Luke Fickell addresses the addition of Jack Del Rio to Wisconsin's staff

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell recently added an old friend to his staff. The Badgers hired longtime NFL coach Jack Del Rio as a senior advisor to Fickell last week.

Back in Fickell’s playing days, he was workout partners with Del Rio for about eight months and the two continued to stay in touch.

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Fickell was looking for someone he knows well, who has a bright football mind and NFL experience to come in as an advisor. He feels that Jack Del Rio is the perfect fit.

“There’s a lot of different things that I was looking for and didn’t find somebody. So it wasn’t like we were just going to do it. Then in camp Jack came to visit and spent two-and-a-half days with us. And it just kind of was one of those things that was pretty unique. He was actually open to doing something and I had been kind of talking about that,” Luke Fickell said.

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“So for me to have somebody in here who’s obviously got a different eye and a uniqueness to be able to communicate with me, but also to give us some other perspectives on things, I think it can be a really good thing for us.”

Fickell added that he feels like Del Rio can help the Wisconsin offense and defense and will also be an asset with roster construction.

Del Rio’s background is on the defensive side of the ball, but he also knows what it’s like putting together a roster, managing a salary cap, etc.

“It’s a football coach’s perspective. It’s a really smart guy, sharp guy, that sees things through the lens of a head coach, as well. To help me,” Fickell said. “It’s a guy that for our guys offensively is another guy to say, ‘Hey, here’s some early on scouting report things of a defensive eye truly watching this stuff and what I see.’ And then obviously defensively with coach [Mike] Tressel and them, just another perspective.

“He’s going to be another guy to really kind of evaluate the game after it’s over, give us some insights on some things that he sees from his eye. Not being in the room all day every day you get a little bit of a different perspective. And then where the program is going to continue to grow to, there’s some new things in how you’re going to structure some of that stuff based on what you believe in your system. So he gives us a different perspective on all of those things.”

Luke Fickell, Jack Del Rio and Wisconsin opened the 2024 season with a 28-14 win over Western Michigan last Friday. Up next, the Badgers host South Dakota on Saturday.