In December of 2016, the Cincinnati Bearcats decided to take one of their bigger risks in recent program history with the head coach hiring of former Ohio State Buckeyes interim coach Luke Fickell.
A former Buckeye and NFL worthy player, Fickell’s young aspirations served as a bit of fresh air for a program looking to reach a level of success it hadn’t found since the departure of its former leader, Brian Kelly. He qualified as an ambitious alternative to the usual image of the college football coach, and yet, he simultaneously owned all the prerequisites to achieve success at a higher level thanks to time spent under the legendary Urban Meyer
On that very first press conference as the Bearcat head coach, Fickell took the podium and stated what was the seemingly obvious.