Phil Longo fired as Wisconsin Badgers offensive coordinator

This story has been updated with new information.

Wisconsin head football coach Luke Fickell made a coaching change Sunday morning, parting ways with offensive coordinator Phil Longo.

“This morning I informed Phil Longo that he will no longer be our offensive coordinator,” Fickell said in a press release issued by the school’s athletic department. “After continuing to evaluate the program, I have decided that we are not where we need to be and I believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.

“I appreciate Phil’s commitment to helping us build our program over the past two seasons and I wish him well moving forward. This team still has a lot ahead of us and I am committed to doing everything that we can to close this season successfully.

Longo’s tenure at Wisconsin lasted just 23 games. He was part of Fickell’s original coaching staff.

Before bringing his “Air Raid” offense to UW in January 2023, he spent four seasons as offensive coordinator at North Carolina and two in the same role at Mississippi.

The Badgers (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) rank 10th in the 18-team conference with 23.9 points per game and ninth with 363.1 yards per game this season.

Last season, UW ranked seventh in points (23.5) and sixth in yards (381.2) per game when the conference had 14 teams.

The UW announcement did not specify who will fill Longo’s roles. Fickell’s weekly news conference is scheduled for noon Monday.

The news came a day after a 16-13 loss to No. 1 Oregon in which the Badgers generated a season-high 226 yards. The season-low before that was 261 yards, while tying a season-low by 10 points in a 32-point loss to Iowa.

Wisconsin had two chances in the final 2:36 to generate a drive for a game-winning touchdown or game-tying field goal. The Badgers failed to generate a first down each time.

Fickell was asked last week what he needed to see from the offensive scheme in the last three games to have confidence in him going forward.

“I think it’s growth,” he said. “I think you have to continue to see the progression of what you do. You have what you have. Finding ways to (do) everything you have to do with everything you have is what’s important .

The Badgers have struggled to develop an offensive identity under Fickell. Longo’s hiring marked a departure from the physical style that UW had been known for since its rise under Barry Alvarez to a more quarterback-friendly scheme that focused on stretching the field and spreading around the ball.

That didn’t come to fruition under Longo, as few playmakers emerged during his nearly two seasons coordinating the offense.

The quarterback’s development hasn’t gone as planned either. UW was dealt a major blow in Game 3 when opening day starter Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending knee injury. That opened the door for redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke to take over the offense.

During preseason camp, Longo and Fickell expressed confidence in Locke’s ability to run the offense if called upon, but Locke completed 55% of his passes for 1,514 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. . He was intercepted in each of his seven starts, throwing pick-6s twice.

Longo met with reporters last Monday for his monthly press conference. He was asked if he had ever coached in a place where it had been as difficult to get the offense to the level he wanted.

“Not for a while,” he said. “It’s a great conference. That’s why I came. Great coaches that we compete against every week and some really good talent and it’s a top-to-bottom heavy conference. There’s really no of bottom-feeders in this agreement You fight against each (week).

“But I think you’re hired for a reason. Usually things aren’t perfect when you come in and so the last couple of years Fick has a plan and a vision and he’s laid it out and sometimes tries to get there where you want to get there, we all want it to happen tomorrow, but it’s a process and it takes a little time.

“I said it last year and I’ll say it again. When you build something to sustain success, it’s harder. It’s harder to do. You can follow a certain path as far as upgrade or change your and get an immediate response for that particular year or you can build something that you want to maintain with some success over the long term, which is the goal here and what Fick wants.