After flirting with Michigan State over the past few days, it appears that coach Luke Fickell will be staying put at Cincinnati. The news was first reported Monday morning by Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel.
On Tuesday, coach Mark Dantonio announced his retirement from the Spartans. It was odd timing, given that National Signing Day, the beginning of the spring signing period, was the following day. Reports, as well as information from other sources, however, indicate that there could be NCAA violations in the program, aside from those stemming from former team physician Larry Nassar.
Immediately, Fickell became known as the top candidate to replace Dantonio. This intensified as Colorado coach Mel Tucker withdrew his name from consideration and San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Robert Saleh declining to interview.
Michigan State athletics director Bill Beekman was confirmed in Cincinnati Saturday night by WLWT's Brandon Saho. Beekman officially interviewed Fickell for the vacant head coaching position on Sunday.
Sources at Michigan State, including SpartanMagazine's Jim Comparoni, reported that an agreement with Fickell to accept the position was in place Sunday night. Early reports were in the neighborhood of five years and $25 million.
But on Monday morning, Fickell had reportedly declined the offer.
This past season, Fickell's base pay with Cincinnati was $2.3 million, tied for No. 63 among FBS coaches. That number increased to $2.4 million last month, but Fickell also brought in numerous bonuses this past season. That included $75,000 for a bowl appearance, $50,000 for an appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings, $25,000 for winning the Birmingham Bowl, and $40,000 for reaching 11 wins. This, according to the memorandum Fickell signed with the university.
Fickell also cryptically tweeted out his decision to stay with the Bearcats this morning as well:
By staying with Cincinnati, Fickell will resume work on one of the highest-ranked recruiting classes in school history.
The Bearcats finished at No. 39 in Rivals.com's team rankings for the 2020 class, ironically, one spot behind Michigan State. Cincinnati had the highest ranked class in the American Athletic Conference and the highest ranked among non-power five teams.
The three key pieces to the Bearcats' class were four-star linebacker Jaheim Thomas, No. 166 in the Rivals250, four-star quarterback Evan Prater, Ohio's Mr. Football, and four-star wide receiver Jadon Thompson, who is likely a sign and place addition, meaning he will likely head to junior college or a prep school to become academically eligible.
In terms of returnees, junior running back Michael Warren II, who ran for 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns, declared for the NFL Draft. But quarterback Desmond Ridder returns, along with many other key players on offense and defense.
Fickell has also stressed the importance of family. Both he and his wife Amy are from and have numerous family members in Ohio. They also have strong Catholic ties established for their six children and have long talked about the 'home feeling' that the Queen City has provided them.
Fickell is 26-13 in three seasons as Cincinnati's coach, including back-to-back 11-win seasons.
