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(10-22-2019 12:48 PM)Banter Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 12:40 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  MSU might be intriguing with Harbaugh flaming out at Michigan and seemingly on a downward trend both in recruiting and on-field performance.

One constant that I hear from osu alums regarding Fickell is "we love the guy, but man we don't want to go back to Tresselball." Fair or not, it seems like a pretty common sentiment.

I don't think I know any Buckeye fans that have a bad thing to say about Fickell. Some fans would like Fickell to be their coach cause they are loyal to Buckeye players, but the fans who I consider really smart when it comes to football don't want him to be the OSU head coach.

One day Fickell may prove me wrong, but I am not sure he has "it" to become one of the premier coaches in the NCAA, and at this stage, that is what OSU will hire. I think Fickell's sweet spot is at a place like UC, or a middle of the pack Big 10 team where his brand of coaching can really work.

Meh both Alabama and LSU both moved away from the power run offense successfully.

In both cases it took a OC to do it not Saban or Coach O. Tresselball was common during that era. No reason Fick couldn't bring along a great O coordinator.

Anyways I'm not too worried this year. If he leaves we elevate Freeman. Now if Freeman leaves after this year and Fickell stays I would be more worried..

(10-22-2019 12:43 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 12:38 PM)bcat80 Wrote:  How old is his youngest kid? Unless OSU opens up I doubt he leaves until his youngest graduates high school.

His oldest will be a senior next year. The youngest, a set of twins, are five.

So we're good until 2032? That's a relief.

(10-22-2019 12:53 PM)natibeast21 Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 12:48 PM)Banter Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 12:40 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  MSU might be intriguing with Harbaugh flaming out at Michigan and seemingly on a downward trend both in recruiting and on-field performance.

One constant that I hear from osu alums regarding Fickell is "we love the guy, but man we don't want to go back to Tresselball." Fair or not, it seems like a pretty common sentiment.

I don't think I know any Buckeye fans that have a bad thing to say about Fickell. Some fans would like Fickell to be their coach cause they are loyal to Buckeye players, but the fans who I consider really smart when it comes to football don't want him to be the OSU head coach.

One day Fickell may prove me wrong, but I am not sure he has "it" to become one of the premier coaches in the NCAA, and at this stage, that is what OSU will hire. I think Fickell's sweet spot is at a place like UC, or a middle of the pack Big 10 team where his brand of coaching can really work.

Meh both Alabama and LSU both moved away from the power run offense successfully.

In both cases it took a OC to do it not Saban or Coach O. Tresselball was common during that era. No reason Fick couldn't bring along a great O coordinator.

Anyways I'm not too worried this year. If he leaves we elevate Freeman. Now if Freeman leaves after this year and Fickell stays I would be more worried..

Doubt we can keep both. My guess is if CLF leaves then Freeman is the next man in. If Fick stays and Freeman leaves then he will backfill the defensive coordinator with someone else he has ties with (I have a laundry list of names in my head but it is way to early for that).

We knew a strong start to the season would reignite this fire ("Fickell to ______ University") and it will only grow with each successive victory.

The conventional wisdom is correct; coaches will always leave for bigger, (perceived) better jobs. I get it. The pay is great but head coaching careers can be short as we've seen at Tennessee, USC and perhaps soon at UCLA. So as the old cliche goes they must make hay while the sun shines. Just ask Butch Jones who is still cashing checks from Knoxville I suspect.

I will only say that I believe there is a higher probability of Fickell staying beyond three years than his predecessors given his deep Ohio connections and demonstrated career stability. So maybe he surprises us and stays four to six years, or more. My hope is that he stays long enough to make UC, as a football program, just too attractive for the B12 or ACC to ignore. At that point, he would have accomplished more than any UC football coach. And all would cheer when he returned ten years later to visit.

UC's outlook boils down to this:

1. Keep Fickell as long as possible, pay him what you can, hope "good fits" are few and far in between (they were last year).
2. Keep trying for the P5. Much better chance to keep Fick with that money.
3. Hire a young, up and coming coach that can take Fick's talented recruiting classes and bring them to a new level offensively, just like BK did to Dantonio's players.

Apart from that this sorta thing can get exhausting if you pay too much attention to it. Million dollar pay increases are impossible for even the most loyal guys to ignore. Trying to supplant a large family for the second time in 4 years is difficult too. I wouldn't put my faith too much in either one. I have no idea what Luke is thinking.

Ohio State = Stepping Stone Job

Cincinnati is a great job. You make close to P5 money, in a winnable conference, with a great recruiting area. Comparatively speaking, it's not super stressful either. It's not hard to win here. I don't know why anyone would rush out. Of course there are better jobs out there, but Illinois isn't one of them.

Personally, I'd rather win 9-11 games in Cincinnati every year for the next 15 years, rather than being Tennessee's next sacrificial lamb for the next 2-3. Even if it does pay double/year. Sometimes you don't come back from something like that.

