Madison - In one of the most shocking days in program history, athletic director Chris McIntosh poached Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to take the Wisconsin football job. It’s a sneaky, steal of a hire that ultimately bodes well for the direction of the program, but also serves as a cold letdown for Jim Leonhard and a blatant disregard for the players.

The interim head coach looked to have the job all but completely locked up. After the Purdue game, with Wisconsin finally hitting its bye week, Leonhard sat down with the team to break down what would happen to the program if he got the job. By all accounts, it was incredibly in-depth. Leonhard laid it all out for his players.

The overwhelming sentiment from the team was that Leonhard was the guy. After Wisconsin knocked off Maryland in a stormy Camp Randall, bringing Leonhard’s record to 3-1 at the time, captain Nick Herbig said “It blows my mind that he’s not the head coach yet.”

“I think everyone in the locker room wants him to be our guy,” top wideout Chimere Dike added. “I’d be shocked if he didn’t (get the job), honestly.”

Safety Hunter Wohler put it even more succinctly: “That’s his job.”