With the Wisconsin Badgers going on a three-game slide and losing their last seven conference games, there have been a lot of questions around the coaching staff, starting at the top with head coach Luke
Fickell.
Fickell has certainly been flawed during his time at Wisconsin, both from a coaching standpoint and a personnel standpoint. He has not been great with clock management, specifically with timeout usage (as we saw against Michigan), has struggled with go-for versus kick situations, and is also not a playcaller.
From a personnel standpoint, the Badgers have consistently struggled to identify talent in the transfer portal, while Fickell’s high school recruiting classes are yet to be determined. But, while the head coach shoulders the blame for the operation, there is also a conversation to be had about the team’s assistants.
Let’s go position-by-position and look at the history of coaching for Wisconsin under Fickell.
Offensive coordinator
The offensive coordinator spot has perhaps been the most controversial of any position coach under Fickell.
The Phil Longo experiment was a complete failure. He and Fickell didn’t see eye to eye, there was a stubbornness to adapt to Wisconsin’s personnel and evolve his scheme past the shotgun-heavy ‘Air Raid’ style, and the quarterbacks he recruited didn’t pan out.
Ultimately, Wisconsin didn’t have the quarterback or wide receiver talent that Longo had been accustomed to with the ‘Air Raid’ at previous spots, and the offensive coordinator couldn’t adapt enough.
With Jeff Grimes, we’re still in wait-and-see mode. There’s been some evident flashes, especially with Billy Edwards, who worked very well with timing in the quick passing game. That showed how Wisconsin could move the ball behind a shaky offensive line and open up the run game at times.
But, with Danny O’Neil, Grimes’s scheme was far less effective, as the sophomore would hold on to the ball too long behind a mistake-prone offensive line. However, it’s not all personnel-related.
Grimes has made several questionable third-down decisions, and the involvement of multiple quarterbacks in the same game, like we saw at Michigan, just complicates matters unnecessarily.
The offensive coordinator also seems to be in uncharted waters, struggling to open up the run game and not adapting well enough because of it. Wisconsin needs to find more success on early downs, but has been reluctant to pass the ball because the offensive line is getting beaten in pass protection.
With Hunter Simmons in the fold, that needs to change. Wisconsin can’t run the ball if teams don’t respect them in the air. Once Grimes figures that out, the Badgers will find more offensive success.
Overall, there is certainly hope with Grimes as the offensive coordinator. But, he has also dealt with his fair share of issues in a less-than-ideal start at Wisconsin.
Quarterbacks
Longo was the quarterbacks coach while being the offensive coordinator. And quarterback development was a big issue for the Badgers when he was here.
Braedyn Locke, a four-star recruit out of high school, didn’t get much better during his time at Wisconsin. Yes, he didn’t have great physical tools (subpar height/size, limited athleticism, limited arm strength), but accuracy was a major concern in both of his years with the Badgers. Footwork was also an issue.
Nick Evers, another four-star recruit out of high school, never saw the field at Wisconsin. Same for Mabrey Mettauer (although he was only a true freshman).
Yes, quarterbacks got injured in both of his years as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. But, he couldn’t develop his handpicked recruits to what Wisconsin needed them to be.
Kenny Guiton was moved to coach the quarterbacks this offseason. He’s a wait-and-see in Year 1, but Wisconsin is in a similar situation with a backup quarterback. And we didn’t see week-to-week improvement from O’Neil when he was the starter. We’ll see now how Hunter Simmons works out.
Ultimately, the coaching here has been a disappointment in the Fickell era. But, there have been rough circumstances with the quarterback injuries.
Running Backs
Devon Spalding has been the guy since Luke Fickell was hired. And he’s done a wonderful job in the recruiting department, landing three key guys in 2024 with Darrion Dupree, Dilin Jones, and Gideon Ituka.
Then, after missing out on 2025 (was a longshot with Byron Louis), he landed another blue-chipper with Amari Latimer in 2026.
Now, we haven’t seen top-tier running back production in any year under Spalding. Braelon Allen had his worst year in college working under Phil Longo. The run game struggled to take off in 2024 before Tawee Walker became the lead back. And it’s really struggled in 2025.
But, I don’t know how much of that is on Spalding. Wisconsin has had sub-optimal run blocking the last two years, and the overall offensive line issues have been a big problem in 2025. Spalding’s group certainly has talent. They just haven’t been able to show it as much on the field.
Ultimately, the coaching here has been fine in the Fickell era, but more so due to the recruiting wins. However, Spalding hasn’t been dealt a great hand with the quarterback and offensive line issues.