"All this to say, for a 46-year-old coach with a decade and a half at Ohio State and now three successful seasons at Cincinnati, Fickell will be at the top of the list for Power 5 schools looking to make an upgrade this offseason, particularly schools in the Midwest.

And Fickell’s contract won’t scare any of them away.

Fickell is still on his original contract, signed on Feb. 20, 2017, that runs through Dec. 31, 2022. After making $1.9 million in 2017 and $2 million in 2018, Fickell will earn $2.3 million this year and $2.4 million for the final three years of the deal."

https://footballscoop.com/news/look-luke...incinnati/

(10-22-2019 01:33 PM)bearcatfan Wrote:  "All this to say, for a 46-year-old coach with a decade and a half at Ohio State and now three successful seasons at Cincinnati, Fickell will be at the top of the list for Power 5 schools looking to make an upgrade this offseason, particularly schools in the Midwest.

And Fickell’s contract won’t scare any of them away.

Fickell is still on his original contract, signed on Feb. 20, 2017, that runs through Dec. 31, 2022. After making $1.9 million in 2017 and $2 million in 2018, Fickell will earn $2.3 million this year and $2.4 million for the final three years of the deal."

https://footballscoop.com/news/look-luke...incinnati/

Bolded, that certainly will have to be renegotiated after season's end. Bohn has lots of experience in this area since Mick wanted a new deal on a regular basis.

(10-22-2019 12:02 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  If Michigan State drops a line, he’s likely bye-bye.

Somehow as fans we never seem to learn. We want our coaches to perform at a level that huge money, support and opportunity to compete comes a callin’.

We are at the three year mark...get ready for the rumor mill come December.

Seriously. They are like Bengals fans - "This time will be different."

No. No, it won't.

(10-22-2019 01:25 PM)Z-Fly Wrote:  Ohio State = Stepping Stone Job

Cincinnati is a great job. You make close to P5 money, in a winnable conference, with a great recruiting area. Comparatively speaking, it's not super stressful either. It's not hard to win here. I don't know why anyone would rush out. Of course there are better jobs out there, but Illinois isn't one of them.

Personally, I'd rather win 9-11 games in Cincinnati every year for the next 15 years, rather than being Tennessee's next sacrificial lamb for the next 2-3. Even if it does pay double/year. Sometimes you don't come back from something like that.

People of the highest caliber want to prove themselves on the biggest stage. And make the money commensurate with playing on that stage.

Cincinnati is a great job. But it's not the big stage.

Nobody knows what jobs will be open. Nobody knows what programs with open jobs will go after fickell. Nobody knows which programs that go after fickell he'll actually be interested in.

Every job is a stepping stone job to somewhere. Not going to pretend I know what's going to happen.

(10-22-2019 01:50 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 01:25 PM)Z-Fly Wrote:  Ohio State = Stepping Stone Job

Cincinnati is a great job. You make close to P5 money, in a winnable conference, with a great recruiting area. Comparatively speaking, it's not super stressful either. It's not hard to win here. I don't know why anyone would rush out. Of course there are better jobs out there, but Illinois isn't one of them.

Personally, I'd rather win 9-11 games in Cincinnati every year for the next 15 years, rather than being Tennessee's next sacrificial lamb for the next 2-3. Even if it does pay double/year. Sometimes you don't come back from something like that.

People of the highest caliber want to prove themselves on the biggest stage. And make the money commensurate with playing on that stage.

Cincinnati is a great job. But it's not the big stage.

Sure, but being smart about it is key. You need to make sure you have a chance.

Ohio State - Yes
Notre Dame - Yes
Michigan - Yes
Michigan State - Maybe
Illinois - No
West Virginia - No
Louisville - No
Tennessee - No

(10-22-2019 01:48 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 12:02 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  If Michigan State drops a line, he’s likely bye-bye.

Somehow as fans we never seem to learn. We want our coaches to perform at a level that huge money, support and opportunity to compete comes a callin’.

We are at the three year mark...get ready for the rumor mill come December.

Seriously. They are like Bengals fans - "This time will be different."

No. No, it won't.

Money talks. Who wants to go to Mich State where you are in the same division as OSU, Penn State and Michigan? Money.

I'd expect UC to get Fickell into the $3.5mm salary range (plus bonuses) for next year if he wins the conference. If he's @ UC for $3.5mm, and a not so dream job offer comes up @ $4mm or even $4.5mm-- I'd say he stays in Cincinnati.

UC just has to pay him enough to where he only leaves if it's a dream job, or the money is just super stupid that even he can't turn it down. He's not the type of guy to change jobs just to make an extra 500K per year. He knows he has it good in Cincinnati. He has less pressure here than most top college jobs. Good recruiting area and he is building something special. He could be the head coach @ UC the next 20 years and he knows it.

