Is Luke Fickell The Front Runner For Michigan State Football?

Now that Michigan State Football is looking for its next head coach to lead the football program, it's time for the rumors to start flying as to who will replace Mark Dantonio.

The Detroit Free Press wasted no time in starting the rumor cycle. Within an hour of the official release of Dantonio's resignation/retirement, writer David Jesse, who has developed many reliable connections and sources while covering the Dr. Larry Nassar scandal that still hovers over the university, says that he is being told that Luke Fickell is the front-runner to become the next Michigan State University Football coach. But, according to the article, no deal is in place to hire him.

So, who is Luke Fickell? Currently, he is the head coach at University of Cincinnati, the same place Michigan State harvested Dantonio from. He became the head coach of the Bearcats in 2017. In his first year, his team went 4-8, but has since had back-to-back eleven win seasons.

But, what Fickell may be most known for in Big Ten country is for being the interim stop gap between the Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer eras at Ohio State. The Buckeyes went 6-7 in the one season under Fickell's direction, including a loss to Michigan. That makes Fickell the only coach in Columbus in twenty years to lose to the Wolverines.

If Fickell were to leave Cincinnati before December 31, 2020, he would owe the university a $2 million buyout.