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Why major head coach firings elsewhere make it harder for Wisconsin Badgers to fire Luke Fickell

Harder for Wisconsin Badgers to fire Luke Fickell after major head coach firings elsewere
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell reacts in the second half at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell reacts in the second half at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Each week in the college football season, a record number of head coaches are getting fired.

Wisconsin Badgers fans would like to see athletic director Chris McIntosh follow suit, but the broader trend may actually have the opposite effect for Luke Fickell.

The latest firing was Auburn moving on from Hugh Freeze, joining a list of a dozen other FBS coaches to lose their job in-season.

Schools across the country seem more willing than ever to buy-out expensive contracts, but the more coaches that get canned, the better the odds are that Fickell doesn't.

College football only has so many quality coaching candidates available to fill head coaching vacancies.

With double-digit jobs now open, it's going to be a fierce competition for athletic directors to land the best names.

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Wisconsin isn't in a good position to not only pay Fickell's buyout but then also get into a bidding war for his replacement.

The Badgers aren't as enticing of a landing spot as some of other schools available.

Top coaching candidates will prefer the pedigree and resources of SEC schools like LSU, Florida and Auburn.

Add in the better Big Ten opening at Penn State, and Wisconsin would be left settling for lesser options for the team's most important role.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers pursuing multiple Penn State recruits who decommitted after James Franklin firing

Badgers fans might still feel like that can be an upgrade over Fickell, but the optics could be tricky to go from a highly coveted, big name coach like him to a lesser-known, less proven replacement.

The athletic department keeps giving signals that Fickell will be sticking around. The landscape of college football is making that easier to justify.

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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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