The Wisconsin Badgers football program has not had the success fans expected when head coach Luke Fickell was hired. As you may recall, Fickell got the job over Badgers legend Jim Leonhard, who had a long time playing and coaching at Wisconsin. The former Cincinnati head coach hired high-quality coordinators and support staff and vowed to return Wisconsin to its former glory.
But that didn’t happen. At 5-5, the Badgers are in stern danger of seeing their 22-year Bowl Game streak come to an end. Their offense was particularly disappointing, especially in the passing game. After Tyler Van Dyke was sidelined for a year due to injury, Braeden Locke failed to provide any consistency on offense.
In other words, there is no development. On Sunday, Coach Fickell decided a major change was necessary.
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell fires offensive coordinator Phil Longo
Fickell and the Badgers football program aired on Sunday the statement below: :
“This morning I informed Phil Longo that he will no longer be our offensive coordinator. After further evaluation of the program, I have decided that we are not where we need to be and I believe this decision is in the best interest of the team. I appreciate Phil’s commitment to helping build our program over the past two seasons and wish him the best of luck in his career. This team still has a long way to go and I am committed to doing everything we can to finish the season successfully.
Longo, who was also the quarterbacks coach, came under fire for an aerial attack that didn’t look like an effective pass.
Wisconsin Badgers fans react to Phil Longo’s firing
Fans, who have been highly critical of Longo both last year and this year, reacted in a way you might expect when the news was announced:
Luke Fickell to Phil Longo pic.twitter.com/uocxqoTVml
— Dillon Graff (@DillonGraff) November 17, 2024
https://t.co/QV9QlvjjaJ pic.twitter.com/IPuzHRumLK
— Praetorian Pek (@PekJorkins) November 17, 2024
God is so good https://t.co/zhHYesdv1D pic.twitter.com/cu7aQYxw2l
— I’m not a basketball fan (@drewhamm5) November 17, 2024
LFG FINALLY LONGO SAID GOODBYE, LOCKE https://t.co/Yep28S0vB2
— WisconsinNewEra (@WisconsinEra) November 17, 2024
A raid on Wisconsin with personnel who were not fit for the plan didn’t seem to make much sense. It turns out that this did not happen. https://t.co/bzs6uye6fQ
— Heath Cline (@heathradio) November 17, 2024
One has to wonder if this move also means Locke will be on the bench when the Badgers try to keep their Bowl streak alive against Nebraska next weekend.
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