Wisconsin Football 2022- The Jim Leonhard Show ends, the Luke Fickell era begins

[wildcat83]

54 minutes ago, PeaveyFury said:

I’ll say I’m legitimately shocked. I think the guy has earned enough to coach out a lost season, even if you think it’s the right call, which it may be.

If it’s a lost season why not give Leonard an on the job trial to see if that’s for sure the direction you want to go?  Maybe what they were thinking anyways….

[OldSchoolSnapper]

First name I thought of is Lance Leipold. Guy has done nothing but win at every single level. 

Dominated at Whitewater, moved to UB and takes it from nowhere to bowl games. Goes to Kansas and has them go from a joke to ranked in the top 25 in two years.

From WI and likely a dream job for him - If he wants it.

Has a history recruiting at a disadvantage and developing QBs. Definitely had the "personality." Seems too perfect but I'm not a huge CFB guy.

 

[valpocrewsader]

I've been a don't-let-Leonhard-get-away guy, wanting him to get the HC nod here before being plucked to be the top guy elsewhere, but more recently have become a don't-miss-the-chance-to-grab-Leipold guy.

Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to trial the former before pursuing the latter. 

[patrickgpe]

I think Leonhard is choice #1, he can be evaluated for the rest of the season. I do think Leipold should be choice 2

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Would Leipold want the job? 

I'm inclined to think yes, based on everything I said above. But I don't think it would be crazy for him to think he has a pretty good thing going at Kansas and would be taking a bit of a risk. 

I'm sure B10 is considered a jump up and he'd make more immediately but they did pay him a lot of money to stick around and it seems to be going really well. 

He'd been under immense pressure to get WI going again whereas he seems to be royalty at Kansas.

[patrickgpe]

3 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Would Leipold want the job? 

I'm inclined to think yes, based on everything I said above. But I don't think it would be crazy for him to think he has a pretty good thing going at Kansas and would be taking a bit of a risk. 

I'm sure B10 is considered a jump up and he'd make more immediately but they did pay him a lot of money to stick around and it seems to be going really well. 

He'd been under immense pressure to get WI going again whereas he seems to be royalty at Kansas.

There is no longer power 5 schools in college football, but rather 2 conferences that matter. I would imagine he would want to coach in one of these 2 conferences. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 minutes ago, valpocrewsader said:

 

Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to trial the former before pursuing the latter. 

I think that's a large part of it. His reputation is such that it's a real bonus, if you're going to make a change, to have the opportunity to give him a seven or eight game trial run. This is a pretty far cry from having to finish out the season with a Jerry Royster or Jim Lefebvre, to borrow a comp from Brewer history.

Leonhards' problem is, exactly what's the difference between what they've shown through 5 weeks & what they're capable of? The Offensive line has either underachieved, or is pretty mediocre. Other than the known quantities in the front seven (Herbig & Benton) I've seen flashes from CJ Goetz & that's about it. Talent at WR & the secondary but little experience. And they appear to be down to their third TE, a very important spot on the field for them.

Can't wait to see what they look like in Evanston, out of normal fan optimism but mostly curiosity.

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Would Leipold want the job? 

I'm inclined to think yes, based on everything I said above. But I don't think it would be crazy for him to think he has a pretty good thing going at Kansas and would be taking a bit of a risk. 

I'm sure B10 is considered a jump up and he'd make more immediately but they did pay him a lot of money to stick around and it seems to be going really well. 

He'd been under immense pressure to get WI going again whereas he seems to be royalty at Kansas.

I'll confidently say this: if he wants to stay in Lawrence the recent developments just got him a very favorable re-writing of his contract there.

[owbc]

I can’t believe they actually did it. Kudos to Wisconsin. The program is heading in the wrong direction. How many disappointing seasons in a row has it been now? 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

They gave Leipold a huge raise this past off-season, extending him for 6 years or something and ultimately paying him $16 million. 

He'd for sure make more at UW faster. I don't think Kansas can do a lot better financially or they would have done it already. 

