Wisconsin made the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday afternoon, instituting a major change with just two games left in the season. The Badgers need at least one more win to extend their streak of 22 straight seasons with a bowl game.
Luke Fickell is now 12-11 in two full seasons as Wisconsin’s coach and he’s produced the type of performances that normally lead to change. But was getting rid of Longo, after just two years with the program, the right decision at this juncture? Two of CBS Sports’ college football experts weighed in on both sides of the argument.
Longo pays the price for program’s impatience
Phil Longo got two years at Wisconsin, which is often enough time to determine whether or not a coordinator is a good fit, but he still may not have received a fair shake. Air Raid systems only work with the right personnel, and it is no fault of Longo’s that he had to run a pass-heavy scheme this year with a backup quarterback. Braedyn Locke is a limited passer and far less effective than the NFL-caliber arms Longo had at his disposal at previous stops. This season may have gone much differently if Tyler Van Dyke, a prized transfer quarterback, had not been injured against Alabama.
Turning a school into an Air Raid program is a process that, to be most effective, needs to play out over multiple years. Wisconsin built its rosters around its power-rushing prowess, and moving to a pass-first system — which Fickell clearly deemed as a move the program had to make to lift its ceiling — was never going to be a “flip of a switch” operation. Longo needed another recruiting class and more transfer help to complete the roster transformation.
Longo had the tools at his last two schools to make the most out of the Air Raid from the get-go. From A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf at Ole Miss to Sam Howell and Drake Maye at North Carolina, the talent on his previous rosters fit perfectly into his scheme. And in turn, Longo produced the No. 1 passing and rushing offense in the ACC from 2019-22 and a top-two offense in the SEC from 2017-18.
That caliber of athlete never materialized during a brief stint at Wisconsin, and Longo paid the price for the program’s impatience. — Carter Bahns
Air Raid in Madison was a stretch
Phil Longo is a proven offensive coordinator and he will likely land on his feet somewhere. While he didn’t get much time to grow his scheme at Wisconsin — and various quarterback injuries certainly didn’t help — it was a weird fit from the start. The Badgers weren’t going to be able to evolve into an Air Raid system overnight, especially given the comparably archaic scheme that Paul Chryst and his staff ran before Luke Fickell took over.
Credit to Fickell for trying to innovate and catalyze Wisconsin into a more modern offense, but it was too much, too soon. The Badgers simply did not have the right personnel to effectively execute Longo’s gameplan, even if quarterbacks like Tanner Mordecai and Tyler Van Dyke were able to play a complete year. They weren’t exactly setting the world on fire prior to their respective injuries.
The issues go well beyond the quarterback position. Wisconsin didn’t have the skill position in place to effectively run a system predicated on slinging the ball around the field. Though the Badgers can pull a handful of recruits from around the nation, their talent collection efforts are largely region locked. In two full high school recruiting cycles under Fickell, the highest-rated skill player that Wisconsin landed was three-star weapon Trech Kekahuna, who was the No. 72 wide receiver in the class of 2023. Things were significantly worse in that department under Chryst.
So, to summarize, Wisconsin wanted the Air Raid but it has not, and probably won’t ever be able to, recruit like an Air Raid program. Longo is a good coach, but a very bad fit around Madison. This shouldn’t scare Fickell away from trying to innovate — there are plenty of spread-style schemes that would better fit Wisconsin, especially those centered more around a power-run game — but Longo was a bridge too far. — Will Backus
Badger247 has fans covered on potential names to watch for Luke Fickell’s ultra-important offensive coordinator choice he has this offseason after parting ways with Phil Longo. Check out their initial list of names to watch for the job here.
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