TL/DR: The football program is in shambles and the man I hired is directly responsible for it, please don’t fire me/us.
Related: Did McIntosh think about writing this letter as if he were Bob Uecker? Might have gone over better coming from Mr. Baseball.
Alright so obviously the Badger football program is a tire fire right now. We are 2.5 years into the Fickell Era and we’ve gone from an 8-10 win a year program to a 6 win program, then a 5 win program, and now in all likelihood a 2 win program. Buy high, sell low, that’s what I always say!
Now as we’ve been over the podcast, there’s a LOT that goes into the current state of affairs in Madtown. First: The success of the Bielema Era, and the Chryst Era, hell even the Anderson Era, all might have been a LITTLE bit of a mirage. The non-conference schedule was light most years, and the Badgers resided in the Big Ten West, which at the time was like starting an inning on 3rd base. The Badgers did not have to play Penn State, Ohio State, or Michigan every year, and got to feast on really bad Purdue/Illinois/Nebraska teams. So it’s possible this drop-off isn’t as dramatic as the win/loss records would indicate. If those teams would have had to compete in an 18-team Big Ten, or play the schedule the current Badgers have to play this year, would they have gone 9-3 or 10-2? Hard to say.
Second: It is clear at this point that Wisconsin as a university was not prepared for the NIL Era in college sports and the sheer amounts of money it would take to compete. There are various reports out there that Fickell was promised a certain amount of money to spend on players when he was hired, and that money just hasn’t been there. Not sure if major donors lost funds on Dogecoin or NFT’s, but if he was promised resources that haven’t come through, that’s a factor as well.
Third: With what resources he does have, Fickell hasn’t been able to maximize his return. Obviously he gets a pass on all of the quarterback injuries. In each of his three seasons, the Badgers have brought in a veteran quarterback in the transfer portal, and in each of his three seasons that quarterback has gotten hurt. Tanner Mordecai two years ago, Tyler Van Dyke last season, and Billy Edwards Jr. this season. But this program should still be able to recruit NFL caliber offensive lineman, and run the ball. Fickell’s biggest mistake was hiring Phil Longo as his offensive coordinator for his first two seasons, and violently shifting the program from ground-and-pound to spread out aerial attack. That doesn’t happen overnight and it flamed out QUICKLY. I don’t think there’s any debate that the Badger program needed to adapt to a more modern offense and pass the ball more, but moving SO far away from its identity was a major misstep, and one that has the program on its heels currently.
So now here we are. The Badgers are 2-5, 0-4 in the Big Ten, and are not competitive against top tier teams in the conference. They haven’t scored a single point in two weeks and I think it’s clear right now that they are the 18th best team in an 18 team Big Ten. All of that has led to an outcry among Badger fans (myself included) to pay Fickell’s buyout at the end of the season, move on, and try to start over from the ground up.
But then yesterday McIntosh dropped that letter in support of Fickell. And rumors before the Ohio State game were swirling that McIntosh met with the team and the players in that meeting left it feeling like Fickell is still going to be the head coach next season.
One of two things is happening here:
One: McIntosh knows his job is tied to Fickell’s so he’s doing all he can to garner support for the program and Fickell, because he knows if Fickell is gone, he’s probably gone too. He’s feeling the heat and is scrambling to get some good PR out there.
Two: McIntosh truly is safe, and Fickell is truly safe.
Which of those two things is true depends largely on how the administration feels about McIntosh/Fickell, and how the major donors feel about McIntosh/Fickell. And that’s not information that we’re privy to at the moment.
What we do know is how Badger fans feel based on the chants and cheers at games (go boo at a bar!). I get that the schedule next year is WAY lighter, but it feels like a big mistake to stay in a house that’s currently burning down. The longer we wait to call the fire department, the more stuff we lose, and the longer it takes to rebuild. We are quite literally the dog in the burning house meme:
PS: I know I’ve said this on the podcast a million times and I know I’m not alone here: When they hired Fickell, I thought it was a home run. He had just led a mid-major (Cincinnati) to the 4-team College Football Playoff, he has Big Ten roots at Ohio State, it felt like a slam dunk. I don’t think I’ve ever been more wrong about anything and I once thought the Zune would bury the iPod.
Double PS: You know who the real winner is in all of this? Greg Gard. Guy went from everyone wanting him fired to being the crown jewel of the athletic department. Glow up like you read about!
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