Just a little food for thought, and possibly a little discussion. Honestly, I know nothing about any of these guys except Lance Leipold, and not much about him. He's from the Madison area, and ran up a .948 record at his alma mater Whitewater, with 6 national championships. He'd probably recruit well in Wisconsin, and really loves the state, but he's a little bit controversial, too.
Fickell seemed like a home-run hire at the time, but it's not just working.
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I think the world and all of Lance. Years ago, when he was coaching Whitewater, I had a couple of his players work with me during the summer. I met him and enjoyed watching Whitewater play from their sidelines at several home games. To say he's a good coach is an understatement. He's the kind of coach who demands players give their best on every down.
I think he might have been a good choice before getting Fickell. Now, not so much. He's not a spring chicken any longer, and his term as head coach would be short. He's over 60 and by the time he got the program where he wanted, he'd be retiring. It's just a little too late I'm afraid. That's the only reason I'd leave him off my short list for possible replacements.
Matt Campbell is a good coach. he falls into that mid 40s range in age. He's done a good job with Iowa State, but he's not that "home run hitter" so his results will be mixed, not unlike Chryst had. I'm not certain he'd have the kind of appeal that's needed to keep the local kids at home to be honest. Matt has 15 players on active NFL rosters this year, and 5 more on either IR or practice squads. An impressive number but essentially the majority of those he's gotten to that level was around 2021. Since then, the talent level of the Cyclones has hit a few roadblocks, mostly because of a lack of NIL money, I'd guess.
It keeps bringing me back to Leonhard, who is 42. Barry Alvarez was 44 when Wisconsin brought him on board. Hiring in that age range gives a coach an opportunity to establish a program and guide it for an extended period of time. That, in respect to Wisconsin football, is essential. Badger recruiting relies heavily on familiarity. Jim brings that familiarity to Madison and getting into the pockets of NIL donors would be a lot easier for him with the right staff in my opinion.
When the Badgers hired Fickell, I'm afraid I'd gotten wrapped up in the "culture change" rage that was going around. I realize now that that's not how it will work in Madison. The Badgers have their own culture, not something "new" generated by an outsider who sets down new "rules" and tells everyone how it's going to be from now on.
Recruiting at the DI level is a real cutthroat thing and finding coaches who are good on the sidelines and good at visiting the families of prospects and convincing them to consider your school as their future playground is difficult in so many ways. I think the best of them take time to study the families of each home they intend visiting and develop their shmooze to cover each one individually. It can be nauseating, especially if you understand just how they operate.
I knew one coach, for a SEC school, who told me he'd eaten so much Southern fried chicken, sweet potato pie, and cornbread that while recruiting in the South that he begged his wife to never serve any of it at home again. But, when he was visiting mom & pop, he'd eat it up and talk about how the woman was serving him something that he remembered as a kid when his poor old mother slaved over a stove to create those culinary delights. The fact is, he hated all three and did since he was a kid, and his mom was a horrible cook, and his dad did most of the cooking and it was steaks and pot roasts in his home as a kid. To him, chickens was something that if you saw it in the road, you turned it into roadkill.
However, I do think that they have fallen into a deep hole, and one that due to the TP and NIL, is a much deeper and full of quicksand, than the one they fell into before Barry Alverez took over. How do they get out? Great coaching, successful seasons, lots of NIL money and a TP that is mainly pointed in their direction, as opposed to going away from them.
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