Ohio State Football: Why would anybody at MSU rag Luke Fickell?
For years Luke Fickell was a terrific Ohio State football coach and is now a successful head coach, so why did an MSU trustee cut him down?
Former Ohio State football coach and current head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats Luke Fickell was sought after to take over the Michigan State football program. He declined the offer and decided to stay in Cincinnati, and apparently that didn’t sit well with one MSU Trustee.
Here is what the trustee had to say as reported by Robbie Weinstein of 247Sports.
"“Let me say this, by 9 p.m. last night, I personally had more information, finally, than the media did,” Michigan State trustee Brian Mosallam told Jamie and Stoney of Detroit’s 87.1 The Ticket on Tuesday. “And let me be as diplomatic as possible here for Spartans everywhere. At the end of the day, we can’t force somebody to come here.“Spartan Nation should want somebody that wants to be here. We don’t want a waffling flake who views this as a destination job.”"
Why in the world would Brian Mosallam make those remarks about Luke Fickell, one of the most respected and well-liked coaches in college football? It doesn’t make sense when you look at Luke’s track record.
He was the special teams coordinator in 2002 when the Buckeyes won the national championship. From 2004 through the 2010 season Fickle was linebackers coach and / or co-defensive coordinator.
In 2011, as the interim head coach he held the Ohio State football program together until Urban Meyer took over. He then went back to his old position and earned another national championship ring in 2014.
During his time as an assistant under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer the Buckeyes won or tied for the Big Ten title eight times in addition to the two national championships.
After taking over as the Cincinnati head coach Fickell’s teams have gone 26-13. The Bearcats have won 11 games each of the last two seasons including two bowl wins.
With the way he has the football program rolling, I’m sure Cincinnati fans are glad “the waffling flake” decided to stay in the state where he grew up, played college football and has coached for many years.
Next. Buckeyes need to lock up Corey Kiner. dark
On the other hand, Michigan State Spartans’ fans have to wonder if their team can get back to being a contender in the Big Ten East Division anytime soon. Hopefully Mel Tucker can pull the program back together, but I think the guy he coached with at Ohio State has a better situation with the Bearcats.