Jordan Reid
Wisconsin started off with Mike Brown as its receivers coach. Brown came from Cincinnati with Luke Fickell, where he was the wideouts coach and a co-offensive coordinator.
But, he left after Year 1, which may have been due to some friction with Longo. Wisconsin didn’t see much production out of the wide receivers in 2023, but it’s notable that Brown landed an even bigger job at Notre Dame.
They then went and got Kenny Guiton from Arkansas to coach the receivers in 2024. And it wasn’t a pretty year either. Will Pauling, who had a breakout season in 2023, took a big step back in 2024 while dealing with injuries. Bryson Green also had injury issues, and C.J. Williams didn’t take that next step forward as expected.
Trech Kekahuna was supposed to have a big year and ended third on the team in receiving yards, but was sandwiched behind Pauling as Longo didn’t get both slot receivers on the field together enough.
The one standout was Vinny Anthony, who broke out as a deep threat, catching 39 passes for 672 yards and four touchdowns. His yards per catch were among the NCAA’s leaders for a good part of the season.
In 2025, Jordan Reid took over with Guiton moving to coach the quarterbacks. There hasn’t been much production from the wide receivers outside of Anthony, but that has been more attributed to the quarterback issues.
Still, drops have been a thing for the Badgers, more so earlier in the season.
Wisconsin has recruited the position well this cycle under Reid, landing commitments from blue-chipper Jayden Petit and four-star Zion Legree. We’ll see if Wisconsin can keep those verbal pledges through National Signing Day, but those were big gets after getting Eugene Hilton Jr. in 2024.
Overall, there is talent in this group coming out of high school. But, Wisconsin is still hoping to get more from guys like Kekahuna, while others like Hilton start to get more snaps.
Ultimately, the coaching here has been below expectations. Wisconsin wasn’t able to get nearly enough from its receiving talent in 2023 and 2024. And they’re trying to piece things together behind Vinny Anthony in 2025. But, quarterback play has also been a problem.
Tight Ends
The tight end position hasn’t been really relevant at Wisconsin for a while.
That led Wisconsin to really go with a youth movement at the position, with the Badgers targeting multiple high school recruits per class.
So, the Badgers have a really young group under Nate Letton, who has been at the helm throughout the Fickell era.
In 2023, working with a true freshman (Tucker Ashcraft), Riley Nowakowski, and Hayden Rucci, there wasn’t much production from the group. The same was the case in 2024, as Ashcraft led the room with 82 receiving yards.
In 2025, transfer Lance Mason is second on the team in receiving yards with 207, but 102 of that came in one game. Wisconsin has seen growth from redshirt freshman Grant Stec, who has seen more snaps and shown off his blocking ability.
But, Jackson McGohan hasn’t worked out much since transferring, and the other developing players in the room haven’t panned out yet. Ashcraft has been hurt to start the season, but Wisconsin has been waiting for him to take the next step heading into Year 3 in 2025.
Ultimately, the coaching here has also been below expectations, but Letton has dealt with a ton of young talent and a tall task in developing it.
Offensive Line
Wisconsin started off the Fickell era with Jack Bicknell Jr. in 2023 as the offensive line coach. That proved to be a disaster as several veteran linemen looked out of place and regressed, leading to them moving on after just one year. Then came A.J. Blazek
When he was hired, Blazek was deemed to be one of the best moves for head coach Luke Fickell on his coaching staff. He backed that up with some big recruiting wins, including four-stars Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell in the 2024 class, and four-stars Logan Powell, Hardy Watts, and Nolan Davenport in the 2025 class.
Many of those recruits had hefty offer lists with top programs looking for official visits. In 2024 and 2025, Blazek managed to get two five-lineman recruiting classes with both blue-chip talent and upside guys.
However, on the field, his groups have struggled more than Wisconsin’s offensive linemen in the past. In 2024, Wisconsin’s group was a quality pass-protection unit, but a below-average run-blocking group. That cost the Badgers offense as they did not have good quarterback play and were hoping to get more out of their quality running back room.
In 2025, both phases have been ugly for a younger group. Yes, Wisconsin has been heavily injured and has started multiple redshirt freshmen. But, the product on the field has not been good.
What’s worse is that key players have seemed to regress. Riley Mahlman was considered a potential Day 2 pick with good tape over his first few years. That sentiment has gone away in the last two seasons.
Jake Renfro has consistently been hurt. Joe Brunner has played with a mean streak, but has also dealt with some injuries and inconsistencies. Under Bicknell, Jack Nelson saw a step back in 2023 before a bounce-back in 2024. But, there was still more potential to be untapped there that didn’t come out.
