After finishing up his playing career, Fickell went straight into coaching. He was a GA at Ohio State in 1999 then moved to Akron to coach the defensive line for a couple of seasons.
Fickell went back to his alma mater in 2002 where he stayed until receiving the head coaching position at Cincinnati in 2017.
Fickell even earned the title of interim head coach at Ohio State for the 2011 season and the Buckeyes finished 6-7 on the year.