[MrTPlush]

Lance Leipold has already been pestered since Nebraska fired their coach. He has mentioned at this stage in his career his goal really wasn’t to move his family to Kansas and then pack up a day later to leave. He is 58…so not all that young.

I think there is a legitimate chance he doesn’t really want to leave Kansas, especially for a job that won’t have high job security. If PC got fired over this…there are some unreasonably high expectations that may not be possible. It’s the same problem with the Nebraska job.

On paper Leipold has done incredible things…but I invite anyone to watch Kansas’ last two games. As an in-game coach, he does some weird stuff. I always thought PC was an idiot and had bad decision making…but Leipold does some head scratcher things. He insists on using his back up QB all the time when his starter is playing at a Heisman quality and like PC…loves punting at the opponents 35-40. His timeout usage is also Packers level dumb at times. Is Leipold a Big Ten style coach and can he succeed there…I think that is a big question mark.

 

[PeaveyFury]

2 hours ago, wildcat83 said:

If it’s a lost season why not give Leonard an on the job trial to see if that’s for sure the direction you want to go?  Maybe what they were thinking anyways….

I think there's flaws with that plan, though. You basically have to hire him at the end of the year regardless of the results, or you lose him completely- he's not staying on as DC (admittedly, might not have anyway).

It's possible they hit the soft spot of the schedule and start playing better, allowing UW to point to that and hire him. More likely, since this team doesn't look to be a head coach away from being talented enough to go on a tear, they'll muddle through at 3-4 or 4-3 at best the rest of the way, leaving UW with the optics of hiring a guy with results that were less than stellar.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Just my hunch that if Leonhard is the guy they have already made that decision and short of going 0-7 he will be the next HC. 

It would be a bit odd to me to think he's your next HC and then decide he's not because the team we've already seen look pretty awful didn't save itself and finish 8-4 after an in-season firing. 

 

[Fear The Chorizo]

4 minutes ago, PeaveyFury said:

I think there's flaws with that plan, though. You basically have to hire him at the end of the year regardless of the results, or you lose him completely- he's not staying on as DC (admittedly, might not have anyway).

It's possible they hit the soft spot of the schedule and start playing better, allowing UW to point to that and hire him. More likely, since this team doesn't look to be a head coach away from being talented enough to go on a tear, they'll muddle through at 3-4 or 4-3 at best the rest of the way, leaving UW with the optics of hiring a guy with results that were less than stellar.

The other thing to consider - are we really that enthralled with hiring a DC who just let Illinois drop 34 on the Badgers become their head coach just because he's from WI and has put together some solid defenses that frankly padded their stats against teams hat are inept offensively in the Big Ten West?

I think Leonard is the natural fit and frankly what makes the most sense is giving him a nice contract before this season ends to maintain continuity in the program - at least on the defensive side of the ball with personnel and recruiting....and rooting for him to succeed.  That being said, I don't see how even the best case scenario of him succeeding suddenly elevates the Badger program nationally with skill position recruits they desperately need.

One thing WI needs to understand is the haves and have-nots in college football now and even moreso moving forward are the programs that not only rake in $$, but the ones that spend it for coaches/facilities/recruiting....and programs that are set up to offer the best financial incentives for players looking to capitalize on their NIL.  If they truly want to remain more than a Big Ten afterthought after the OSU, PSU, Mich, USC, UCLA in a few years, they need to budget and spend like those programs.

[PeaveyFury]

3 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Just my hunch that if Leonhard is the guy they have already made that decision and short of going 0-7 he will be the next HC. 

It would be a bit odd to me to think he's your next HC and then decide he's not because the team we've already seen look pretty awful didn't save itself and finish 8-4 after an in-season firing. 

 

I think that sums up my point better than I did- there's no real audition. He's probably the guy they're hiring. We'll debate names for the next 2 months, but Leonhard is the guy.

