Fickell on Notre Dame: ‘There is no speculation’
Luke Fickell isn’t focused on the coaching vacancy at Notre Dame. Not yet, at least.
The University of Cincinnati football coach, who has been linked to the Fighting Irish job since Brian Kelly left South Bend to take over the LSU program on Monday, said Tuesday his only focus is on Saturday’s American Athletic Conference championship game against Houston at Nippert Stadium.
“There is no speculation,” Fickell said. “Is the job open? I guess it is. But I wouldn’t know if somebody didn’t tell me. It’s the same way I am with rankings. It’s the same way I am with unfortunately a lot of other things, with the exception of recruiting. I don’t pay a whole lot of attention.”
Fickell, who is 47-14 in five seasons at Cincinnati, has the Bearcats (12-0, 8-0 AAC) one win from likely being the first non-power Five school to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
In August 2020, he signed a contract extension taking him through 2026.
His $3.4 million salary makes him the second-highest paid non-power Five coach behind Houston’s Dana Holgorsen ($4 million) and ranks him among the top 40 coaches in college football.
Cincinnati senior quarterback Desmond Ridder all but echoed Fickell’s words when asked about his coach.
“We’re just focused on the game on Saturday,” Ridder said. “That’s all his attention’s on, so that’s all our attention’s on . ... We all know Coach Fick loves us at the end of the day. His decision is his decision. But like I said, we’re focused on Saturday.”
Fickell, 48, guided the Bearcats to a 24-13 win at Notre Dame on Oct. 2. It remains the only double-digit road victory over a CFP top-10 team this season.
Cincinnati is 21-1 since the start of the 2020 season, with the Bearcats’ only loss
being a 24-21 defeat to Georgia in the 2020 Peach Bowl.
Fickell, a Columbus native who played for Ohio State, became the 42nd head coach in Cincinnati history in December 2016 after serving for 15 years as an assistant and interim head coach at OSU.
Fickell and his wife, Amy, have six kids. Their oldest son, Landon, is a freshman offensive lineman on the Cincinnati football team.