Luke Fickell responds to rumors of being a top USC head coach candidate

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell is widely regarded as one of the leading candidates to become USC’s next football head coach following the dismissal of former coach Clay Helton. Fickell responded to those rumors on Tuesday, and he denied having any interest in leaving for the job.

Fickell says that he hasn’t had any conversations with USC

Cincinnati is off to a 2-0 start after blowout victories over Miami (Ohio) and Murray State. The Bearcats defeated Miami 49-14 in week one before topping Murray State 42-7 in week two. Fickell was hired at Cincinnati by Mike Bohn, who is now USC’s athletic director.

Fickell is among the betting favorites to become the next head coach at USC. But Fickell says that he is focused on this season with Cincinnati and doesn’t know anything about the rumors of USC’s interest in him.

“I know nothing,” Fickell said, via Justin Williams of The Athletic. “We know nothing. Look, I don’t talk to anybody – I barely talk to my own family during the season. So I wouldn’t ever talk about it, nor would I even answer a phone call or anything like that. I know nothing, nor does it make me have any interest. It’s not a big deal. It’s nothing but distractions if people allow it to be, and for us it can’t be.”

USC rumors coming much earlier than usual

This isn’t the first time that Fickell has reportedly been a candidate for a bigger job. The only difference now is that the rumors are coming in September, instead of the usual December/January range.

“No, I don’t normally listen until even January when you start to read some things,” Fickell said. “But this is a crazy world, a crazy business. I think it does nothing more than show a lot of us that stability is great in this business. When you can create some stability and the things that are around you, the grass is not always greener.

“If you are going to spend any time thinking about it, it does make you realize what great fortunes you have to be building something and have some stability. Not just for you as a person and you as a family guy, but you as a program and the kids in your program.”

Fickell: USC rumors say more about Cincinnati players, coaches

Fickell said that him being linked to the USC job is more of a reflection on the great work Cincinnati has done to be successful in recent years. After going 4-8 in his first season at the helm in 2017, Cincinnati has turned into a powerhouse in the past three years.

Cincinnati won 11 games in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and followed it up with a 9-1 campaign last season. The Bearcats are currently 2-0 and ranked eighth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

“But I also want to say that this is the greatest thing that can happen for us, because it is a reflection on what these guys have done on the football field,” Fickell said. “There are some great things about if that’s what is being talked about. It has nothing to do with me. It has to do with what Desmond Ridder and Myjai Sanders and Ahmad Gardner and those guys have done to put our program in the light.

“I hope that there are a lot of those calls and things like that at the end of the year. Because at the end of the year, if you’re playing really good ball, those things are going to happen. We pride ourselves on people calling at the end of the year, whether it’s for me or your coordinators or those juniors that they want to come out for the Draft because they’re playing really, really good football. It’s a compliment to all if somebody is bringing anything like that up.”