Luke Fickel to Cincy

[Uconnrick]

Not cofirmed yet, but looks like Fickel is heading to Cincy with local HS legend, and current OSU defensive backs coach, Kerry Coombs as Def Coordinator.

 

[huskymedic]

Adam Rittenberg@ESPNRittenberg 10 mins ago
Cincinnati is hiring Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell as its next coach, sources tell ESPN. The two sides reached an agreement late last night, and an official announcement from Cincinnati is expected shortly. Fickell has coached at his alma mater since 2002, and served as Ohio State's head coach in 2011, following Jim Tressel's resignation.

 

[Caronimo]

And we fall behind even more

 

[huskymedic]

Adam Rittenberg@ESPNRittenberg 10 mins ago
Cincinnati is hiring Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell as its next coach, sources tell ESPN. The two sides reached an agreement late last night, and an official announcement from Cincinnati is expected shortly. Fickell has coached at his alma mater since 2002, and served as Ohio State's head coach in 2011, following Jim Tressel's resignation.

Tom Groeschen ‏@TomGroeschen 5m 5 minutes ago
Fickell has agreed to a six-year deal which is pending approval by the #UC Board of Trustees.

Tom Groeschen ‏@TomGroeschen 1m 1 minute ago
Also: Fickell will continue to serve as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator through the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff run.

 

[Dooley]

Cincinnati, like Houston and many other aspiring G5 schools, understands that the only way out of the AAC and into a P5 conference is through football. We do not.

 

[UCFBfan]

Sorry but I don't get the doom and gloom that we are falling behind due to this hire. So they hire Fickell who was a successful DC at a major P5 program. Last I checked, UConn hired a successful, award winning DC from a major P5 program in the form of Diaco. Where is the difference? Fickell coached as an intern when Tressel was booted, is that it?

Come on now. Nice for them and maybe this will work out but this hire is no different then how we viewed the Diaco hire three years ago.

Not sure why this hire is making everyone think we are "not getting it".

There are plenty of other things right now that relay that message but not comparing this hire to our current situation. To me, this hire doesn't excite me.

 

[huskymedic]

Not cofirmed yet, but looks like Fickel is heading to Cincy with local HS legend, and current OSU defensive backs coach, Kerry Coombs as Def Coordinator.

Urban Meyer ‏@OSUCoachMeyer 12m 12 minutes ago
Great news! My rt-hand man, Kerry Coombs, is a Buckeye! In add to coordinating the SPT, he will have an expanded coordinating role on our D

 

[don356]

Sorry but I don't get the doom and gloom that we are falling behind due to this hire. So they hire Fickell who was a successful DC at a major P5 program. Last I checked, UConn hired a successful, award winning DC from a major P5 program in the form of Diaco. Where is the difference? Fickell coached as an intern when Tressel was booted, is that it?

Come on now. Nice for them and maybe this will work out but this hire is no different then how we viewed the Diaco hire three years ago.

Not sure why this hire is making everyone think we are "not getting it".

There are plenty of other things right now that relay that message but not comparing this hire to our current situation. To me, this hire doesn't excite me.

In one word i will say how this hire is different from Diaco, recruiting. Fickell is Ohio born and bread, B10 lifer and knows that state and region like the back of his hand. He has the same(if not better) pedigree than Dantonio who set them up with a lot of talent just mining guys OSU would have like to have but couldn't because of roster spots. Fickell is a well regarded guy in high school circles, and he'll get guys they would not otherwise bring in. I heard he also is bringing Marcus Freeman on his staff who is another young guy who was an all american linebacker at OSU and is another well liked younger Ohio guy, probably around 30 yrs old. They will get players much like Herman did in Houston. Diaco did not have that recruiting edge. He had a nice run defense wise at ND, but his defenses at Cincy were marginal at best. I can't really say he's brought any recruiting edge with him so far. Time will tell, but Fickell is a guy who will get and develop guys.

 

[FDNY99]

In one word i will say how this hire is different from Diaco, recruiting. Fickell is Ohio born and bread, B10 lifer and knows that state and region like the back of his hand. He has the same(if not better) pedigree than Dantonio who set them up with a lot of talent just mining guys OSU would have like to have but couldn't because of roster spots. Fickell is a well regarded guy in high school circles, and he'll get guys they would not otherwise bring in. I heard he also is bringing Marcus Freeman on his staff who is another young guy who was an all american linebacker at OSU and is another well liked younger Ohio guy, probably around 30 yrs old. They will get players much like Herman did in Houston. Diaco did not have that recruiting edge. He had a nice run defense wise at ND, but his defenses at Cincy were marginal at best. I can't really say he's brought any recruiting edge with him so far. Time will tell, but Fickell is a guy who will get and develop guys.

