Tag: Luke Fickell

Luke Fickell to turn down Michigan State job, remain with Cincinnati

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, former Ohio State coach/player Luke Fickell will turn down Michigan State, remain at Cincinnati.

Former Ohio State football player and head/assistant coach Luke Fickell has turned down the Michigan State job, and will remain at Cincinnati according to a report from Pete Thamel of the Yahoo! Sports.

The long-time Spartan head coach surprised everyone this past week by announcing his retirement just before the traditional National Signing Day. In the days that followed, Luke Fickell quickly became Michigan State’s top target. Because of the timing, things had to move quickly.

According to multiple reports, Michigan State athletic director Bill Beekman landed in Cincinnati to interview Fickell Saturday but the two parted without a deal in place. Clearly, Fickell was listening and keeping his options open, but after a couple of days, it appears as though he’ll be staying with the Bearcats for the foreseeable future.

Fickell has quickly turned Cincinnati back into a contender in the American Athletic Conference. After taking over the program and steering it to a 4-8 season in 2017, Fickell then led the team to an 11-2 record in 2018, and followed that up with another eleven win season in 2019 — nearly becoming the Group of Five representative in the New Years’ Six Bowls. He was named the AAC Coach of the Year in 2017.

While many thought Fickell would jump at a chance to take a perceived step up to a Power Five Big Ten school, those that know him best cautioned that this was not a done deal. They now appear to be right. In fact, the Columbus Dispatch did a story on his desire to remain in Cincinnati for the stability of his family.

Besides, it sure would have been strange for a diehard Buckeye to lead a Michigan State program on the other side of a rivalry with Michigan.

Now we’ll have to see where the Spartans turn for their next target after exhausting so much energy here.

 

MSU Athletic Department briefing Board of Trustees on head coaching search Monday

Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman is meeting with the Board of Trustees to discuss the head coaching search Monday, Feb. 10.

Amidst a firestorm of rumors around the University of Cincinnati football head coach Luke Fickell, the Michigan State University Athletic Department will meet with the University’s Board of Trustees on Monday to brief them on the search. This was reported by Nick Mantas, reporter and anchor for WLNS, a Lansing TV station.

What isn’t a rumor is that Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman was in Cincinnati this weekend. As of right now, Fickell is the clear top choice and the only name who has been brought up as an interviewee who has not publicly declined the role.

Colorado head coach Mel Tucker removed his name from consideration for the role on Saturday morning. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh declined to interview, stating he had unfinished business in the NFL with San Francisco. Former MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was a name that was initially floated for the role, but he quickly killed that rumor in hilarious fashion.

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The Michigan State Football and Luke Fickell head coaching saga as told by Twitter

Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman was in Cincinnati this weekend to interview Luke Fickell and Twitter lost their minds.

Michigan State Football has launched into a full-on head coaching search after the sudden retirement of Mark Dantonio. The odds on favorite of the fanbase, and seemingly of the University, is Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell. MSU’s athletic director Bill Beekman was set to interview Fickell this weekend, and the ensuing investigation by social media detectives and media members was, frankly, hilarious. Here is a retelling of what happened, through the eyes of social media.

The first part of this saga took place when the news was broken by Brandon Saho of Cincinnati TV station WLWT that Bill Beekman had landed in Cincinnati to visit with Luke Fickell, instead of Fickell coming up to East Lansing:

David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press originally reported that Beekman would be flying to State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State:

WLWT sports reporter Brandon Saho and Detroit Free Press report David Jesse were tracking the private jet at the Lunken Municipal Airport of Cincinnati, which had an updated flight path to Lansing instead of State College:

This picture above sparked a series of funny jokes on social media as fans tried to figure out who was wearing the heels in that photo:

Bill Beekman arrived back in Lansing on a private plane, but he was not accompanied by Fickell:

There have been some rumors floating around that Fickell will be signing later this week, although that is pure speculation and rumor so take that with a major grain of salt. For now, MSU’s mascot advises some patience from fans:

Instead of patience, most fans and media members are choosing a different route: Twitter sleuthing.

