Getty Luke Fickell coaching his Cincinnati team in 2021.
Most understood the Detroit Lions cast a wide net for their next head coach last offseason, and their search apparently included one of the hottest names in college coaching circles.
Luke Fickell has been doing a great job getting Cincinnati back on the map, so as a result, he’s been getting overtures from plenty of colleges about taking over their team. Much little was known about Fickell’s potential interest from the NFL, but the Lions apparently looked his way last winter.
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According to a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Lions were “quietly” speaking with Fickell about their opening last year. While he didn’t end up getting the job and Dan Campbell did, that might mean that Fickell will be a hot commodity once again for NFL teams if he wants to be in this cycle. That is exactly what Pelissero projects in his piece.
As Pelissero writes, Fickell could once again be on NFL radars if interested this offseason, and might get looks from the league.
The real bombshell here for Lions fans is the fact that the team spoke with another top college coach last year and it didn’t make big news. Detroit had reported looked into others in the college ranks like Matt Campbell of Iowa State. Fickell wasn’t on any radars in the NFL last season, but the Lions interest at the time is certainly interesting to note even if they didn’t hire him in the end.
Fickell on High Coaching Trajectory
No matter what happens with Fickell, it’s hard to deny that his stock is red-hot at this point in time. After starting is career as a graduate assistant with Ohio State, he rose his way up to defensive coordinator and eventually head coach for a season in Columbus. From there, Fickell took over Cincinnati, where he has been since 2017. In total, Fickell has racked up a 54-21 record thus far in his career as a coach. Fickell doesn’t have any experience as an NFL coach, but he did stay for a season in New Orleans as a rookie undrafted free agent on injured reserve after an ACL tear.
Fickell has resisted leaving Cincinnati in recent years, balking at the chance to take over Michigan State following the retirement of Mark Dantonio. W
Lions Had Diverse Coaching Search in 2021 Offseason
Detroit was long rumored to have interest in trying to woo a coach from the college ranks, with Pat Fitzgerald near the top of the list in terms of possible hires in addition to Campbell. In terms of other NFL position coaches on the list, the Lions looked at most of the big ones, including Eric Bieniemy, Robert Saleh and even former NFL boss Marvin Lewis.
With those names and both Campbell coaches, it’s clear the Lions were prioritizing a very high degree of leadership and character in their next boss. No matter who they hired, it’s clear the team would have come out ahead in that department.
In terms of risk, a college coach will always have a higher degree of that given the propensity of some to flame out, but after watching Matt Rhule transition with the Carolina Panthers, it’s hard to blame the Lions for shooting their shot with Campbell and even Fickell in the end.
It will be interesting to see if Fickell transitions to the NFL in the coming years and what might come of his career after he flirted with Detroit briefly last offseason.