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Badgers players confirm Luke Fickell's job security: 'Nothing's going to happen to him'

Players on the Wisconsin Badgers have gotten assurance from athletic director Chris McIntosh that head coach Luke Fickell won't be fired this season.
Lorin Cox|
Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Jake Renfro (57) provides pass protection during the fourth quarter of their game against Ohio State at Camp Randall Stadium.
Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Jake Renfro (57) provides pass protection during the fourth quarter of their game against Ohio State at Camp Randall Stadium. | Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

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Players on the Wisconsin Badgers have gotten assurance from athletic director Chris McIntosh that head coach Luke Fickell won't be fired this season.

Center Jake Renfro and cornerback Ricardo Hallman confirmed Tuesday that McIntosh met with the team during the week leading to the Ohio State game and made it clear that the coaching staff has the support of the administration.

The message from McIntosh, according to Renfro, was that "nothing's going to happen to him."

"He's got faith in Coach Fick' and his coaching staff, and he's got faith in all of us," Renfro said. "And that fired us up."

Neither Renfro nor Hallman got into specifics about any kind of length attached to McIntosh's endorsement.

At a minimum, it signals that Fickell will not be fired before the end of the season. The answers from the players implied that they believe the coaching staff will be back for 2026, though that has not been explicitly stated.

McIntosh's public letter to the fan base talked about providing more investment and support into the program moving foward, which also points to Fickell returning for next season.

Related: Luke Fickell has not been told he'll be back as Wisconsin Badgers head coach in 2026

It's a bold but important vote of confidence at an abysmal time for the program, with the team at 2-5 and more than a year removed from its last victory over a Power 4 school.

It's supposed to provide some stability for players who might be wondering about their coach's future and whether they might consider the transfer portal this winter.

It likely won't stop fans from chanting "Fire Fickell" at Camp Randall Stadium. The best way to curtail that is to start winning games again.

Even just scoring points would be a nice first step.

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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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