BadgerBlitz.com dives into its message board to take questions from subscribers in this week's mailbag.
What do you make of "extra" coaches? Replacements in waiting? Mike Vrabel and Kirk Penney, for example.
Greg Gard added a veteran presence to his bench this season when Kirk Penney, who played at Wisconsin from 1999-2003 before a 15-year professional career, joined the program as a Special Assistant to the Head Coach.
"I'm excited to welcome Kirk back to our program," Gard said in November. "His knowledge of not only what it means to be a Badger, but also his world-wide experience in the game of basketball will be a great asset to our players and program overall. Kirk checks all of the boxes in terms of his knowledge of our program, his mind for the game, his wealth of playing and coaching experience, and his love for the Badgers. I'm happy to have Kirk back at Wisconsin."
Luke Fickell is in a position to make a similar move with Mike Vrabel, who was recently fired by the Tennessee Titans. The two were teammates at Ohio State and have remained close friends since.
To address the question, I don't necessarily see either as "replacement in waiting." Rather, I think each unique situation makes sense for both Penney and Vrabel at this point in their respective careers.
Let's start with Vrabel, who does not yet - and may never - have an official title with the Badgers. It sounds like Fickell wants to bring him on slowly this spring and see how things progress from there. The best case scenario would be for Vrabel to spend a year with the Badgers in a senior analyst role. I don't think there's any chance he takes over as the defensive line coach, which is currently vacant, or stays with the program beyond the 2024 season. Jumping back to the NFL in 2025 seems like the most realistic scenario.
"I talked to my buddy (Vrabel) and said something about, ‘hey, come on by for spring ball and spend some time with us," Fickell said recently at the Big Red Rally. "So we’ll see. I don’t think that he’ll be coaching this year - so to speak - in the NFL, so I’ll continue to entice him. As the weather gets better, he’s a guy who enjoys to golf, so there’s some opportunities to do a two-for-one.
"I think it will be a great opportunity for all of us, for our kids as well. So we’ll see."
In regards to Penney, he committed to a much bigger role with the Badgers and is far more likely to stay at Wisconsin beyond this season. A full season with the team should provide an opportunity to figure out if he wants to pursue coaching in a larger capacity, or return again next season to his same role. If there's turnover on the staff down the road, Penney, if interested, could be on Gard's shortlist.