The End… for now.

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Michigan State AD Bill Beekman lands in Cincinnati for interview with Luke Fickell

Beekman is set to interview Fickell on Sunday

We’re on to Cincinnati.

Michigan State Athletic Director Bill Beekman has arrived in Cincinnati for an interview with Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell regarding the same position at Michigan State. That’s according to WLWT sports reporter Brandon Saho.

You can see in the video above Beekman departing a private plane, before departing in an SUV.

Earlier Saturday Colorado coach Mel Tucker announced on Twitter that he would be withdrawing his name from consideration for the Michigan State job. Tucker was reportedly scheduled to interview with Beekman this weekend. There have been conflicting reports as to whether or not that was ever the case, or if an interview ever happened.

Now it looks as if Fickell is the main candidate left standing for MSU. San Francisco 49er defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell and Pittsburgh head coach Patt Narduzzi have all declined interest in the job.

Fickell was an assistant under Mark Dantonio at Ohio State and even served as interim coach of the Buckeyes for one season in 2011. He took over the Cincinnati program in 2017 and has amassed a 26-13 record over three seasons, including a 22-5 mark over the last two.

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Colorado HC Mel Tucker removes name from consideration for MSU Football job

Colorado’s head coach Mel Tucker reaffirmed his commitment to Colorado this afternoon on Twitter.

Yesterday, there was a report from Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press stating that anonymous sources inside the MSU Football program said that Colorado head coach Mel Tucker would be interviewing for the Michigan State head coaching job, left vacant by the now-retired Mark Dantonio, along with Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell. Today, Mel Tucker released a statement saying that he is committed to Colorado, removing his name from consideration for the opening.

Here is Tucker’s statement, which he posted on his Twitter account:

As of right now, Mel Tucker, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi, and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh have all removed their names from consideration for the position. That leaves Luke Fickell as the only coach who is heavily rumored for the role who has not directly denied interest in the position.

It is hard to tell how long this coaching search will continue. You would think they would want to wrap it up fairly quickly. I would not be surprised at all if Fickell accepts the job next week. If it’s not him, there are some names they could go after but this could drag out longer than they’d like.

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MSU Football interviewing two head coaching candidates this weekend

Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell and Colorado head coach Mel Tucker will be in East Lansing this weekend to interview for the vacancy.

Michigan State Football lost their head coach since November 2006 this week, seemingly out of nowhere and are now trying to find a suitable replacement for what should be a highly sought after coaching position. This weekend MSU will be interviewing two candidates for the job in Luke Fickell and Mel Tucker.

The news was broken today by David Jesse and Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.

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Fickell has been the head coach at Cincinnati for the past three seasons and served one season as the interim head coach for Ohio State before they hired Urban Meyer. He was the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State from 2005-10 and then from 2012-16. Fickel is 26-13 as head coach of the Bearcats.

Mel Tucker has an interesting resumè that includes stops with Ohio State, Georgia, the Chicago Bears, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is currently the head coach of Colorado where he had an unimpressive 5-7 season. He served under Dantonio at Ohio State as his defensive backs coach, which explains why MSU gave him a call.

Worth noting, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has turned down an offer to interview for the position.

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Locked On Spartans Podcast: FICKELL WATCH UPDATE, Matt takes on the Detroit Free Press

The latest on MSU’s coaching search and why there is so much excitement around Fickell. Also, Blue Wall?

Wil and Matt discuss FICKELL WATCH day three. They also lay out why they like Fickell as a candidate. Then Matt takes on the Detroit Free Press and the Blue Wall.

You can find the episode on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell is “front-runner” for Michigan State head-coaching gig

The Buckeyes may be seeing a familiar foe more consistently as Luke Fickell is the frontrunner for the Michigan State HC position.

The Ohio State Buckeyes could be seeing a familiar face more consistently as Luke Fickell is reportedly the frontrunner for the Michigan State head coaching position.

This report comes just hours after Mark Dantonio stepped down as Michigan State’s head football coach. Dantonio has been the Spartans’ coach since 2007 and has recorded six winning seasons in that time.