[homer]

fire Leonhard 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Let's not forget the Packers offered Leonhard a job so this is not just about him being from WI, he is held in a very high regard in the sport. He is very young and unlikely to be poached. He has an NFL pedigree and can't be a worse recruiter than Chryst just based on personality alone. 

Maybe he won't make a difference but there are a lot of reasons to think he's a good hire and I don't think they put a lot of stock in wins and losses as a DC/OC or are even considering the defensive performance against Illinois. 

Hiring CFB coach is so much less Xs and Os than the NFL. That is obviously a part of the job but they are asked to do so much more. 

[AKCheesehead]

I wonder how much the fact it was bert they lost to yesterday played into the firing. I honestly wondered yesterday if he was about to get the axe. You can’t lose that game of all games, on your field, when it’s already not going well. Just my opinion but I wonder how bad boosters, W club, Mendota Gridiron or whom ever was calling for it after that. 

[UpandIn]

4 hours ago, PeaveyFury said:

I’ll say I’m legitimately shocked. I think the guy has earned enough to coach out a lost season, even if you think it’s the right call, which it may be.

I'm beyond shocked. Setting aside if I thought it was the right thing to do or not, UW is VERY conservative in firing coaches. It generally takes more than a couple losses...BUT they did just invest 300M in an indoor facility to try and keep up with the other B1G schools, I suspect they know Jim Leonhard is going to be the next HC and they probably think it's better to just hit the ground running, give him this year to kinda learn on the job, and it should help them with recruiting.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, AKCheesehead said:

I wonder how much the fact it was bert they lost to yesterday played into the firing. I honestly wondered yesterday if he was about to get the axe. You can’t lose that game of all games, on your field, when it’s already not going well. Just my opinion but I wonder how bad boosters, W club, Mendota Gridiron or whom ever was calling for it after that. 

I think if they had lost to pretty much anyone else on their remaining schedule Saturday, and looked as overmatched physically as they did, the result would've been the same. I DID hear (second hand as I'm no longer considered a booster) that McIntosh received a lot of phone calls after the game. A LOT.

Your mention of Bielema reminds me of when he was sniffing around the HS where I was coaching at the time. Alec James had committed to UW, Bielema had just taken the Arky job & was trying to flip him. Can't blame him I guess.

[UpandIn]

1 hour ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

The other thing to consider - are we really that enthralled with hiring a DC who just let Illinois drop 34 on the Badgers become their head coach just because he's from WI and has put together some solid defenses that frankly padded their stats against teams hat are inept offensively in the Big Ten West?

Well...for starters, it's hard to say the defense let Illinios drop 34 on the Badgers.

Illinois possessions 
1-Punt 5 plays 37 yards
2-1 yrd TD run that came off an INT at the 19 yard line. So they had a whole 19 yard drive. Also, they had them stopped on 4th and goal from the 1, but the DPI gave them a 1st down.
3-Punt 5 plays 11 yards
4-TD 6 plays 47 yards again off a Mertz INT
5-Punt 5 plays 20 yards
6-Punt 2 plays -2 yards(half)
7-TD 10 play 75 yards
8-FG 4 plays -10 yards(muffed KR)
9-TD 4 plays 70 yards big TD run
10-FG 9 plays 40 yards(off turnover on downs)
11-Punt 3 plays 8yards
12-Turnover on downs 5 plays 14 yards

That's just too much for a defense to overcome. Two possessions inside the 20 on turnovers, another pick thrown  at our own 36, a turnover on downs again inside our own territory. 

 

A normal Badgers OL and elite RB(we have one of those) and that's just not happening.

 

Quote

One thing WI needs to understand is the haves and have-nots in college football now and even moreso moving forward are the programs that not only rake in $$, but the ones that spend it for coaches/facilities/recruiting....and programs that are set up to offer the best financial incentives for players looking to capitalize on their NIL.  If they truly want to remain more than a Big Ten afterthought after the OSU, PSU, Mich, USC, UCLA in a few years, they need to budget and spend like those programs.

They ARE starting construction on a 300 million dollar indoor facility, weight room, etc...all to try and "keep pace with the upper echelon teams like Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan," and a couple others were cited I don't recall. 

