Who would be Wisconsin Badgers interim head coach if Luke Fickell is fired in-season?

If the Wisconsin Badgers decided to fire head coach Luke Fickell during the regular season, they have a few options to choose from for an interim replacement.

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, left, talks with outside linebackers/special teams coach Matt Mitchell during the fourth quarter of the game Saturday, September 6, 2025 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin beat Middle Tennessee 42-10. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The more this Wisconsin Badgers team spirals, the more likely it looks that Luke Fickell will lose his job.

The rough showing against the Iowa Hawkeyes only made the criticism louder.

Related: 'Fire Fickell' chants return to Camp Randall Stadium during Wisconsin Badgers' slow start vs Iowa

The bigger question might be whether he gets to finish out the regular season or if the athletic department feels the sense of urgency to make a change in-season.

A mid-season firing comes with an extra set of challenges with trying to keep the team from imploding without the leader at the top.

Here are the most likely interim head coach candidates if the Badgers decide to make a change.

Special teams coordinator Matt Mitchell

Matt Mitchell is the only coach on the Wisconsin staff with previous head coaching experience at the college level.

He joined the Badgers after spending 13 years as head coach at Grand Valley State, where he had a 117-31 record and three conference championships.

Coaching success at the Division-II level doesn't mean he would make a great head coach for Wisconsin, but he would have the most familiarity with the job duties to take over as interim.

His special teams unit has been far from flawless this season, but he also coaches the outside linebackers, which have been one of the few bright spots on the team.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes

Wisconsin offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If the Badgers wanted to have a fresh voice leading the team at the front of the room, Grimes would be the clear choice.

This is his first season coaching at Wisconsin, and he doesn't have any previous history with Fickell and his staff.

Grimes has been an offensive coordinator for three other Division-I football teams (Kansas, Baylor and BYU), so he has a wide range of perspectives from his previous stops that he could apply to steading the Badgers.

His offense has struggled to consistently score points this season, so a promotion to interim head coach might not be great optics, but the same is true for just about any coach on the staff.

Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, left, talks with head coach Luke Fickell during practice Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Promoting Mike Tressel might be the least satisfying change for Wisconsin fans, but he would be in consideration if Fickell were fired.

It's also possible that the athletic department could opt to fire both, given their history and close connection.

They coached together at Cincinnati before Fickell took the Badgers head coaching job and brought him with to Madison.

It would be strange if Wisconsin fired their head coach and then promoted his right-hand man to replace him. Presumably, Tressel would be delivering some of the same messages the team was hearing from Fickell.

Still, crazier things have happened.

Former head coach Barry Alvarez

Jan 1, 2013; Pasadena, CA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers interim coach Barry Alvarez gestures in the second half during the 2013 Rose Bowl game against the Stanford Cardinal at the Rose Bowl. | Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY

Barry Alvarez has filled in as interim head coach twice since stepping down as full-time head coach in 2005.

Who's to say the program wouldn't turn to him a third time?

Both times he did it in 2013 and 2015 were for bowl games, which made it easier to parachute in for one contest as more of a figurehead on the sidelines than anything else.

Related: Barry Alvarez calls Wisconsin Badgers fans 'spoiled rotten' for booing Luke Fickell

If Wisconsin fired Fickell mid-season, they wouldn't install Alvarez as the interim for a multi-game stretch. He might not even want to, in that scenario.

But if, hypothetically, the Badgers made the head coaching change before their final game against Minnesota, it wouldn't be out of the question to see Alvarez step in just to try and win Paul Bunyan's Axe and then return to retirement.

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