That's a pretty bold statement to make about a guy who outside of a season that wasn't very impressive as a acting HC has never run his own program. Remember like Diaco at ND..Fickell isn't recruiting kids to tOSU anymore. His former Co-DC at tOSU had a REALLY rough start at RU. Time will tell how both Fickell at CIncy and Applewhite at Houston will do.

 

[UCFBfan]

That's a pretty bold statement to make about a guy who outside of a season that wasn't very impressive as a acting HC has never ran his own program. Remember like Diaco at ND..Fickell isn't recruiting ids to tOSU anymore. His former Co-DC at tOSU had a REALLY rough start at RU. Time will tell how both Fickell at CIncy and Applewhite at Houston will do.

This X100. Fickell might turn out to be good but he won't have OSU talent. Diaco knew NJ area, an area UConn recruits heavily so the comparison saying Fickell knows his home area vs Diaco is not totally legit. Just my 2 cents.

 

[TRest]

I thought Schiano was the OSU defensive coordinator?

 

[FDNY99]

I thought Schiano was the OSU defensive coordinator?

Last year Fickle and Ash were Co-DC's at tOSU. This season he was co-DC with Shady:
OhioStateBuckeyes.com Luke Fickell Bio :: The Ohio State University Official Athletic Site The Ohio State University Official Athletic Site :: Football
He was interim HC after they fired Tressel.

 

[ktuck911]

I thought Schiano was the OSU defensive coordinator?

DC

 

[UConnJim]

Hiring assistant coaches as head coaches is hit or miss as they have never been a head coach before. Also, as we have learned, in today's college football landscape, the Offensive Coordinator is critical. It seems like hiring an offensive minded HC is the way to go as it is easier to hire a good DC than a good OC.

As for recruiting, Cincinnati has never really recruited that well in Ohio as they rarely have gotten even a top 35 recruit from Ohio. Maybe Fickell will do better, but it won't be easy.

Mark Dantonio, a DC from Ohio St., was 18-17 at Cincinnati in 3 seasons. In the Big East, he finished tied for 4th and tied for 6th in his 2 seasons. Dantonio's defensive style has worked better at Michigan St. Brian Kelley and Butch Jones, offensive minded coaches, were 34-6 and 23-14. Jones was 12-9 in the Big East. Kelly made Cincinnati a very good football team.

 

[Fishy]

We're falling behind here?

Cincy couldn't score in a whorehouse, so they go out and hire a defensive coordinator - should work out really well.

Cincy had a great list of targets and they clearly were forced to settle for Fickel.

 

[huskymedic]

Pete Thamel@SIPeteThamel 2 mins ago
Source: Luke Fickell's contract with Cincinnati averages $2.3 million for six years. Buyout is $3.5 million. Goes down by $500,000 annually.

 

[Dooley]

We're falling behind here?

Cincy couldn't score in a whorehouse, so they go out and hire a defensive coordinator - should work out really well.

Cincy had a great list of targets and they clearly were forced to settle for Fickel.

Respectfully disagree. Of course we're falling behind. UC identified a weak coach and got rid of him. Their replacement comes from under the Urban Meyer tree. My guess is that UC won't pinch pennies with Fickel's staff either. UC has made one bad hire in 20 years so they get a bit of a longer leash. One thing that I can guarantee is that Fickel's OC won't be a retread guy with zero experience calling plays.

The net positive is that UC got rid of a bad coach and successfully negotiated a buyout. That alone pushes us further down the AAC pecking order.

 

[FDNY99]

Respectfully disagree. Of course we're falling behind. UC identified a weak coach and got rid of him. Their replacement comes from under the Urban Meyer tree. My guess is that UC won't pinch pennies with Fickel's staff either. UC has made one bad hire in 20 years so they get a bit of a longer leash. One thing that I can guarantee is that Fickel's OC won't be a retread guy with zero experience calling plays.

The net positive is that UC got rid of a bad coach and successfully negotiated a buyout. That alone pushes us further down the AAC pecking order.

Difference here though Dooley is that Tubbs gave Cincy hand with his exchange with that fan. Disco hasn't done anything like that yet...unfortunately.

 

[bobbyinaz]

There are plenty of OSU fans who will be happy he is gone. They were hoping that Ash would've stayed last year & that Fickel was the one to go.

This is far from a homerun hire. If they are really giving him a 6yr/$13.5MM deal something doesn't make sense. There should've been better candidates at that number

 

[UConnJim]

Respectfully disagree. Of course we're falling behind. UC identified a weak coach and got rid of him. Their replacement comes from under the Urban Meyer tree. My guess is that UC won't pinch pennies with Fickel's staff either. UC has made one bad hire in 20 years so they get a bit of a longer leash. One thing that I can guarantee is that Fickel's OC won't be a retread guy with zero experience calling plays.

The net positive is that UC got rid of a bad coach and successfully negotiated a buyout. That alone pushes us further down the AAC pecking order.

