Former Ohio State coach may get big time job offer

Luke Fickell began his head coaching journey in 2011 after Jim Tressel was suspended due to the infamous recruiting scandal. After Tressel resigned, Fickell was given a one-year contract to be the head coach at Ohio State.

After leading the Buckeyes to a 6-6 record, Fickell was passed up for the permanent head coaching job when Urban Meyer was hired in 2012. Fast forward to 2016, after being the Buckeyes defensive coordinator for 4 seasons under Coach Meyer, Fickell was named the head coach at Cincinnati.

Over his 4 years as the Bearcats’ head coach, Luke Fickell has turned the Cincinnati Bearcats into a top 10 program . Despite his tremendous success in Cincinnati, could Fickell bring Texas back to being a national championship contender?

When Texas hired Tom Herman from the University of Houston in 2017, Texas fans were optimistic about their program returning to the ‘Mack Brown Era’ of being a national championship contender every year. Unfortunately, Herman has not accomplished much and some may argue that he, in fact, has made the program even worse.

With a $5 million per year salary, his efforts leading the Texas Longhorns have resulted in an overall record of 31-18 record, losing at least 3 games in each season. His 6-3 record in 2020 has resulted in speculation that Texas should fire Herman.

After Urban Meyer turned down the opportunity to be Herman’s replacement, I think the Texas program would return to national dominance with the hire of Luke Fickell.

Luke Fickell has proven that he can turn around a program to be in the national spotlight. With an overall 34-13 record as the Bearcats head coach, Fickell has the Bearcats ranked 8thin the country this season. Fickell should take the Texas job for 2 reasons: Resources and the Big 12 Conference.

For Fickell, his journey to take the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff will always be a challenge due to the fact of not being in a Power 5 Conference. For the Bearcats to be considered as a top 4 team in the country, they will always need to rely on late season losses from the dominant programs like Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. Their chances of jumping a SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 or Pac 12 conference champion is slim to none.

If Cincinnati was in a Power 5 Conference this season, it would be difficult for the committee to leave an undefeated Power 5 Conference champion out of the College Football Playoff. You could make the argument that the Bearcats could be ranked higher then both Clemson and Ohio State if that were the case this season.

In addition to the importance of being in a Power 5 Conference, Fickell’s resources would be tremendously greater in Austin than in Cincinnati. His ability to recruit is already proven during his time in Cincinnati. Imagine the damage he could do on the recruiting trail for Texas? Talent is what separates the good teams from being great teams.

Cincinnati has struggled to compete with programs such as Ohio State due to its lack of depth of talent. Fickell would have access to every top recruit in the nation and his belief in recruiting in ‘your own backyard’ would benefit Texas tremendously considering top Texas recruits are leaving the state to commit to other top schools such as Ohio State, Alabama and Clemson.

If you give Luke Fickell the keys to the Texas program, there is no doubt that he would create a winning culture that would result in the Longhorns competing for the College Football Playoff year over year. You give Fickell the opportunity to recruit and compete in a Power 5 conference, the sky is the limit for his program.

Fickell’s journey could come full circle if he becomes the head coach at Texas. He would get another shot as his former alma mater but this time with a better shot to take it to the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes host Texas at Ohio Stadium to kickoff the 2025 season.