By Mark Pszonak
Late yesterday I wrote an article about how Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell would get fired in 2025. Approximately an hour later it was announced that the Badgers had taken a different approach and instead given Coach Fickell a one-year extension. Maybe they saw my article and decided to spite me, but it is more likely that they just decided to make a horrible decision that proves that the standards at Wisconsin have changed. Drastically.
Since 2002 a few things have been guaranteed. The sun would rise and set, I’d have to pay taxes and the Wisconsin Badgers would make a bowl game while often being one of the elite teams in the Big Ten. That has quickly changed since the hiring of Coach Fickell.
I thought the Fickell hiring was a solid choice when it happened. My expectations were that Wisconsin would keep on winning, being a contender in the Big Ten and obviously make bowls. Because that’s what Wisconsin did. But my thoughts quickly changed after Coach Fickell hired Phil Longo as his offensive coordinator. The thought that the Badgers needed to change their offensive philosophy was confusing then and remained confusing until Coach Longo was fired during the 2024 season. And not surprisingly, that change of philosophy led to struggles on the field.
A year after finishing 7-6 and losing a bowl game, the Badgers did the unthinkable and finished 5-7. This ended a 22-year run of bowls. So, the natural thing to do in Madison was to reward Coach Fickell and extend him due to his 12-13 record over his two full seasons. Was Wisconsin worried that Alabama or USC were sniffing around?
I wasn’t even upset or disappointed by the fact that the article I had written an hour before was incorrect, because I was more stunned by Wisconsin’s decision. A program that was the definition of success over the last two decades had decided to reward a head coach who had hasn’t been able to meet expectations.
The extension does make the 2025 season in Madison even more interesting. A team that will be led by either Billy Edwards Jr. or Danny O’Neil at quarterback, with a group of unproven running backs and a completely revamped transfer defense will be expected to make things right. And it will have to happen against a schedule that includes a trip to Alabama and a brutal October stretch when the Badgers play at Michigan, home against Iowa, home against Ohio State and at Oregon in consecutive weeks.
Only the extreme Wisconsin fans can look at this roster and schedule and think that the Badgers will definitely make a bowl. It is more likely that this team will face some struggles and be around .500 (at best) heading into November when once again it will have to fight for its life to gain bowl eligibility against Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota.
This is not what Wisconsin football has been for two decades, and it isn’t supposed to be like that now. But the administration seems to be happy with these new standards and proved it last night with this absurd extension.
