DT Luke Fickell (HC Wisconsin Badgers)

[Ryan36_1]

Are Buckeye fans one ugly loss away from wanting LF's head?
Sadly, I think with the spector of Urban Meyer still hanging out there that's a real possibility.

Buckeye fans were one loss away from wanting JTs head. Hell I've seen Buckeye fans call for JTs head after wins. So yes, I think it is safe to say that Luke will hear calls for his job when he loses.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Give me a break people, all this badmouthin talk about Coach. And all because we played a good team that will probably win the MAC and you buncha******* don't like this or that about what happened. Well think back to other games we played the other ohio teams and I can remember some other games that we could have lost (Cinci..cough, cough)
Sure Joe had a couple bad throws and I'll tell you that he isn't a very good roll out passer, at least from what I witnessed Saturday. but he did manage the game pretty well. I'm sure we all have things we might have wished Coach would do or would have done but that's why he's the coach and you are not.
Let me put it this way: It's Luke Fickell's chance at glory and we should not be dumping on him after two games. Toledo is a good, very experienced team, and while we do have more talent than them we played 3 brand new O linemen who have not had a chance to gel as a line yet. we played two RB's with one game total game experience, we played WR's who did not even have one game's experience between them, we played 3 or 4 or more DB's with one games experience, The D line was 50% new and still to gel as a unit.

So I now look at the improvement we will make between this game and the Miami game before I start crucifying Coach. If i ever do, which is doubtful.
I look for Coach to be the head coach for a long time.

 

[CONGERSBUCKEYE]

I am blown away at the comments that Luke has to go or is not ready for this job. What a joke. I am quite certain that many top shelf Head Coaches would have their handsfull with all the smell going on around this program for the last 5 months. I am not saying nor would he that this is an excuse for not playing well. Here are my points to the haters out there..

1.) Not putting in Braxton at QB. What if he failed coming in? Now you are going to Miami with two deflated QB's in a season your going to need both. Leaving Joe in gives him confidence from the coaches but also let's him get real game time experience in coming from behind. Which he may face this Saturday. Why show Braxton to Miami more than necessary if you have packages designed for him. I remember reading that Tressel and staff would keep it very simple in the beginning not to show the Texas and other early games much.
2.) Luke is the 13th coach in OSU history to start 2-0.
3.) What was the score of the second or even fifth game over the last 8 years? My point is you do not remember the score just the losses.
4.) Good that the young Buckeyes ate some humble pie before a very big game. I am sure the coaches will get more from them when everyone thinks they do not have much of a chance in Miami.

My last point is off topic but Gene Smith are you serious? It is your job now to know if players are eligible or not.. Luke has a hard enough job getting them ready and the zinger at the end of the last week does not help anyone.

 

[Cincinnatibuck]

Not sure about that total, but I counted 8.5 players from the 2 deep gone after the game on Saturday- Adams, Boom, Thomas, Posey, Howard, Hall, Williams, Linsley and 1/2 Philly. So we were missing 15-20% of our two deep, actually an improvement over the previous week. So that in of itself shows how much better this team can get.
I can't get to 21, but in additional losses to the roster included: Pittsburgh Brown, Pryor, Bell, Newsome, James Louis, McVey, Evenge and Crowell.

Three more that didn't dress were Chase Farris, Melvin Fellows, and Antonio Underwood. That makes the list 19, 21 if you add Spencer and Bo Delande but I don't think they're on scholarship.

 

[Buckskin86]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rUOJHXiii4"]11W: Fickell Presser - Miami (FL) Week - YouTube[/ame]

 

[MaxBuck]

Those who are calling for Fickell's head (and I haven't seem them on this site) are idiots.

Those who say he should be made permanent HC immediately are jumping the gun.

It's a long season, and there's plenty of time for Gene Smith (or his replacement) to make decisions on Coach Fickell's future with the program.

 

[kn1f3party]

Those who are calling for Fickell's head (and I haven't seem them on this site) are idiots.

Those who say he should be made permanent HC immediately are jumping the gun.

It's a long season, and there's plenty of time for Gene Smith (or his replacement) to make decisions on Coach Fickell's future with the program.

This.

How would you like to get your performance review after working two weeks? That is basically what we're doing--making a decision on the body of work over two weeks.

 

[jwinslow]

Which is precisely why it is tough for Fickell to prove himself worthy this season. One year is a really tiny sample size, with players that weren't his handiwork for the most part. his only class before the decision is a meager one (even if that isn't his fault), etc.

 

[ArmyVet83]

If folks aren't calling for Luke's head, they were calling for JT's head, Cooper's head on down the line....hell there were people wanting Woodrow's job at times. The bottom line is no single HC will perform to the liking of the BuckeyeNation 100% of the time.

Truth of the matter is Luke is in his first year as being the head honcho and he will experiment with various combinations of personnel and play calling. Also take into account, on the offensive side of the ball Bollman is calling the plays. NONE of us know how much Luke is involved in the actual play calling. Give the guy a chance to fail or succeed on his own efforts.

Also, what we saw the first two games may not be what we see on Saturday or any other Saturday after that.

 

[korchiki]

Those who are calling for Fickell's head (and I haven't seem them on this site) are idiots.

