from what I seen of fickle is he had a gunslinger at qb last year,
so this must mean wisconson is going to pass more?
so this must mean wisconson is going to pass more?
Fickell is a chump
- Thread starter Redmich
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Exactly. Not saying he's a bad choice, but I think he is a bigger risk than Rhule who takes some sort of sick satisfaction from bringing comatose programs back to life and has been successful in it. Yea us! We're going to win some games again.
We have to overpay. All there is there is to it. We aren’t a Wisc let alone a true blue chip school. That ship has sailed. Stuck over paying with assist coaching turning over every 2 to 3 years due to lack of talent. They don’t want to live on a plane.
Desmond Ridder was a really good quarterback. Two time offensive player of the year in his conference. Future quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. He's not there this year and Cincinnati came back down to earth. It was time for pickle to get the hell out of there.
Cinnci has the #88 rushing offense this year.
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What I like about Fickell to Wisky is it makes everyone who tried to sound like they knew him and what he was thinking, look like an idiot.
Please. Just go in to the closet. Shut the door. Now, <redacted> yourself.
thats what I was wondering...seems they dropped down a bit....I wonder if wisconson will move away from the run heavy?
I guess those saying Fickell's wife wouldn't leave Ohio were wrong. 
likely AFC defensive rookie of the year and top 10 pick (discovered & developed by Fickell) Sauce Gardner also not there this year
Not a Nebraska fan but I think Fickell is a much better coach than Rhule. Hope Rhule succeds for your sake not wishing you any ill will here but did Nebraska ever go after Fickell. I always thought his next step would be at a big time program like Ohio State, ND, UM, Nebraska, Texas etc not at Wisconsin.
This seems to be the polarized topic of the day: who’s the better hire, Rhule or Fickel.
Any objective reasons you think Fickel is a better coach than Rhule? Also, any reasoning he would be a better coach AT Nebraska?
I can start with the fact he took Cincinnati to the playoffs. He did so however playing a G5 schedule.
Neither has much real experience in the B10 as head coach. I understand Fickel was Interim at Ohio State, but his record seems would actually go against him here.
Rhule’s philosophy is success starts at both lines. This has been severely lacking part of NU football last few years.
Well Rhule has had a very average maybe even below average win/loss record.
He's .500 coach in college (overall record 47-43) and .28 record in NFL (11-27)
Nebraska could have easily gotten a coach who's win/loss record was better
I've seen coaches with .500 record fail in the past a lot see Tyrone Willingham @ ND
Fickell's record is 63-25. He played in CFP last year..
It's no easy task qualifying for CFP @ a school like Cincinnati
Again I hope Rhule succeeds but given the past records it looks like Fickell would've been a safer bet for Nebraska.
It helps to take a closer look into Rhule’s college record, and other data points.
Rhule took over two programs, especially Baylor (scandal, massive attrition, came with 45 players on scholarship) which we were not in good shape. Temple was 4-7 leading up to Rhule’s first year.
Temple
2-10
6-6
10-4
10-3
Baylor
1-11
7-6
11-3
Two first year seasons: 3 - 21
Other 5 seasons: 44-22
So easy to come to the conclusion he’s not a very winning coach, when the reality is he’s done a damn good job of building up failing programs into conference title contenders. He just hasn’t stayed very long after hitting first 1-2 years of success. Had he stayed at either place longer, his records where certainly trending in a good direction. He led Temple to 2 conference championships, won 1. He led Baylor to B12 Championship, lost to top 10 Oklahoma game, I believe in overtime (they lost to Oklahoma twice that year).
Rhule has 7-8 guys from his Baylor transition class go to NFL. Nebraska has had like 2-3 year for past 4-5 years. His system for recruiting seems similar to Fickel. Both find great diamonds in the rough and develop them really well. Both would see a boost in recruiting at a place like NE for your top 300 guys, but have shown they can win big without needing to have a top 25 class.
Fickel’s 2017 first year at Cin he goes 4-8, then jumps to 11-2. He’s had 4 more winning seasons since. AAC. How would he do in B12 facing off with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, etc.? Frost came from AAC. That brand of football didn’t translate very well to B10. Rhule is a build success from the inside out philosophy, which is very much needed in the B10.
Nobody is too concerned with Rhule’s pro record, and if they are, they shouldn’t be. Rhule is a culture guy, which works well in college, doesn’t fly in the NFL. This is common.
Overall, I think Fickel vs Rhule is a wash, and either would have been great hires for Nebraska. I prefer Rhule’s focus on the trenches and defense, “controlling” the game, tough/physical run first football. It seems like the recipe for success at Nebraska after 15 years of trying spread, pro, finesse.
Nothing is guaranteed no matter who you hire. We learned that that hard way with Frost. He had UCF in CFP discussions, didn’t quite make it like Fickel did, but similar story. Same AAC conference, which compared to B10 is night and day toughness of schedule. And he was a major bust obviously.
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All I know for 100% certainty is that if we'd hired Fickell and Wisconsin hired Rhule, this place would be loaded with bitching that they got the better coach. Some of us just like to be miserable. I wanted Fickell but I am totally happy with the Rhule hire and its time to focus on what is happening here and stop worrying about what the Vadgers are doing.
Can't wait for the 1:30 PC!
Can't wait for the 1:30 PC!
No guarantees that they will be successful of course but I think both schools got very good and capable coaches.
I’m just surprised is all by Wisconsin because I figured Leonhard was a lock and they were worried him being poached by another school.
Or a school with a noticeably better track record in the less two decades was more appealing to someone that’s already in a comfortable stable job compared to man that literally got fired.
