Luke Fickell just finished up his first season as the head coach of the Wisconsin football team, and it didn't go all that well. The Badgers finished the season with a 7-6 overall record and a 5-4 record in Big Ten conference play. It wasn't great, but it was also just Fickell's first season. Wisconsin fans are being patient, but if another bad years goes down in 2024, then there might be some pressure. The Badgers don't want that, and they're working hard to be at their best for next season.

One move that the Wisconsin football team is trying to make is bringing Mike Vrabel to the Badgers. Vrabel did not land an NFL coaching job, and Luke Fickell is hoping that he can have him work with Wisconsin in some sort of role. That would be a great coach for the Badgers to have around.

“I love Mike and want him around as much as possible,” Fickell said, according to an article from ESPN. “I want to see how much he'd like to be around, in the spring for sure. And we'll go from there.”

It sounds like Vrabel will be around the Wisconsin football team a little bit during Spring ball, and both parties will decide what they want to do after that. Fickell and Vrabel have been friends for a long time, and working together on the same staff seems like something that they would both enjoy.

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“I talked to him, I think, on Saturday, and we hadn't communicated for probably a week or so just because the process was going,” Fickell added. “He sounded like a new man. And I'm not sure exactly if this was his choice, or what it is the future looks like. But I know that we're going to have a visitor here that's going to spend a little bit of time, hopefully around us. Starting, coming up in the spring and some things like that, see how much, how deep we can get involved with my buddy and get him around here.”

Next season is going to be a big one for Wisconsin. After another disappointing season in 2023, the Badgers need to take a step forward this year, and it's also a big one because of conference realignment. The Big Ten is welcoming four new teams in 2024, Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA, so that will add a lot of intrigue to the season as well. Wisconsin doesn't want to fall behind in the new conference, and nobody does either. It will be a crucial season for the entire Big Ten.