickell is expected to bring at least three members of his staff at Cincinnati with him to Madison. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Colin Hitschler, passing-game coordinator and receivers coach Mike Brown.

 

[Alaskajohn]

Fickell bringing key Cincinnati staffers, reports say

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell expected to bring coaches on both sides of the ball and key members of the support staff to join the Badgers' football program.

badgerextra.com

The Athletic’s Justin Williams reported Wednesday morning that Fickell is expected to bring at least three members of his staff at Cincinnati with him to Madison. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Colin Hitschler, passing-game coordinator and receivers coach Mike Brown.

With that, Leonhard is likely landing somewhere else. There are open head coach positions that he should be competitive for. Love to see someone of his caliber come here as DC.