Cincinnati Football: Who might replace Luke Fickell at Cincinnati?

Luke Fickell is set to be the new head coach at Wisconsin. Who might replace him at Cincinnati Football?

According to multiple reports, Luke Fickell is leaving Cincinnati for Wisconsin. Special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs takes over as interim head coach for their bowl game. Who takes over as head coach of the Bearcats moving forward? What kind of job is Cincinnati? Answering the second question could lead to answers to the first.

The Bearcats move to the Big 12 in 2023. That move makes Cincinnati a different program moving forward. Utah and TCU have proven that Group of Five schools can successfully jump to the Power Five. Moving to a Power Five conference makes Cincinnati a more attractive job than it already is.

Since the inception of the American Athletic Conference in 2013, the Bearcats have won three conference titles (they shared one in 2014 with UCF and Memphis); the only other school with more than one title is UCF. Since Fickell took over the program in 2017, Cincinnati has won double-digit games three times and has a New Year’s Six appearance and a College Football Playoff appearance.

Bearcats’ athletic director John Cunningham could go with a splashy hire and go after a sitting or former Power Five coach. A hot coordinator is always an option, but the Bearcats need to look at one who has a reputation as a recruiter.

Here’s an inside look at the direction Cincinnati could go for its next head coach.