As for Fickell, he started off his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, left for Akron and returned to eventually become the program’s defensive coordinator.

After the 2016 season, Fickell left to take the head coaching position at Cincinnati, a program he’s completely turned around. After a 4-8 win season in 2017, Fickell has gone 22-5 in the last two seasons.

That type of success gets big-time programs like Michigan State looking, and Fickell may soon be the Spartans coach.

“Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell is the front-runner to replace Mark Dantonio as Michigan State’s football coach, multiple sources with knowledge of the athletic department’s thinking told the Free Press on Tuesday,” Detroit Free Press‘ Chris Solari reported.

This will be quite the development and a testament to how skilled of a coach Fickell is. Trained at Ohio State, it should make the university proud to see his continued success.

The only question if the offer comes, is if Fickell is willing to make the leap to another team with a different view of rivalry with Michigan.

Potential replacements for Mark Dantonio at Michigan State

Who are some names to watch for as MSU opens up a coaching search?

For the first time in 13 years Michigan State football is looking for a new coach.

Mark Dantonio resigned Tuesday afternoon leaving the school in a spot it hasn’t been in since the 2007 season when he took over. The school promoted defensive coordinator Mike Tressel to interim head coach while a formal search is conducted.

Here are some names being bandied about as a potential replacement.

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati Head Coach

Luke Fickell is a well-respected defensive mind that has been successful at Cincinnati after an excellent run as defensive coordinator at Ohio State. Sound familiar? Fickell’s path is on the exact same trajectory as Dantonio’s before he took the MSU job. Fickell is a midwest guy and an excellent recruiter. He would bring the same blue-collar mentality that Dantonio built Michigan State with. He’s among the most mentioned names whenever a job comes open and is prime for a step up. Michigan State could be just the opportunity Fickell is waiting for.

Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh Head Coach

Narduzzi could very well return to East Lansing as the head man. He has great memories here, leading some of the best defenses in the nation during his time as defensive coordinator, a position he held for eight seasons. Narduzzi is 36-29 during his five seasons at Pitt and won the ACC Coastal division in 2018. Narduzzi’s Pitt teams have been to bowl games in four of his five seasons.

Mike Tressel, Michigan State Defensive Coordinator

Tressel could be in the mix, depending on how the administration wants to handle Danotnio’s late departure. Many of the good candidates have begun preparations for the 2020 season and with recruiting classes finishing up in the next few days, it may be hard to lure somebody to move their family and ditch their current programs this late in the process. If that’s the case, MSU may end up with an internal promotion and Tressel would be the candidate there, leading top defensive units the last two seasons.

Mark Stoops, Kentucky Head Coach

Stoops has midwest ties being from Youngstown and we all know the connection between Michigan State, the midwest and specifically the town of Youngstown. Stoops has done a really good job at Kentucky despite being in impossible circumstances. Yes, he’s in the SEC, but his program doesn’t have the resources available to them as the big boys in the conference. Plus, Kentucky football will always be a distant second fiddle to the basketball team in Lexington. Stoops has already proven to be an excellent recruiter of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, stealing top prospects from the big in-state programs.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State Head Coach

Campbell has been a hot name in recent coaching searches and truth be told, he might be waiting for a bigger job than Michigan State. Heading to East Lansing would certainly be a step up for Campbell, but if he waits he could be a name mentioned for Texas or Oklahoma or a job that size when they open up. Campbell is a gifted offensive mind that has piled up a number of impressive wins during his time in Ames. He took over a 3-9 team and had them to eight wins within two years.

Jason Candle, Toledo Head Coach

Another Ohio guy! Candle has done a really good job at Toledo, racking up a 34-19 record in his five seasons, including and 11-win campaign in 2017. Candle is an offensive mastermind type and the Rockets are always among the top offensive teams in the MAC. He’s a little bit like Matt Campbell light, having worked with Campbell at Mount Union (WI) and Toledo in the past.

Urban Meyer

Just kidding. He’d never do it, but wouldn’t that be fun?!

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