MADISON, Wis – Getting an opportunity to stand in front of his new players on Sunday night, just hours after being named the 31st head football coach at the University of Wisconsin, Luke Fickell can sense that apprehension in the room.

Sure, the players were there to listen to their new head coach’s message about the direction he wants to take the program, but Fickell could tell that some in the room were hoping that it would be Jim Leonhard speaking to them as the permanent head coach instead of him.

“You got to be authentic. You got to be yourself, and it takes time,” Fickell said. “What we do understand, while young men are emotional, they also are resilient. I got to utmost respect how things continue to unfold. Whatever is best for them, they’ll do. Building relationship is a big deal.

“Life is about continuing to grow. I’m not trying to overtake somebody’s relationship with them, but I’m here to grow a relationship with them, as well.”

Leonhard, who has been the Badgers’ defensive coordinator since 2017, went 4-3 as UW’s interim coach after athletic director Chris McIntosh fired Paul Chryst on October 2. The former three-time All-American safety for the Badgers interviewed with McIntosh for the permanent position on November 21. Leonhard was not at Fickell’s welcome event at Camp Randall Stadium and has not made any public comments since Saturday.

Early Monday, Wisconsin posted jobs for defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, assistant coach, and two strength and conditioning coaches. Reports suggest Fickell will fill the latter category (if not more) with some of his staffers from Cincinnati.

Both Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and McIntosh heaped praise on Leonhard’s ability to lead Wisconsin through a difficult season, as well as his character and passion for the program. Asked directly about how strongly Leonhard was considered for the job, given the ringing endorsement from a large portion of the locker room, McIntosh didn’t shy away from Leonhard’s ability to lead.

“He over delivered,” he said of Leonhard. “A lot has been spoken about wins and losses. I want to be clear that’s not what it’s about. Jim’s ability to step into the program after an incredibly difficult transition and inspire this team to play with passion and heart the way they did throughout the season with passion and heart is incredible. We owe him that.

“Because of the process and the timing, I had the ability to watch Jimmy on a day-to-day basis and obviously had a great base of knowledge of who he was and what he stood for. I gave him strong consideration, very strong consideration.”

But as McIntosh dove deeper into the candidates, it became evident that Fickell and he were in lock step with the vision they had for Wisconsin from an athletic, recruiting, facility-building standpoint. It’s not overly surprising since McIntosh sees a lot of himself in Fickell. Both played 50 consecutive games at their respective colleges (McIntosh as a UW offensive lineman, Fickell as an Ohio State nose tackle), both won a Rose Bowl, both were academic all-conference, and both were high school state champion wrestlers.

“It became clear we see the world in a very similar way,” McIntosh said of Fickell. “We see the potential in a program like ours in a very similar way. We have the same expectations, championship-level expectations. It became evident that Luke and his experience and his belief system and his approach and process, which was proven, does align with what we believe here was the way I chose to go, and I felt the best position our program for long-term success here.”

Fickell said he met with Leonhard for roughly an hour Sunday with a planned follow-up meeting Wednesday. It was more of an introductory meeting without a lot of details given, but Fickell appeared open to the possibility of keeping Leonhard on staff as the defensive coordinator.

“Jim will know what’s best for him,” Fickell said. “Jim will know what’s best for the program. Jim will know what’s best for the team, and I respect that.”

Ironically, Fickell was in a nearly identical position as Leonhard 11 years ago. Named the interim coach at Ohio State after Jim Tressel’s resignation, Fickell posted a 6-6 regular season but was passed over for the permanent job in favor of Urban Meyer

Meyer retained Fickell, who returned to his old job as co-defensive coordinator, helped guide the program to the 2014 College Football Playoff National Championship, and remained there until hired by Cincinnati in 2017.

“If you can figure out where you want to be in five years, where you want to be in 10 years, it’s going to help you a lot better figure out where you want to be next year,” Fickell said. “It’s not easy. There’s a lot of things we’ve got to get over (and) get through … I know that it’s not an easy situation. It takes a special person in some way to get over those things. I had a hard time with it, but I do believe it was the right thing for me in the way I did it. It helped me be who I am, but my way is not always the right way … He'll know what’s best for him. I’m just excited to find out what he thinks.”

Fickell said he will be involved in coaching the team in some capacity during its bowl prep over the next month, but he and Leonhard still were working out those details. McIntosh said he expects Wisconsin will be able to field a competitive team for its bowl game, with the destination and the opponent being announced Sunday.

“I told (the players) today that we don't know exactly what that will look like and moving into the next three weeks,” Fickell said. “But I promised them this, that I'll be a part of it. I'll be coaching in some way, shape or form. We'll figure out what that means. If that means I'm coaching the punters, if that means I'm coaching the nose guards, I'm going to be around these guys. I'm gonna have the ability to coach them, to get to know them, to start to build that trust, respect, and love with them that's so critical for our future.”

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