Despite Offseason Wins, On3 Keeps Luke Fickell on Hot Seat

Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell has been on a bit of a heater in the past few months, staving off many of his critics.

After building some momentum at the end of the 2025 season with wins over ranked Washington and Illinois, the Badgers have enjoyed one of the best offseasons they've had in a while. He and his staff brought in a whopping 33 transfers, overhauling the roster ahead of the 2026 season.

Additionally, the staff built one of the best 2027 recruiting classes in the country, winning a handful of major recruiting battles against some of the biggest programs in the nation while retaining most of the top talent in the state, which was a knock against him in his time with Wisconsin. 10 in-state prospects, including 4-star prospects Kingston Allen, Cole Reiter, and Korz Loken, have all committed to Wisconsin.

On paper, it looks like Fickell has the program headed in the right direction. The Badgers are in the second year of the Jeff Grimes offense with a playmaking quarterback who could make a world of difference for the team this season while building a solid foundation for the future.

But we all know what we see on paper is just projections and expectations. What the team does during the season is what matters. Can Fickell translate that success to the field and win games? Until he does, his job is still in jeopardy, at least to one college football expert.

Fickell Named to On3's Hot Seat List

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell (left) talks with Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Andy Staples, a writer for On3 and co-host of Andy & Ari, released his list of college football coaches on the hot seat entering the 2026 season. Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin's head coach is among the names that make an appearance.

The list includes nine names. Some, like Fickell's, are not much of a surprise. Florida State's Mike Norvell and Maryland's Mike Locksley join the Wisconsin head coach as relatively obvious choices. Lincoln Riley even makes an appearance because, like Fickell, there were sky-high expectations when he was hired. And, like Fickell, Riley has vastly underperformed.

NEW: College Football head coaches on the hot seat via @AndyStaples🔥

Do you agree?🤔https://t.co/Dp3g5hmQKb pic.twitter.com/WMeE8UksF1
— On3 (@On3) July 21, 2026

Should Fickell Actually Be on the Hot Seat?

Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell — Oct 26, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

For most, the inclusion of Fickell on this list may seem obvious. But you could also make the argument that he was trying to turn the program around with one arm tied behind his back.

You can be the most charismatic recruiter or the best X's and O's coach in college football; you will still have trouble finding success in today's college football environment if you don't have funding. Without it, you can't compete for the top talents in the transfer portal, coming out of high school, or even retain the players on your own team.

There have been plenty of cases where the Badgers were on the doorstep of a top target but came up short simply because they lost the bidding war.

After the rough 2025 season, one where the Badgers were not only implementing a brand new offense but were decimated by injuries, it was clear the program needed an infusion of money in order to be a competitive program, and that's what they reportedly got.

Boosters and donors like Ted Kellner pledged even more money to the program to make it more successful. According to Kellner, the new funding would put the Badgers into the 'top third' of spending in the Big Ten, and before this budget increase, they were in the bottom third of the conference. We've already seen the benefits of this budget increase with the team's transfer portal additions and 2027 recruits.

Despite the success this offseason, Fickell will still be on the hot seat. He needs to win and win badly. There is a new boss in town after the Badgers hired Shawn Eichorst to run the athletic department when Chris McIntosh left for a job with the Big Ten. Eichorst has shown support for Fickell, but with no true ties to the head coach of the football program, he could pull the cord if the Badgers underperform again in 2026.

He has done all the right things in the offseason, but it's put up or shut up time for Fickell and his staff.

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