The board of Regents...which again, do not prioritize athletics like they do at OSU/Michigan, but they apparently are willing to spend some money.

The Athletic Department has long been among the top 10 in revenue and not long ago was up there with Texas in terms of revenue(Texas WAS the benchmark for a while). 

 

As for how they'll recruit those skill positions, I really don't know. I feel like EVERYTHING starts with Bostad leading this OL back to it's dominance. 

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

43 minutes ago, UpandIn said:

I'm beyond shocked. Setting aside if I thought it was the right thing to do or not, UW is VERY conservative in firing coaches. It generally takes more than a couple losses...BUT they did just invest 300M in an indoor facility to try and keep up with the other B1G schools, I suspect they know Jim Leonhard is going to be the next HC and they probably think it's better to just hit the ground running, give him this year to kinda learn on the job, and it should help them with recruiting.

Yep, especially this early in the season. Historically they've seldom been in this position: Team struggling, highly-regarded assistant coach on the staff that you really don't want to lose. I suspect it played into it. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

6 minutes ago, UpandIn said:

 

 

As for how they'll recruit those skill positions, I really don't know. I feel like EVERYTHING starts with Bostad leading this OL back to it's dominance. 

 

That's job 1,2, and 3. It's always been about development there. It was a dark day when Bostad left that position group.

[UpandIn]

4 hours ago, PeaveyFury said:

I'd think Leonhard is the favorite for the job, but they'll inquire on Lance Leipold due to his ties to the state, and they'd be crazy not to at least call Meyer even though he'll decline. Fans will want a Meyer/Gruden-type name, and we'll end up with Leonhard or Leipold and all will be fine.

Ooh...Meyer? I don't know if I want anything to do with that. I think best case you're looking at a pretty significant philosophic shift and then 4-5 years before he retires, hopefully during which time you can put together a run. But he is going to be VERY frustrated even looking at guys he knows he cannot get into UW. Does this come with more athletic appeals(which would have to be granted) and a much-much larger budget for the staff. 

Quote

I agree with those that were surprised. He has earned the right to have a bad season. I think this has more to do with the prospects of Leonhard getting a job after the season and wanting to retain him rather than Chryst’s performance for the first 5 games this year. Now Macintosh can evaluate him and figure out how he wants to blow the whole thing up or keep on with Jim Leonhard (hoping for the latter). Last time they went against the Wisconsin way it was a disaster. 

 

I don't know...it feels like this was all kinda set up with the Mertz signing, keeping him from OSU and all that, at a time when we had Taylor and we're playing at a very high level, some exceptional recruiting classes(again, people talk about recruiting issues, but we're coming off probably the best 3 year stretch in the programs history, many of whom SHOULD be clicking right now). 

Mertz got people hoping for more...and when the exact opposite happened.

I argued with Adambr just this morning about it. He told me Chryst was on his way out and I said I'd be shocked(he added he didn't think it'd come in season, I said I'd be shocked if it happened at all. 

 

I've tried to get in touch with a couple people I know, one on Chryst staff and another in the Athletic Department(just via text). Hoped I could just send a "whoa, pretty shocking," type of text and get a response. Nothing. Guessing they're both inundated with similar type messages and neither are people I have a close relationship with, so I didn't actually expect anything, more just hoping I could get something. Though one does come up and hunt on my land and stay at our cabin, so...what the hell, he could at least shoot me a text back(even if it's more through a 3rd party we're friendly). That should be about 70% in blue, I don't really expect anyone to be divulging anything to me...but man, hunting season could be interesting this year...and I don't hunt...if he plans on joining us again.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

They gave Leipold a huge raise this past off-season, extending him for 6 years or something and ultimately paying him $16 million. 

He'd for sure make more at UW faster. I don't think Kansas can do a lot better financially or they would have done it already. 

Didn't hear about the extension. Yeah, it's possible they may be at (or close to) what they can comfortably dole out.