If you're wondering what rock bottom looks like, look no further than Madison, Wisconsin. The Luke Fickell era was already on shaky ground after the Badgers got off to a less-than-inspiring 2-1 start to the season (a start that included an absolute pasting on the road at Alabama last weekend). After what happened Saturday, though, it might be time to turn out the lights: Wisconsin never got out of first gear in a 27-10 home loss to Maryland, trailing 20-0 at the half and mustering just 296 yards (and less than four yards per play) on offense.
This is year four for Fickell in Madison, the time when head coaches typically start showing some forward momentum. But despite a program full of his own players, the Badgers seem to be sliding backward, never competitive against a bottom-tier Big Ten team starting an (admittedly talented) true freshman at quarterback. His success at Cincinnati earned him quite a bit of good will, but at this point, it seems clear that Fickell is out of answers when it comes to turning this once-proud program around.
It remains to be seen whether Saturday's loss will be what convinces Wisconsin to move on, but at this point, it's a matter of when rather than if. So, assuming Fickell is a dead man walking, who should the Badgers target to replace him? The good news is there are no shortage of interesting candidates that could be available.
5. Jason Candle, Toledo HC
Candle would likely not be the sort of hire that would inspire Badgers fans. And understandably so: He's won the MAC just twice in a decade at the helm of the Rockets, with only two 10-win seasons to his name. He inherited a Toledo program that was already at the top of its conference (more on that in a little bit) and has mostly maintained cruising altitude rather than finding a new level.
Then again, he has quite the coaching lineage to pull from, having cut his teeth first at Division III power Mount Union and then sitting under Matt Campbell at Toledo. He knows offense, he knows how to build a program and he's continued to be a cut above in the MAC with no signs of slowing down. Oh, and he knows the Midwest. It would be more stability than splash, but if you want to get back to bowl games quickly, you could do a lot worse.
4. Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State OC
Kotelnicki was born and raised in Minnesota, but he played his college ball at Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he began his coaching career as an offensive coordinator. He eventually followed his mentor, Lance Leipold, to the FBS ranks, first at Buffalo and then at Kansas, helping to revive a moribund Jayhawks program.
That performance put him on the national radar, where he was scooped up by James Franklin to help modernize the Penn State attack. And he's done a pretty good job of that so far, helping to shape Drew Allar into a legitimate NFL prospect while building an exotic, smashmouth attack behind running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. If that sounds like exactly the sort of football Wisconsin would like to get back to after the failures of the Fickell era, well, there's good reason for that.
Kotelnicki is an innovative offensive mind who is nonetheless still a culture fit with the Badgers, and he knows from Leipold what it takes to build a solid, sustainable program. If he's not higher on this list, it's only because his boss is.
3. Jason Eck, New Mexico HC
Eck was an offensive lineman under Barry Alvarez during the Ron Dayne heyday in the mid to late 1990s, so he's already got one very big box checked. Of course, that would be less appealing if he hadn't given much reason to believe that he could coach, but luckily for Wisconsin that's not the case: Eck turned Idaho into an FCS power in three seasons in Moscow, and he's gotten off to an excellent start at New Mexico this year.
How does he keep winning at places where winning has been historically difficult? By always being one step ahead, and by willing to be as creative as possible to give his team an edge. His running game is one of the strangest you'll see at the college level, and it helps his teams punch well above their weight from a talent perspective. Again: There are a lot of parallels to Alvarez here, which is by no means a coincidence.
If you're looking for a red flag here, it's just that his track record isn't particularly long, especially at the FBS level. But he knows ball, he knows the region and he knows the school.
2. Matt Campbell, Iowa State HC
If Candle is on this list, then of course Campbell has to be. After all, he's the one who built Toledo into the MAC war machine that it is today before passing it off to his OC when he left to take the Iowa State job. All he's done in Ames is establish himself as already the most successful coach in the history of the program, churning out sturdy teams year after year and putting the Cyclones consistently in Big 12 contention at a place where that used to be unthinkable.
Really, the question is less "would Wisconsin target Campbell" — of course they would, given his ties to the region and his success with Iowa State — and more "would Campbell be interested in Wisconsin?" That would've been a preposterous questions even just a few years ago, and who knows, maybe it still is; the Badgers have Big Ten membership to fall back on, which comes with quite a paycheck. And there is still a more significant history of winning big in Madison, with Rose Bowl appearances not too far in the rearview.
Still, Campbell has a good thing going and seems happy where he is. (Well, to the extent that Campbell ever seems happy.) Wisconsin absolutely has to make the call, though.
1. Lance Leipold, Kansas HC
This one has to be No. 1 with a bullet. Take everything we said about Kotelnicki above and double it for Leipold, the man who shepherded a dynasty at Wisconsin-Whitewater before building a winner at Buffalo and pulling off the rebuild to end all rebuilds at Kansas. Wherever he goes, winning follows — the fact that he's a Wisconsin native with deep ties to the state is just icing on the cake.
Seriously: If Leipold can bring Kansas back to respectability, he can absolutely do it at Wisconsin. In case you've forgotten just how hopeless the Jayhawks program was before he arrived, keep in mind that Kansas hadn't won more than three games in a season a single time between 2010 and 2021. Leipold had them bowling by year two, and winning nine games in year three. He might be the preeminent program-builder in the country, and he's from the Badgers' backyard.