A day after Wisconsin suffered a 16-13 home loss against No. 1 Oregon on Nov. 16., head coach Luke Fickell relieved offensive coordinator Phil Longo of his duties. Fickell thanked Longo for his time with the team during his weekly press conference on Monday.
Wisconsin’s offense has struggled all season, especially in the second half of games. The Nov. 16 loss to Oregon was their third of the season against a ranked opponent where the Badgers led at halftime.
One of the main issues fans had with Longo’s offense was his predictable playcalling, which is why Wisconsin’s offense had been so stagnant in the second half of games. Longo’s situational play calling has also been questionable at times, particularly on fourth-and-short situations. All too often the Badgers handed the ball off to running back Tawee Walker in the shotgun formation on fourth-and-1, which has received heavy criticism from former players and fans.
When reporters asked who would replace Longo as the offensive play-caller going forward during Monday’s press conference, Fickell responded briefly.
“Why does it matter?” he said.
Fickell elaborated by saying he does not think having a single play-caller is that important, even going so far as to call it overrated at times. Instead, Wisconsin’s offense will be run by a “collaborative group” going forward.
This is interesting for a number of reasons.
First, many fans and analysts would argue that having an offensive play-caller is important, especially for a Badgers team that has struggled on that side of the football all season long. It is also very unconventional for a Division I offense to be run by a committee rather than a single play-caller. Fickell did not specify who this committee would consist of and how large this committee is, so it seems as though we will learn more about how this offense will be run when we see it in action on the field.
The Badgers sit at 5-5 with two games left on the schedule, and they need to win just one of them to keep their bowl streak of 22 years alive. They play on the road against Nebraska this Saturday before closing out the 2024 regular season in Madison against Minnesota in the annual “Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe” game. These will be two tough games, and the Badgers will have to leave it all on the field to beat their rivals and clinch a bowl game.
After the season ends, Wisconsin will inevitably have to find a replacement offensive coordinator. There have been a few names linked to the Badgers already, including Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli. Both of them served on Fickell’s staff with the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2017 to 2021 and may be able to help better execute Fickell’s vision for the “Air Raid” offense at Wisconsin.
These last two games will be important for Fickell and the Badgers. Fans will be outraged if Wisconsin suffers back-to-back defeats and loses their bowl streak, and Fickell could easily find himself on the hot seat for the 2025 season.
Fickell’s offensive play calling committee will get its first test against a Nebraska defense that has been giving up 321.4 yards per game and 20.0 points per game this season.
Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
