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How Wisconsin Badgers coordinators rank compared to rest of Big Ten

The Wisconsin Badgers offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators rank among the better assistant coaches in the Big Ten, giving Luke Fickell a reliable staff to work with.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers' offensive coordinator role has been under scrutiny in recent seasons, and the hope is that Jeff Grimes can help that side of the ball find more consistency in 2025.

It's highlighted how important the coordinators working under Luke Fickell are for the team's success.

But sometimes it can be hard to judge how good an assistant actually is and how much blame or credit they deserve for the performance on their side of the ball.

The folks over at The Big Ten Huddle have gone through and ranked every offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators in the conference, and the Badgers landed at respectable levels for all three.

The widest range of disagreement was in the offensive coordinator rankings, where opinions on Grimes are a little more spilt.

He had up and down moments as OC at Kansas and Baylor, but Wisconsin is confident in his ability to bring back a more pro-style system to Madison.

Given Fickell's background as a defensive coach, it can be harder to distinguish Mike Tressel's influence on that side of the ball, but he has earned the continued endorsement of his head coach across mulitple stops.

The guys at the Big Ten Huddle see him as a Top 10 DC in the conference.

Special teams coordinator Matt Mitchell also coaches the outside linebackers and has been an effective recruiter for the program.

It helps that he came with a previous history as a college head coach at Grand Valley State, and he gives the Badgers a consistent third phase as one of better Big Ten ST coordinators.

The staff will ultimately be judged on how well they can get back into contention in 2025 and beyond, but Badgers fans can have some confidence that the staff is well equipped and not falling behind their peers in the conference.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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