Jim Leonhard staying in Madison

Donate To GopherHole
I don't think it's that difficult for coaches to adjust systems. I think that piece was way overblown. I am surprised they worked this out politically. That said, there probably isn't another coach in the country that knows Leonhard's situation more than Fickell. He was in a somewhat similar situation with Tressel to Urban.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when the NFL season is over - I wouldn't be shocked if the Packers and/or Cowboys (assuming Quinn gets a HC position) come-a-calling.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I don't think it's that difficult for coaches to adjust systems. I think that piece was way overblown. I am surprised they worked this out politically. That said, there probably isn't another coach in the country that knows Leonhard's situation more than Fickell. He was in a somewhat similar situation with Tressel to Urban.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when the NFL season is over - I wouldn't be shocked if the Packers and/or Cowboys (assuming Quinn gets a HC position) come-a-calling.
Click to expand...
Whose system do you think they run?
 

Some guy said:
Whose system do you think they run?
Click to expand...
I don't know. I don't think it's as big of a deal as some people do. Nowadays, that's more just an alignment than anything.

Sometimes we run a 4-2-5 (with 3 S), sometimes we run a 4-2-5 with 3 CBs, sometimes we have 3 down lineman, sometimes we run a 4-3.

I'd guess they'll run Fickell's system with Leonhard's influence.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I don't know. I don't think it's as big of a deal as some people do. Nowadays, that's more just an alignment than anything.

Sometimes we run a 4-2-5 (with 3 S), sometimes we run a 4-2-5 with 3 CBs, sometimes we have 3 down lineman, sometimes we run a 4-3.

I'd guess they'll run Fickell's system with Leonhard's influence.
Click to expand...
I am surprised Leonhard would accept that job.
I just think he is happy to be in Madison if that is the case
 



As some have speculated this could be a hold until Leonhard is able to take the Packer DC job.
 

Fickell is said to be a person who really wants to win and is a deliberate and deep thinker.
No one knows how this will turn out in the long term but in the short term it will do wonders for team morale, and the fans' morale and Fickell has a first-rate DC.
Leonhard made enough money in the NFL and as a DC that he really does not have to work so he also thought long and hard if joining Fickell would be good for him and the team.
 

Plato said:
Fickell is said to be a person who really wants to win and is a deliberate and deep thinker.
No one knows how this will turn out in the long term but in the short term it will do wonders for team morale, and the fans' morale and Fickell has a first-rate DC.
Leonhard made enough money in the NFL and as a DC that he really does not have to work so he also thought long and hard if joining Fickell would be good for him and the team.
Click to expand...
For sure
Definitely good short term for Wisconsin.
Will be interesting to see how long he is there. Maybe forever If JL doesn’t care about calling a defense
 

Plato said:
Fickell is said to be a person who really wants to win and is a deliberate and deep thinker.
No one knows how this will turn out in the long term but in the short term it will do wonders for team morale, and the fans' morale and Fickell has a first-rate DC.
Leonhard made enough money in the NFL and as a DC that he really does not have to work so he also thought long and hard if joining Fickell would be good for him and the team.
Click to expand...
Tom Herman is a member of MENSA ... didn't do them much good.
 



Some guy said:
For sure
Definitely good short term for Wisconsin.
Will be interesting to see how long he is there. Maybe forever If JL doesn’t care about calling a defense
Click to expand...
Maybe Fickell doesn't plan to call the defense.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Maybe Fickell doesn't plan to call the defense.
Click to expand...
To which I would say Fickell isn’t a very good hire.
If you are hiring Fickell, you want him to run your defense…it’s literally why you hire Fickell
 

Did Fickell call the defensewhen he was HC at Cincinnati? Most HCs discuss the offensive and defensive schemes but on game day they oversee but do not call every play or defense.
 

Plato said:
Did Fickell call the defensewhen he was HC at Cincinnati? Most HCs discuss the offensive and defensive schemes but on game day they oversee but do not call every play or defense.
Click to expand...
Yes he does to my knowledge
 



