What Does Cincinnati Do Now?
Photo by The Business Journals
On Sunday morning, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that the Wisconsin Badgers were pursuing Luke Fickell as their next head coach. Wisconsin was hoping to close the deal by Tuesday morning. This story changed drastically throughout the course of the day. At 1:15 Sunday afternoon, Fickell met with his staff and players at the University of Cincinnati to inform them he was taking the job.
At the beginning of the day, this appeared to be speculation. Fickell had turned down, West Virginia, Michigan St, Florida St, and Baylor to stay in Cincinnati. In 6 years with the Bearcats, Fickell went 57-18 and became the all-time winningest coach in Bearcats history.
When the story first broke, Cincy fans held no hard feelings, as Fickell single-handedly turned this program around. However, as more details began to emerge fans became upset with the guy they once viewed as their savior.
Justin Williams of The Athletic reported that this had been a done deal for almost 3 weeks now. The athletic department at the University of Cincinnati had been preparing for his departure for the last month.
Fickell gained interest from Nebraska and Wisconsin in recent months, and the University was preparing to move on. Fickell interviewed with the Badgers on November 12, the day after the Bearcats defeated the East Carolina Pirates.
In addition to this, Fickell’s wife, Amy, visited Madison, Wisconsin a few weeks back to see if this would be a good fit for their family. As the Bearcats entered the final stretch of their season, it appeared that Fickell had already made up his mind, and it showed. The Bearcats just didn’t look like themselves down the backstretch. They were sloppy and unprepared; it looked like Fickell did not care.
Of course, no Bearcats fan would utter those words at the time, as they had trusted Fickell for the last 6 years. However, after all this information came out, it all started to make sense. Cincy fans knew this team was good enough to be a top 15 team, but never saw them perform like it.
Williams also reported that Fickell was upset that he missed out on the Notre Dame job last season, as he prepared his squad for the College Football Playoff. Various other sources have reported that Fickell had no intentions to be in Cincinnati this season, but he missed out on his opportunity since he had to coach in the playoff.
After this was reported everything started to make sense for Cincy fans. QB Ben Bryant randomly came back after transferring to Eastern Michigan the season before. Fickell had no real idea what to do in that position with Desmond Ridder going to the NFL. The easiest solution, bring back a QB that knows the offense. This obviously didn’t work very well for the Bearcats, as their offense struggled all year.
Cincinnati’s athletic department has no time to bask in the drama surrounding Fickell’s departure. Time is ticking to find a new coach, and AD John Cunningham is leading the search. Cunningham said in a press conference Sunday evening, that he will be looking for a strong recruiter with Midwest ties, as the Bearcats prepare to enter the Big 12.
So, who stands out as some top targets for the Bearcats?
The search must start with Michigan DC Jesse Minter. Minter has led a great defense at Michigan and is the son of former Cincinnati head coach Rick Minter. Other external candidates include Iowa St HC Matt Campbell, former Texas HC Tom Herman, former Ohio St assistant Brian Hartline, and LSU OC/former Cincinnati OC Mike Denbrock. As well as internal candidates Gino Guidugli, the current OC, and Kerry Coombs, the current special team coordinator, and defensive backs coach.
Coombs has been named the interim head coach. However, he does not appear to be the long-term answer for Cincinnati. Jesse Minter and Tom Herman appear to be the top candidates the day after Fickell’s departure. However, Iowa St fans have taken to Twitter stating that they believe Matt Campbell will be leaving the Cyclones to pursue the Bearcats job.
John Cunningham is the perfect guy to be leading this search. Cunningham went against the curve and hired Wes Miller to be the Bearcats’ head basketball coach, and it turned out to be a hidden gem. Cunningham is great at hiring coaches and will undoubtedly find the Bearcats another great coach.
Cincinnati is set to join the Big 12 in July, where they will have a legit shot at competing for a national championship each year. This is a destination job, which should have many highly touted names in the search.