{
  "id": 16218094,
  "title": "Recalling the Luke Fickell rumors from USC’s 2021 coaching search",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/recalling-the-luke-fickell-rumors-from-uscs-2021-coaching-search",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-23T19:23:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/recalling-luke-fickell-rumors-usc-192358940.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Last week, we reported on USC's 2021 coaching search which saw them close in on hiring Penn State head coach Matt Campbell. However, another candidate who frequently surfaced during that search was Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell. The speculation surrounding Fickell was largely attributed to USC athletic director Mike Bohn and chief of staff Brandon Sosna's prior association with Cincinnati, where Fickell was previously hired by Bohn.\n\nDespite Fickell leading Cincinnati to a berth in the College Football Playoff that season, he was ultimately not considered for the USC position. The Trojans went on to hire Lincoln Riley instead. Fickell subsequently moved on to become the head coach at Wisconsin. However, his tenure at the Badgers has been underwhelming to date. On Saturday, Fickell will have the opportunity to right the ship by facing his former favorite son at UCLA.",
  "summary": "As we all know, the Trojans ultimately hired Lincoln Riley back in 2021, but Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell—then at Cincinnati—was a big name in the search",
  "key_points": [
    "Luke Fickell was a candidate in USC's 2021 coaching search.",
    "Fickell led Cincinnati to a College Football Playoff berth.",
    "Fickell now coaches Wisconsin, facing UCLA on Saturday."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}