MADISON, Wis. — One day after hiring Luke Fickell as its next head football coach, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has opened applications for the rest of his coaching staff.
Job postings for offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, director of football strength and conditioning, assistant strength and conditioning coach, and another assistant coach went up on the university’s jobs site Monday morning. The postings list an opening date of Monday, November 28 and a closing date of Monday, December 5.
The postings are required, even if Fickell and the athletics department have people in mind for his new staff. Last week, the head coach job was posted online ahead of the team’s final game of the regular season against Minnesota.
While current defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Leonhard was thought to be a strong candidate to get that job full-time, Athletic Director Chris McIntosh surprised much of the college football world by hiring Fickell, one of the most sought-after coaches in the country, on Sunday.
As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear whether Leonhard would stay on Fickell’s staff as the defensive coordinator or decide to pursue other opportunities. Some of those questions may be answered later today when Fickell will be publicly introduced during an invite-only event at Camp Randall Stadium at 4 p.m. Monday, followed by a press conference, which you can watch live here and on the Channel 3000+ streaming app.
According to Badger Extra, assistant coaches at UW have language in their contracts that essentially ties them to the head coach and states assistant coach contracts are up 60 days after a head coach is fired — meaning Leonhard, offensive coordinator Bobby Engram, and others will no longer be under contract later this week.
Leonhard and the rest of the staff could still remain in Madison on new contracts if there is a mutual interest, but it is also common for new coaches in college football to bring along members of their staff from their previous school.
RELATED STORIES
- What’s next for the Badgers after hiring Luke Fickell?
- Badger students react to Luke Fickell hiring, Leonhard snub
- Badgers flip the script, hire Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell to be new head coach
- ‘You have to move on’: Leonhard shares how Badgers have addressed shock of Chryst’s firing
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