The recruiting from Blazek has been impressive. But, the coaching has been below par, given the team’s results at its supposedly best position over the last two years.
Defensive Coordinator
Mike Tressel has been one of the more controversial coaches since coming to Wisconsin. He attempted to work his 2-3-6 scheme early on with an extra defensive back, but his fronts got gashed in the run game, causing him to make a change.
Overall, there’ve been a couple of different looks Wisconsin has seen. Some have benefitted certain players (Ricardo Hallman’s breakout in 2023), while others have hurt the team.
Slow starts in 2024 were a common theme, which is a big issue in the scripted portion of the game. That spoke to a lack of preparation, which falls on Tressel and the coaching staff.
Still, there has definitely been good under Tressel. He has routinely come up with timely blitz packages that can get to the quarterbacks on third downs. Perhaps he’s even too selective of those, using them too sparingly, but that can be attributed to coverage woes at the second level.
In 2025, with the addition of bigger bodies, the Badgers have been much better against the run. But, they have been too one-dimensional in the secondary with a lot of Cover 4 and Cover 3 looks that put their cornerbacks in really tough situations. Playing a ton of off coverage, opposing offenses have been able to get chunk plays between the second and third levels as a result, especially without much pass rush.
Then, there’s the occasional coverage bust due to a miscommunication, where the loss of Preston Zachman really hurts.
Ultimately, the coaching here has definitely been below average. There haven’t been enough adjustments early enough, and a lack of preparation seems to be a problem at times. There are improvements, but not enough to have Wisconsin at the level they were under Jim Leonhard defensively.
Defensive Line
This is a group that Wisconsin has struggled to recruit generally. Well, E.J. Whitlow succeeded Greg Scruggs, who left after one year to briefly join Michigan, and he’s gotten some pieces in the building for Wisconsin.
Ernest Willor Jr. was a big four-star recruit land in the Class of 2024. Wisconsin also got four-star Dillan Johnson in that cycle, while landing Jaylen Williams and several others in the 2025 class.
In 2024, Whitlow’s group underperformed. Transfer addition Brandon Lane was a non-factor, and Wisconsin couldn’t stop the run. They weren’t disciplined with gap responsibilities at both the first and second level, which led to issues throughout the season.
Elijah Hills had three sacks and led the team with pressures, but he was the only force on the defensive line as a pass-rusher, and also wasn’t a big run stopper.
In 2025, though, Whitlow has done well with a bigger defensive line group. He’s gotten the most out of guys like Ben Barten and Lane, with the former being more of a run defender and the latter seeing a big uptick in snaps. His unit has stopped the run at a much better rate, which was the big goal.
The pass-rush remains an issue, but Wisconsin won’t be good enough there until they get consistent pass-rushers off the edges. Mason Reiger has been solid, but is naturally effort-based as a pass-rusher, while Darryl Peterson gets a few wins on the inside weekly. But, there just isn’t enough there from this group to affect the quarterback.
Still, the stock is trending up for Whitlow, who gets his guys working with a high motor on a weekly basis.
Outside Linebackers
Matt Mitchell has run this group under Luke Fickell, and there have been mixed results.
In 2023, Wisconsin was starting Peterson and C.J. Goetz at outside linebacker. While they were quality run stoppers, pressure was a general issue, and the Badgers had no depth at the position.
In 2024, Wisconsin got Leon Lowery and John Pius from the transfer portal. Both were big misses, which speaks to a player and a coaching issue. But, Sebastian Cheeks was a hit on third downs, showing some of his potential.
That leads us to 2025, where Cheeks and Reiger are the two outside linebackers, with Peterson going interior to rush the passer. Both Cheeks and Reiger have been good at stopping the run, and they’re high-energy players, but Wisconsin still doesn’t have as consistent a pass rush as they’d like.
There isn’t much depth behind them. Nicolas Clayton has seen a few third downs, showing off his wicked first step and speed off the edge. But, Aaron Witt and Thomas Heiberger have been used more as linebackers in coverage than near the line of scrimmage.
Mitchell has done good as a recruiter, landing four-stars like Heiberger, Clayton, and Williams. He also has some high upside guys like 2025 three-star Sam Lateju, but has also already lost four-star Anelu Lafaele after one season.
Here, the staff/recruiting has been fine, seeing a down year and an up year, but development will be key.
Inside Linebackers
Here, Tressel also runs the linebackers room. And like his tenure as coordinator, it’s been ups and downs.