UC desperately needs to the fans to come and sell out the final few home games. THe AD needs that money to give Fickell and his staff a big raise. :)

If UC can't give him a big raise @ the end of the season, and someone is offering him $4.5mm a year and they lose him-- then it's UC's own fault. A big contract like that sets him and his family up for life, so I have no problem looking out for his family first.

I do think his preference is to stay @ UC-- and hope that someday, he gets another shot @ tOSU. Everyone talks about Mich St and Michigan-- but would a Columbus boy really want to coach either of those 2 programs? I'd never want to coach Xavier Basketball, ever. Even if it was the only job I could get.

I'm not too concerned one way or another bc I think UC will pony up the money and he will stay. If he leaves, Freeman gets promoted and I'm ok with that. (I would hate it if UC wasn't able to hang onto Prater as a recruit though.)

But really, I'm just hopefull over this 3 game stretch that UC's offense can start clicking vs the 3 worst teams in the AAC.

(10-22-2019 12:40 PM)Bearcat 1985 Wrote:  MSU might be intriguing with Harbaugh flaming out at Michigan and seemingly on a downward trend both in recruiting and on-field performance.

One constant that I hear from osu alums regarding Fickell is "we love the guy, but man we don't want to go back to Tresselball." Fair or not, it seems like a pretty common sentiment.

If he were the head coach at OSU he would have near unlimited resources to bring in Offensive coaches and near unlimited talent at the skill positions. Assuming he replaced Ryan Day they would already be running an offense that is far from Tresselball.

My point is, I think Fickell would hire someone to run the offense and they would install an offense that gives them the best chance to win. I also think if he remains at Cincinnati we will see the offense change in the years to come as we get better recruits like Evan Prater and I’m sure he wouldn’t intentionally revamp the OSU offense from what it currently is, to become Uber conservative.

For those that don't think he'd coach in Michigan, I know it's not necessarily apples to apples, but Bo Schembechler was born and raised in Ohio, went to school and coached at Miami (OH), got his masters degree and coached at OSU. He got his big time opportunity and took it. I think the hate in Columbus boy Fickell for UM is probably real. But I think he'd go to MSU if given the chance.

(10-22-2019 02:29 PM)Cat-Man Wrote:  For those that don't think he'd coach in Michigan, I know it's not necessarily apples to apples, but Bo Schembechler was born and raised in Ohio, went to school and coached at Miami (OH), got his masters degree and coached at OSU. He got his big time opportunity and took it. I think the hate in Columbus boy Fickell for UM is probably real. But I think he'd go to MSU if given the chance.

I also think Michigan would not hire CLF because they still hang on to some notion of a "Michigan Man." That ideology is what is keeping them below Ohio State and other teams they think they should be competing with.

I wonder if the Enquirer UC guy is reading this thread?

Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell ranks 63rd in total pay among 122 FBS football coaches' verified salaries in the USA TODAY's database updated this week.

Fickell's base pay in his third year at UC is $2.3 million, tied with UCF's Josh Heupel for fifth among American Athletic Conference coaches behind South Florida's Charlie Strong ($5 million), Houston's Dana Holgorsen ($3.7 million), Memphis' Mike Norvell ($2.66 million) and Navy's Ken Niumatalolo ($2.32 million).

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/...ar-AAJaAZX

Fickell WILL leave at some point. The right P5 job has to open up.

I could see him at Fl. State, Auburn, LSU, UT, Oklahoma...any of those could rope him. If O$U became available he'd have been gone yesterday.

The trick is to have the right choice for next coach already lined up.

FWIW I have a neighbor whose son in law is an Associate AD at OSU. He said BDF has a 10 year plan that would be interrupted only by an offer from OSU or ND. Loves Cincy as a great city to raise a large Catholic family.

After 10 years most of the kids will be off to college or starting HS and moving will be a non issue.

If he keeps winning I could see $3 million at UC. Would you prefer $3 living in Cincy or $4 living in Lubbock, Champaign Urbana, Ames IA, etc.?

(10-22-2019 12:29 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(10-22-2019 12:02 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  If Michigan State drops a line, he’s likely bye-bye.

Somehow as fans we never seem to learn. We want our coaches to perform at a level that huge money, support and opportunity to compete comes a callin’.

We are at the three year mark...get ready for the rumor mill come December.

I'd take that bet. Sure MSU is a better job than UC but we're basically going head to head for recruits now. You're always the little brother in your state and at best the #4 program in your division. It's a better job but I don't think it's enough to overcome the 6 kid family aspect of it.

This guy is different. He spent 20 years in Columbus with very little ambition to move. OSU, ND, PSU, and UM are too big to pass up. If he's offered any of those jobs he's gone. I just dont think the middle tier jobs are enough to pass the family issues.

It’s a better job with most of an entire state supporting it and you can actually compete for a national title there if you build it correctly. Fickell is still the guy who didn’t lose a match wrasslin’ in high school.. he’s a competitor. I’d be shocked if he didn’t take an offer from a place he thought he could get into the CFP with.