Cincinnati Enquirer reporting this afternoon Fickel is leaving the Bearcats for Bucky Badger.
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On behalf of Miami fans everywhere let me just say:
FUCK UC!!
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If it improves our chances vs UC…Terrific!
Fickell is a good guy with a super family. I’m curious if his son will follow him to Wisconsin (and leave UC).
Maybe they kick the tires on Chuck?
I wonder if UC getting boo’d at home en route to a 9th win had any impact?
Fickell seemed critical of Wisconsin for firing Chryst earlier this year
Tremendous opportunity for Miami here to take advantage of some short term instability in the region
My hope is there are a lot of one year transfers out of UC
We need to get out of that future Wisconsin game
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Bring back Ivan Pace!
(Only kidding, kinda)
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Bring both of the Pace brothers
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UC has plenty of advantages, but their recent performance with Fickell almost certainly has been an over performance.
Interesting to see what the short term future of the team is. If players transfer out with the coach leaving, and they make a bad hire then the next couple of games could be significantly more even.
Look at West Virginia moving to the B12 as one path UC could find itself on. Don’t blame Fickell for leaving a year or two early instead of dealing with the uncertainty of a new conference.
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Barry Alvarez confirming:
Somewhat surprised by this. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want extended travel for away B12 games (more time away from family), or that he feels making the FBS playoffs is easier as king of the G5 than trying to go undefeated in the B12??? Dunno.
…and there are the buckeroos! His wifey can keep the homestead in Cincy and anywhere else she desires with what I am assuming Wisconsin will be paying him.
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UC has had an enormous amount of cash infused into their football and athletics in general, and their advantages over us remain.
At the same time, if Luke can grab 4-5 of his best players at UC and there is some instability, we might have an another window of opportunity for a win!
He may have looked around the B12 and realized that without UT and OU it was just a slightly better AAC with a slightly better chance of making the CFP. Or……IW tossed a boatload of greenery towards him…
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dUH OSU job could open up?
My guess is the latter.
But yeah the Big 12 loses a lot of brand appeal without Texas and Oklahoma, even if Texas and Oklahoma have more quality in their names than in their games.
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Kerry Combs is interim coach. When they hire a permanent replacement he should be our next HC. He is a great motivator and recruiter and unlike CM he would not take off OOC games.
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Was Combs considered the last two hirings?
I think this is the best job in the B1G…or at least it has been. You get to play in the B1G West, which is a MUCH easier path to the B1G championship game (even with USC and UCLA) and, potentially, a CFP invite. You’ve got plenty of resources and a passionate fan base who don’t have the expectations of tOSUcks, MeatChicken, or Penn State. And, with all due respect to Oxford, Madison is possibly the best college town in the country! Plus, he’ll get paid!! I guess if UW couldn’t get Leipold, then they decided to go big. Fickel - as much as I don’t like him - makes perfect sense for the Badgers. Great hire, IMO!
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Not sure but his salary really grew while he was at OSU…maybe a mil a year…will try to look up his Cincy contract.
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