In 2023, Wisconsin had Maema Njongmeta and Jordan Turner, with Jake Chaney rotating in. That group was subpar. They struggled mightily in coverage, weren’t very athletic sideline to sideline, and missed too many tackles.
In 2024, Chaney took over with Jaheim Thomas, who was a miss in the transfer portal. Once again, the group was subpar. Wisconsin did have Christian Alliegro and Tackett Curtis rotating in, who saw their glimpses and young mistakes, but it was mainly Chaney in Thomas.
In 2025, the linebacker room has been at its best with Alliegro, Curtis, and true freshman Mason Posa, who looks like a star in the making. Coverage will remain a question mark, but there’s been better tackling, athleticism, and angles from the starters, which are needed in this defense.
The first two years of the Tressel experience at linebacker. This year was better, and the recruiting in 2025 was great with Posa and Cooper Catalano looking like future starters. We’ll see where it goes from there.
Cornerbacks
Paul Haynes has been the guy for Wisconsin under Luke Fickell, and players have spoken highly of him. It’s unclear what his influence is on the defensive scheme, but Ricardo Hallman played well in 2023 after a rough redshirt freshman campaign.
In 2024, Haynes got better play from transfer Nyzier Fourqurean and seemed to have a gem in the making with Xavier Lucas. But, Lucas left, creating a huge void for the Badgers late in the transfer portal at cornerback.
One area where the Badgers have struggled is the nickel corner spot. Jason Maitre was a miss in 2023, both culturally and on the field. They didn’t get much out of RJ Delancy in the portal last year, forcing them to go big nickel with Austin Brown, who’s more suited to play safety. This year, it’s been Geimere Latimer, who hits hard and has a good mentality, but also has a couple of coverage mishaps.
Wisconsin also lost a ton of young talent, with recruits Jace Arnold, Jonas Duclona, Lucas, and Jay Harper all leaving the program, leaving them devoid of depth.
Again, I’m not sure what Haynes’s influence is on the defense, but as mentioned above, the corners are being put in really tough spots this year.
So far, it’s not been a great start for Haynes, as Hallman has regressed, while the other cornerback spot has also been picked on in 2025. Pairing that with some recruiting struggles in the cycle and the loss of Lucas, it’s been a tough sledding for the cornerbacks coach the last two years.
Safeties
There’s been quite a bit of turnover here for the Badgers. Colin Hitschler was a big hit in his lone year with the Badgers, leading the team’s recruiting efforts.
He was involved in several big recruitments, and Hunter Wohler had a strong year with 120 tackles (career high), while having six pass breakups and two interceptions.
It was also Preston Zachman’s breakout season, while Austin Brown saw some playing time with the safety room being deemed one of the best on the roster.
He left for Alabama and was replaced by Alex Grinch in 2024. Grinch came into a great situation with Wohler and Zachman as the lead safeties. Austin Brown was the No. 3 while also seeing time in the nickel, and Wisconsin didn’t rotate much, despite having a deep group with some young talent.
In 2025, it’s been Jack Cooper, who was promoted when Grinch left to take UCF’s defensive coordinator job.
Wisconsin has dealt with a recent injury to Zachman, and transfer Matt Jung has struggled in coverage as his replacement. Brown has been fine as the other safety, with the Badgers going with a three-headed horse here.
Overall, this group has been fine, as the coaching staff has gotten to work with quality talent despite facing a lot of turnover.
Overall Thoughts
That’s a lot of breakdowns, but it leads us back to the original question: Is Wisconsin’s coaching staff the problem?
There have been a lot of issues here, with a few groups underperforming, namely the offensive line, pass rusher, quarterbacks, cornerbacks, and wide receivers. One big question pertains to whether the Badgers have a talent issue or if the staff isn’t getting enough out of the players they have.
I think the talent issue was personified in the new Big Ten, where NIL and talent has become much more of a factor than in years past. But, Wisconsin had also been able to win without a major talent advantage in the past under previous coaching staffs. It was one of the big positives of the school.
Also, this coaching staff has never won at previous stops without having more talent. They had an NFL-caliber roster at Cincinnati against Group of Five talent. And they’re seeing the effects now going up against top-notch teams in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin is recruiting well. But, they haven’t developed enough talent and haven’t gotten enough guys from the transfer portal. The worst part is that players have noticeably regressed under the staff, and positions with talent, like the offensive line, aren’t producing to their expectations.
That is a coaching staff issue, and Fickell will need to figure that out soon.
