Greg McElroy shares excitement about Luke Fickell's chance at success at Wisconsin

New Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell has entered a really interesting situation in Madison, Wisc. The Badgers haven’t had a losing season since 2001 but fired Paul Chryst in the middle of last season because of struggles to sustain its higher levels of success.

But yet the team still went 7-6 on the year and won a bowl game.

It makes for an interesting recipe for potential success this fall for Wisconsin. Fickell does not have to do a full-on rebuild of the culture. There are changes he is making but it’s not like he is inheriting a team with character issues or talent problems.

ESPN analyst Greg McElory said on his Always College Football with Greg McElroy podcast that Fickell has a chance to have a really successful 2023 season.

“I think Luke Fickell steps into a good situation, a place with good culture, a place that’s going and has won a lot of football games in the last decade, 15 years, 20 years,” McElroy said. “He’s not going to need to change people’s behavior. They’re going to work hard. They know how to practice. They know how to prepare. Now it’s about energizing one side of the football and not allowing the other side of the football to dwindle. I think he’s got a chance to have immediate success.”

Deion Sanders is in a different situation than Luke Fickell at Wisconsin

Luke Fickell is far from the only coach to be entering into a very good situation as a Year 1 head coach — even if his situation has the most high-end potential in his first year.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is also in a good situation, McElroy said, but in a different one from Fickell. While Fickell joined a team with plenty to work with, Sanders joined a team that needed a rebuild from the ground up.

That means each one will have different bars for success in the first year.

“I think Deion Sanders enters into a good situation,” McElroy said. “Now you’re gonna say how could you possibly say that? They went 1-11 last year. But the expectations are nothing for Colorado. Yes, we’re talking about him. But if Colorado goes 4-8 this year is anyone going to be shocked? If Colorado goes 7-5 this year, people are going to act like Deion Sanders is the greatest coach in history of the world. He is playing with house money, and it’s a terrific situation to be in.”