OP wasn't intended to spark a Rhule vs Fickell debate - although not surprising it went there
I would have been happy with either
it was intended to highlight the fact that Fickell and his agent negotiated a contract that could end up being 20-30 million dollars less than what Rhule received
big blunder - I would say both Rhule and Fickell were amongst the top coaching candidates out there - and both going to big ten schools
even worse when you consider that Rhule likely signed his first and had Fickell's people waited a day ( or maybe even a few hours) they would have known where Rhule's contract set the bar
(plus I hope Fickell becomes increasingly bitter knowing he signed a below market value contract and it eats away at him)
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I like Rhule over Fickell simply because that appears to be Trev’s choice. He has spent a lot of time, energy, and money on this search with the help of a search firm spending even more time, energy and money. I don’t believe that I should claim to know better. But like everyone, i will be watching the trajectory of both these programs/coaches going forward. It’s possible that both programs got really good coaches and both programs are better off
I like the fact that Rhule got a big pay day from Carolina and could have easily taken at least a year or more off before getting back into coaching.
That tells me he is passionate about the game and fits the ‘grinder’ profile Trev is looking for.
That tells me he is passionate about the game and fits the ‘grinder’ profile Trev is looking for.
I said in another thread - mostly tongue in cheek - that maybe Nebraska won a bidding war with Wisconsin for Rhule, and that Fickell was the consolation prize. That may or may not be true, but it would be VERY INTERESTING to know the chain of events that led to Rhule getting THAT much more money than Fickell.
It is fair to say that if Fickell were the top choice for both Wisconsin and Nebraska, he definitely DID NOT want the Nebraska job.
It is also fair to say that Fickell wanted to escape the corpse that was formerly the Big 12 conference.
Final note - Fickell and Rhule both had losing records their first year as head coaches at each school where they coached.
It is fair to say that if Fickell were the top choice for both Wisconsin and Nebraska, he definitely DID NOT want the Nebraska job.
It is also fair to say that Fickell wanted to escape the corpse that was formerly the Big 12 conference.
Final note - Fickell and Rhule both had losing records their first year as head coaches at each school where they coached.
Gotcha, I wasn't including you in the "I'm only happy when I'm crying" group.
Nebraska questioning any other university’s management of money for head coaches is hilarious.
I’m not questioning Wisconsin or NU
I’m questioning Fickell’s representatives undervaluing their client
Nebraska and Wisconsin are about as even as you can get this year, and that proved out when we played them. Both programs are starting in the same spot, so whoever is the better coach will be discovered relatively quickly, the most prominent indicator being team record.
What people seem to not realize in looking at Fickell versus Rhule is context, their strengths and what TA was actually looking for. The fact that you might rate Fickell higher than Rhule doesn't mean TA did. I pretty firmly believe TA got his guy. TA was very, very clear that he wanted a grinder and proven program builder. That is Rhule in spades, whatever else you might think of his ability.
I think Fickell is a much better fit at Wisc than NU. They aren't at rock bottom and in need of a complete rebuild. They are looking to go to the next level and this is what they think they needed to get there. Reminds me of Neb when they fired Solich, then Callahan, then Bo. Wisc just let go of 2 decent coaches in the same year. That is a lot of pressure they are putting their program under.
I think Rhule is a much better fit at NU than Wisc. Rhule loves turning programs around, developing players, and he understands the need for OL and DL play. Rhule has done it, objectively. That isn't saying that Fickell couldn't do that or Rhule couldn't make Wisc better, just that they are both better off where they are.
I think Fickell is a much better fit at Wisc than NU. They aren't at rock bottom and in need of a complete rebuild. They are looking to go to the next level and this is what they think they needed to get there. Reminds me of Neb when they fired Solich, then Callahan, then Bo. Wisc just let go of 2 decent coaches in the same year. That is a lot of pressure they are putting their program under.
I think Rhule is a much better fit at NU than Wisc. Rhule loves turning programs around, developing players, and he understands the need for OL and DL play. Rhule has done it, objectively. That isn't saying that Fickell couldn't do that or Rhule couldn't make Wisc better, just that they are both better off where they are.
Eichorst got his guy too. So did Moos. That's not a good indicator by itself on evaluating how the hire will actually go.
You can move to Wisconsin man. Go for it
Likely nothing. They've accomplished everything they set out to accomplish this season.
interesting hypothetical
would be curious to find out
my opinion is that there would've been much much more elation - meaningless as it may be - simply due to shock value
No guarantees at all, but my gut feeling and simply looking at their records, Fickell has the better resume. Rhule had great success rebuilding Temple and Baylor, so maybe he’s just a better fit at NU. I was talking here with 2 ex-Buffs (and ex NFLers) who weren’t really that positive about Rhule—hope he proves them wrong! Maybe Trev went after Fickell and he preferred WI, who knows (now we know Trev didn’t)? But hoping Rhule can get it done and enjoy much success! Should be fun to watch..GBR.
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Thanks for stopping by with your drivel, now please don’t come again. Have a nice day.
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In my view, we went with the most logical choice. I totally understand ‘if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more’, but we’re not in that position today—maybe 10 years ago
This needs to work now. Ruhle, in my opinion is the smart money bet. We’ll all find out soon enough
All I can say, is that I would kill to be in any of these coaches positions—what a great problem to have 🤙 selectively choosing where you wanna go and make generational changing money, whether it’s 3M, 6M, or 10M a year guaranteed… damn
I believe Ruhle was our first choice. NU is still viewed as a top spot to etch your name in the annals of history
Can’t see Fickell turning that down, if he were seriously given the opportunity