Those who say he should be made permanent HC immediately are jumping the gun.

It's a long season, and there's plenty of time for Gene Smith (or his replacement) to make decisions on Coach Fickell's future with the program.

Agree. We aren't in the business of offering 10 year extensions after a close loss to USC.

Let the season play itself out and see how they compete against tsun. After all, if Cooper proved anything, beating tsun is all that matters.

 

[OhioExile]

Which is precisely why it is tough for Fickell to prove himself worthy this season. One year is a really tiny sample size, with players that weren't his handiwork for the most part. his only class before the decision is a meager one (even if that isn't his fault), etc.

I would much rather a coach prove himself worthy at the University of Toledo or BGSU personally...we weren't given much of a choice with the position were in this spring though.

 

[daddyphatsacs]

I would much rather a coach prove himself worthy at the University of Toledo or BGSU personally...we weren't given much of a choice with the position were in this spring though.

I tend to agree with this statement. Ohio State is a top 5 coaching job in college football. I guess you kind of get a little nervous to see a guy take over who has never ran a program before....especially when it's magnified by the trouble swirling around. It's silly to call for Fickell's head after a couple of games, but I also think it's completely fine to question some of his decisions........based simply on the idea that we have no history to take comfort in. Yeah sure, he was a great player at OSU (so was Spielman and he isn't worth a damn as a HC) and an all time great high school wrestler. He also has quickly rose through the ranks as an assistant, earning accolades from great football minds. With this said, that doesn't necessarily mean he is going to be a success or failure as a head coach. There is a huge difference between being a good coordinator and a good head coach.

This season is sure to be tense at times with the fan base. Obviously, some are nervously rooting for Fickell (me), others are writing him off, and others are also probably putting too much faith into him based on the idea of what he did on the field at OSU. I trusted the coach with Tress, mainly because he had won titles at Youngstown St. before he ever coached at OSU.... I knew he had the history of knowing how to direct a winning program. As for Fickell, I have nothing to go by......and frankly it amplifies everything that I deem to be questionable in regard to how he is handling his job.

I know that some are going to disagree with me here, but I would wager my thoughts probably echo a small majority of the fanbase currently.

 

[CONGERSBUCKEYE]

I tend to agree with this statement. Ohio State is a top 5 coaching job in college football. I guess you kind of get a little nervous to see a guy take over who has never ran a program before....especially when it's magnified by the trouble swirling around. It's silly to call for Fickell's head after a couple of games, but I also think it's completely fine to question some of his decisions........based simply on the idea that we have no history to take comfort in. Yeah sure, he was a great player at OSU (so was Spielman and he isn't worth a damn as a HC) and an all time great high school wrestler. He also has quickly rose through the ranks as an assistant, earning accolades from great football minds. With this said, that doesn't necessarily mean he is going to be a success or failure as a head coach. There is a huge difference between being a good coordinator and a good head coach.

This season is sure to be tense at times with the fan base. Obviously, some are nervously rooting for Fickell (me), others are writing him off, and others are also probably putting too much faith into him based on the idea of what he did on the field at OSU. I trusted the coach with Tress, mainly because he had won titles at Youngstown St. before he ever coached at OSU.... I knew he had the history of knowing how to direct a winning program. As for Fickell, I have nothing to go by......and frankly it amplifies everything that I deem to be questionable in regard to how he is handling his job.

I know that some are going to disagree with me here, but I would wager my thoughts probably echo a small majority of the fanbase currently.

How is Mark D doing at Michigan State? I think Wisconsin is happy with their hire that was a coordinator. How about Florida and Auburn? Point is he is more than qualified to get this shot. I personally like the continuity with the staff but unfair for us fans to judge him when unlike most coaches Luke had no say in shaping his staff other than his replacement. Which most agree is a pretty strong hire. Coaches get too much credit and too much critique. Obviously learning from the mistakes of Cooper and Tressel make him stronger in my opinion. My concern is that the expectations are insane when you look at the age of the team, lack of experience at key positions and distractions. If Luke pulls off a good record this year he deserve a much better committment. Go Bucks!!

 

[daddyphatsacs]

How is Mark D doing at Michigan State? I think Wisconsin is happy with their hire that was a coordinator. How about Florida and Auburn?

There is a fine line between Mich St, Wisconsin and Ohio St. Dantonio was the HC at Cincy before being hired at Mich St. As for Bret Bielema, you got me there......but it's Wisky. Florida? Well........way too early to tell (but I'd bet Florida fans are having the same nervous optimism that I am). Auburn? Chizik was a HC at Iowa St. for two seasons (unsuccessful ones at that) before taking over at Auburn.

My point is, most of the great coaches in college football right now have paid their dues at a lower tier school, if only for a year or two, before being put into a major program like OSU. Just take a look around the landscape.

 

[Bleed S & G]

I would much rather a coach prove himself worthy at the University of Toledo or BGSU personally...we weren't given much of a choice with the position were in this spring though.

Kent State - Darrell Hazell (0-1)
Toledo - Tim Beckman (14-13)
Boise State - Chris Petersen (62-5)
TCU - Gary Patterson (99-29)
Nebraska - Bo Pelini (32-12)
Retired - Urban Meyer (104-23)