Report: Luke Fickell adds three former Cincinnati assistants to Wisconsin staff

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell already has three new hires from his Cincinnati staff out on the recruiting trail on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Fickell’s former defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, former co-defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler and former passing game coordinator and wideouts coach Mike Brown are the three coaches now working for the Badgers.

Meanwhile, at Cincinnati, Scott Satterfield is taking over the head job after leaving the Louisville Cardinals. He will have his own staffers to bring in.

The news of Tressel and Hitschler joining the staff raises questions about former interim Jim Leonhard.

Fickell provided an update on the status of the longtime Badgers defensive coordinator on Sunday. The new skipper noted that he offered him a spot on the Wisconsin staff for the 2023 season, but Leonhard has yet to make a decision.

Fickell says he has ‘opened the door’ for Jim Leonhard to stay

“I definitely opened the door for Jim to be here,” Fickell said. “He’s trying to weigh the options.”

Leonhard is a popular man in Madison, leading the Wisconsin program as the interim head coach down the stretch of the 2022 season. Even when he was the defensive coordinator, players loved him, and many wanted the interim tag replaced by the real thing. Instead, Luke Fickell took the job and now he has some relationships to build.

When asked how he is going to go about connecting with the players after Leonhard was the one many people wanted, Fickell said being authentic is the key. He also admitted relationships won’t sprout overnight, as the buy-in process needs time. The process began the moment he was hired.

“You just got to be yourself,” Fickell said. “You got to be authentic… be real. And it takes time. The unique thing that I think I got is that I was in the position and I had a great relationship with guys just like Jim has. While young men are emotional, they are also resilient. I have the utmost respect for however things move forward. Whatever is best for them, they will do.”

More on new Wisconsin staffers

Mike Tressel started his second stint at Cincinnati in January 2021 as the Bearcats’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

After joining the Bearcats as a quality control assistant in 2018, Colin Hitschler became the safeties coach and eventually co-defensive coordinator in 2022.

Mike Brown joined the Cincinnati staff in 2019 as the wide receivers coach. He received a promotion to passing game coordinator in addition to his wide receivers coaching duties in 2022. Brown was a two-time All-America selection at Liberty as a wide receiver and quarterback and played three years in the NFL.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.