Some Day...Maybe said:
And I was laughed at for wondering this in the Luke Fickell thread. Now I laugh. This just made the Fickell hire that much better. Without Leonhard I don’t think it’s the great hire people thought it was.
Click to expand...
I was wrong, Some Day, and I'm man enough to admit it. I was operating under the premise that Fickell isn't an idiot. This is catastrophically stupid and has his tenure on rocky footing before he's coached his first game. There are now inherently two factions in the sconnie camp - one loyal to Leonhard and one who is/will become loyal to Fickell. In that sense, this is a great hire for the Gophers and I'm happy that Fickell is a moron.
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
And I was laughed at for wondering this in the Luke Fickell thread. Now I laugh. This just made the Fickell hire that much better. Without Leonhard I don’t think it’s the great hire people thought it was.
Click to expand...
They went the 3M route. Instead of fire every person who fails to get hired for CEO, everyone keeps their jobs and continues on.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I was wrong, Some Day, and I'm man enough to admit it. I was operating under the premise that Fickell isn't an idiot. This is catastrophically stupid and has his tenure on rocky footing before he's coached his first game. There are now inherently two factions in the sconnie camp - one loyal to Leonhard and one who is/will become loyal to Fickell. In that sense, this is a great hire for the Gophers and I'm happy that Fickell is a moron.
Click to expand...
Non elite post.
 


goldengophers said:
As some have speculated this could be a hold until Leonhard is able to take the Packer DC job.
Click to expand...
Ah, good call. Do the program a solid by staying on through signing day and the bowl, allay some of the knee jerk portal entries, and calm some tempers...all while continuing to collect a paycheck. Then, of course, explore any interesting CFB and NFL jobs that might seem appealing. I could see it. i could also see him straight up staying next year. I mean, some people value comfort over money and prestige. I didn't think it was a common trait among D1 CFB coaches, but who knows.
 

Some guy said:
I actually think it makes the hire worse
If you hire Fickell you are hiring him to run the defense
With JL hire one of those two guys isn’t running their scheme. You either just hired Fickell to be a CEO head coach or you just hired a DC who isn’t an expert in the scheme you are running
Click to expand...
You also said there was no way that Leonhard would stay. So there’s that. Ever heard of collaboration?
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
You also said there was no way that Leonhard would stay. So there’s that. Ever heard of collaboration?
Click to expand...
I have heard of collaboration
We will see who is right in 2-5 years

Maybe you will be and Wisconsin will turn into a power
Maybe I will be and they will break up


Was wrong in that he is staying.
I’m glad he is staying. The reason I was thinking he was gone was because it would be ridiculous to have one of your top 3 coaches running a scheme that isn’t theirs.

If they had hired a coach that didn’t run his own defense. Or ran his own defense similar to Wisconsin’s…it might make sense.
 



I was thinking a bit about what might happen to Leonhard after the Fickell hire. After this news, I'm wondering if Leonhard realizes that if he's going to be a head coach at the Power-5 level, he's probably going to have to do a MAC-level internship first and sticking around in Madison and continuing to exhibit his ability will strengthen his chances. There's no longer an illusion that he's the Badger HC-in-waiting, so other teams below the big conferences may come calling and there will be less holding him in Madison. Unless, of course, Leonhard wants to pull a Norm Parker.

I think one thing this does is stop a mad rush to the portal.
 

Maybe Leonard is a great recruiter who is in on several top recruits and Fickell didn’t want to take a chance in losing those players. Or he is a deer hunter and just decided to stay and enjoy the hunt.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I don't think it's that difficult for coaches to adjust systems. I think that piece was way overblown. I am surprised they worked this out politically. That said, there probably isn't another coach in the country that knows Leonhard's situation more than Fickell. He was in a somewhat similar situation with Tressel to Urban.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when the NFL season is over - I wouldn't be shocked if the Packers and/or Cowboys (assuming Quinn gets a HC position) come-a-calling.
Click to expand...
Totally agree.
 

Plato said:
Leonhard made enough money in the NFL and as a DC that he really does not have to work so he also thought long and hard if joining Fickell would be good for him and the team.
Click to expand...

I always get a chuckle when some people assume they know how much income is enough so that a person they don't know at all "doesn't have to work"....
 


PMWinSTP said:
Does it matter? You seem really stuck on this.
Click to expand...
It does matter.
If they aren’t going to run Fickell’s defense it would be a really bad hire. So I hope they stay 3-4

It would be like Purdue hiring Brohm and then Brohm not running his offense
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I always get a chuckle when some people assume they know how much income is enough so that a person they don't know at all "doesn't have to work"....
Click to expand...
He made close to $10 million in the NFL, and another $3-4 million at Wisconsin so far. Lives in Madison. Pretty easy math.
 

Some guy said:
It does matter.
If they aren’t going to run Fickell’s defense it would be a really bad hire. So I hope they stay 3-4

It would be like Purdue hiring Brohm and then Brohm not running his offense
Click to expand...
OK.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom