“We have the same expectations, championship-level expectations. But as the process went along and we got more comfortable with what opportunities may exist in terms of leadership for the program and as Luke and I spent more time together and got to understand each other more and got to build the beginning of a relationship, it became clear that we see the world in a very similar way and we see the potential in a program like ours in a very similar way. “Just because of the process and the timing, I had the ability to watch Jimmy on a day-to-day basis and obviously had a great base of knowledge on who he was and what he stood for. Jim’s ability to step into the program after an incredibly difficult transition and inspire this team to play with passion and with heart the way they did throughout the season was incredible, and we owe him for that. There’s been a lot spoken about wins and losses. “Stepped into a circumstance that was incredibly difficult and over-delivered. “Obviously, Jimmy first and foremost did an incredible job with the program,” McIntosh said. But the feeling after the dust settled was that two things can be true: 1) Leonhard didn’t do anything to lose the job and has the talent and charisma to be a fine head coach and 2) Fickell gives Wisconsin a chance to reach a higher ceiling because of his track record of success - which carried major weight with McIntosh - and will be one of the most significant head-coaching pickups of the college football carousel. The hiring of Fickell, which became official Sunday, was bittersweet for a portion of Badgers fans and a large contingent of players, given what Leonhard has come to mean to Wisconsin as a former player and an assistant coach. McIntosh went with Fickell and his seven years of head-coaching experience instead. He finished 4-3 during that stretch, helped the Badgers qualify for a bowl game, generated overwhelming support from his players and hoped it would be enough to show McIntosh why he deserved to continue to lead the program. Leonhard spent the past eight weeks doing everything in his power to resurrect a reeling Wisconsin team in the aftermath of Paul Chryst’s midseason firing. Yet for as much as the focus was about looking ahead, one couldn’t help but notice who wasn’t there: Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator who served as the interim coach the past seven games before being passed over for the full-time job in favor of Fickell.
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