The original top 3 candidates that Cincinnati wanted for the job were: Jeff Brohm, P.J. Fleck, and Charlie Strong with Troy's Neal Brown a possibility as well. Instead, they hired Luke Fickel who wasn't even on the initial lists of candidates. So, yes, Cincinnati did not make a great hire and it is risky as well.

 

[don356]

Hiring assistant coaches as head coaches is hit or miss as they have never been a head coach before. Also, as we have learned, in today's college football landscape, the Offensive Coordinator is critical. It seems like hiring an offensive minded HC is the way to go as it is easier to hire a good DC than a good OC.

As for recruiting, Cincinnati has never really recruited that well in Ohio as they rarely have gotten even a top 35 recruit from Ohio. Maybe Fickell will do better, but it won't be easy.

Mark Dantonio, a DC from Ohio St., was 18-17 at Cincinnati in 3 seasons. In the Big East, he finished tied for 4th and tied for 6th in his 2 seasons. Dantonio's defensive style has worked better at Michigan St. Brian Kelley and Butch Jones, offensive minded coaches, were 34-6 and 23-14. Jones was 12-9 in the Big East. Kelly made Cincinnati a very good football team.

I lived there for 10 years and the year Dantonio was hired was my first year there. Dantonio recruited the bulk of the kids who were the core of Kelly's team's on both sides of the ball. The cupboard was pretty bare when he got there, but by his third year he had them in a bowl game and went from being run over by WV and White, Staton etc. to playing with them. Kelly's recruiting was so/so and Butch Jones lost his first year there as well. That year Fickell was interim coach they had a lot of there star guys suspended if i recall during the year, and he wasn't always playing with a full deck. That said, Fickell is a very well regarded guy in that area of the country, he's got NC rings, started more games than any player in osu history and is young and knows the ropes. He's much better setup to get osu's marginal guys than Dantonio was, and that will suit that situation well, particularly playing in the AAC. That's not even considering that Dantonio was able to do it without the facilities FIckell will have, upgraded stadium, indoor practice facility et. al. People tend to look at Dantonio's record and it's blah, but he wasn't lured away to MSU because of that. He really laid the foundation for them, and the recruiting was the biggest factor. There will be osu fans in southern ohio that will now go to cincy games to support Fickell. That osu crap runs deep.

 

[UConnJim]

I lived there for 10 years and the year Dantonio was hired was my first year there. Dantonio recruited the bulk of the kids who were the core of Kelly's team's on both sides of the ball. The cupboard was pretty bare when he got there, but by his third year he had them in a bowl game and went from being run over by WV and White, Staton etc. to playing with them. Kelly's recruiting was so/so and Butch Jones lost his first year there as well. That year Fickell was interim coach they had a lot of there star guys suspended if i recall during the year, and he wasn't always playing with a full deck. That said, Fickell is a very well regarded guy in that area of the country, he's got NC rings, started more games than any player in osu history and is young and knows the ropes. He's much better setup to get osu's marginal guys than Dantonio was, and that will suit that situation well, particularly playing in the AAC. That's not even considering that Dantonio was able to do it without the facilities FIckell will have, upgraded stadium, indoor practice facility et. al. People tend to look at Dantonio's record and it's blah, but he wasn't lured away to MSU because of that. He really laid the foundation for them, and the recruiting was the biggest factor. There will be osu fans in southern ohio that will now go to cincy games to support Fickell. That osu crap runs deep.

Look, I think Dantonio is a good defensive coach and his coaching philosophy fit well with Michigan St, although with Meyer, Harbaugh, and Franklin pushing high powered offenses, I think his glory years are over at Michigan St. Kelly's offense drove Cincinnati to glory. As for lack of talent, the 2003 Cincinnati team, coached by Minter, played Louisville tough and lost 43-40. That team also beat West Virginia at West Virginia. The next year under Dantonio, Cincinnati lost 70-7 to Louisville.

 

[TRest]

Has PJ Fleck priced himself out of a bigger gig? I'm surprised he didn't get a new job.

 

[UConnJim]

Has PJ Fleck priced himself out of a bigger gig? I'm surprised he didn't get a new job.

In an odd twist, there weren't many good P5 jobs that opened up this year that he was a good fit for. You had Baylor, Oregon, LSU, Texas, and Purdue. Fleck is a better fit for a Big 10 or ACC school.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

In an odd twist, there weren't many good P5 jobs that opened up this year that he was a good fit for. You had Baylor, Oregon, LSU, Texas, and Purdue. Fleck is a better fit for a Big 10 or ACC school.

Here is hoping Fleck will be our coach on Jan 2nd, 2017. Our AD will finally wake up and fire the boat anchor that is Diaco. Maybe we have a secret handshake deal? At least that's what I am praying for anyway.