Wisconsin is set to make one of the biggest splashes of the coaching carousel season with the hire of Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell. The news, first reported by ESPN, sent shockwaves around the Big Ten and the country. Most were extremely complimentary of the move, including nearly all of the national media.

Kudos to Wisconsin on not just taking the easy route and promoting the hometown kid. It's a great job, bring in the best candidate.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 27, 2022

There's always at least one of these each cycle.

Obviously, this would be one of the more slam dunk hires if such exists. https://t.co/bJaIJ3Sen2

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 27, 2022

Big news out of #Wisconsin. This would be an absolute home run, even though a Jim Leonhard promotion had been expected in and around the program. https://t.co/hWGkGNAQLG

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 27, 2022

Luke Fickell is a great hire for Wisconsin. I have no idea if it will work out.

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 27, 2022

Wisconsin hits gold by landing Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell as head coach. Great hire by the Badgers.

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) November 27, 2022

Not everyone was a fan of the hire, though. That included current and former players.

Losing jimmy Leonhard will be the worse decision Wisconsin will ever make 🤷🏽‍♂️ I said what I said

— Eric Burrell (@EricBurrell_) November 27, 2022

If people knew @jimleonhard behind the scenes, the love for the program/players/families/alums, what he’s had to navigate through the years on staff, what he’s turned down to stay, and the vision he had for @BadgerFootball you’d realize just how gut wrenching today is. #Badgers

— Joel Nellis (@Mr_Nellis) November 27, 2022

💔 pic.twitter.com/4CetaAWndH

— Curtis Neal (@CurtisNeal97) November 27, 2022

they could at least give the younger guys some answers and not leave them with uncertainty

— Justin Clark (@jclark_24_) November 27, 2022

Burning bridges

— BCal (@brian_calhoun2) November 27, 2022

LMAOOOOOO!

— Nick Herbig (@nickherbig_) November 27, 2022

Losing Jim Leonard will go down as one of the biggest losses in Wisconsin football history. His knowledge/feel for the game along with being able to relate to players was the best I’ve ever seen.

— Troy Fumagalli (@TroyFumagalli) November 27, 2022

Feelings don’t always last but right now it feels hard to support the Badger football program. https://t.co/elm1QoFR7b

— Owen Daniels (@owendaniels) November 27, 2022

Not all the alumni were down on the situation, with some taking the good (Fickell hire) with the bad (likely losing interim coach Jim Leonhard.)

Luke Fickell is huge for this program! It is now time to EXPECT greatness!

— Travis Beckum (@TravisBeckum47) November 27, 2022

I had to turn in my alerts just to see who Wisconsin names as the new HC.
I love Jim!
I also got mad respect for Luke!
I want to see Wisconsin football back where it needs to be. At the top. If that means we hire an O state coach then that what needs to happen.

— Kyle Jefferson (@kj_14_7_3) November 27, 2022

A lot of great Coaches on the Badgers current staff. So many of them had a positive impact on my life. Can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done. Hopefully some of them are included moving forward. Sad day, but excited to see where the program heads next. #OnWisconsin

— David Moorman (@DMoorman68) November 27, 2022

As for fans, some lauded athletic director Chris McIntosh’s decision to go outside of the Wisconsin family while others had concerns with the process and the prospect of not having Leonhard around.

I personally really like it. The team needed to go a different direction then doing the same thing they had been doing.

— Gary Zimmerman III (@GaryZimm3) November 27, 2022

Definitely more. He’s the type of hire I’ve been convinced Wisconsin would never make. He’s not coming to UW to contend for the West. He’s coming to win the conference and make the CFP.

Now we’ll (if he actually is hired) see if he can do it.

— Keith Keskinen (@KeithKeskinen) November 27, 2022

Would ultimately be the right hire, but the process to get there seems absolutely horrible.

— Paul Zdanowicz (@Pzdanowicz23) November 27, 2022

MORE. I would definitely feel for Leonhard, but he had an uninspiring run as interim. I think we need to go outside the program to rid ourselves of the recent stink. Fickell is a proven winner and can do more damage in Madison.

— Zachary Cohen (@_ZCO) November 27, 2022