3 Takeaways From 3 New Big Ten Coaches at Media Days
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Big Ten and the Midwest are known for their consistency to the same ideals, but not so much to the same coaches. Three of the seven men who spoke at the main podium on Wednesday — Ryan Walters, Luke Fickell and Matt Rhule — were new head coaches at Purdue, Wisconsin and Nebraska, respectively.
Walters left Illinois after a successful stint as a defensive coordinator, leading the Illini to the nation's leading scoring defense in 2022-23, before taking the job at Purdue.
Fickell established an AAC powerhouse at Cincinnati before leaving for Wisconsin, finishing 13-1 in back to back seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22 while leading the Bearcats to the only Group of 5 appearance in the history of the College Football Playoff.
Rhule is the only one of the three that was fired at his previous job, being let go by the Carolina Panthers after a 1-4 start in his third NFL head coaching season, only to be scooped up by Nebraska.
Here's one thing each of these coaches said in Indianapolis on Thursday:
"We don't wear red in the building."
Walters, formerly the defensive coordinator at Illinois, said learning what it's like to be a Boilermaker was one of his first tasks after taking the head coaching job at Purdue.
Part of that includes the Boilermakers' rivalry with Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket game, which Walters was asked about on Thursday. The fourth-youngest coach in the Power 5 responded by saying his team won't wear any clothes with the Hoosiers' colors.
"We don't wear red in the building. I'm not buying red clothes," Walter said. "That's what beautiful about collegiate sports, you have tradition, long standing rivalries and it's a trophy game. All the things that go into it being an in-state rival as well and [in] the same conference, it's the making for a good story, and one that is passionate within the fanbase."
Purdue has won four of its last five matchups with Indiana, including a 30-16 victory in Bloomington last season. However, Walters hasn't beat the Hoosiers in Big Ten play, as Illinois lost to Indiana 23-20 last year in IU's season opener.
Fickell's Wisconsin Will Look Different, But Values Are The Same
Almost every question thrown in the direction of Fickell on Thursday revolved around why he chose Wisconsin and why he seemingly has chosen to change the offensive identity of Wisconsin.
Traditionally a running back-first program built on the likes of Ron Dayne to Melvin Gordon, Fickell hired offensive coordinator Phil Longo from the pass-happy North Carolina Tar Heels this offseason. Additionally, the Badgers picked up quarterback Tanner Mordecai in the transfer portal, a sixth-year gunslinger who threw for more than 7,000 yards combined in his last two seasons at SMU.
While Fickell maintained that Wisconsin's offense might appear different on the outside looking in, he stressed that the Badgers still value the physical and run-oriented nature of traditional football in order to maintain offensive balance.
"To the naked eye, to the normal fan, to the kids on the campus to whoever — yeah, it's going to look different," Fickell said. "There's no doubt. Whether it's two tight ends, three tight ends, two backs in there in the tradition of what Wisconsin has been and has been really successful with, to the ability of being able to spread things out a little bit. I don't think it had anything to do with, 'Hey let's change what they've done and been really good at, and let's bring in somebody that's going to do something different.'"
"When you get the right group of people together, they understand, that regardless of who they're labeled to be — whether they're a ground-and-pound guy or an air raid guy — deep down as you dive into it, it's still going to be about the guys up front. It's still going to be about physicality. It's still going to be about controlling the lines of scrimmage, whether it's offensively or defensively."
Matt Rhule Wants Respect for Nebraska
Rhule comes to Nebraska following one of the most embarrassing eras in the history of the Cornhuskers' program. Scott Frost was fired after a 45-42 home loss to Georgia Southern, and Nebraska has not had a winning season since 2016-17.
Thus, the former Temple, Baylor and Carolina Panthers' coach focused much of his media availability in Indianapolis on the 'Huskers taking back the national respect they have lost as a program.
"There was a time when Nebraska football was feared, and we certainly want to get back to that," Rhule said. "We want to be a team that you say, 'you know what, that team's feared,' but we're not at that point yet. We're at a point where I believe we have to take back the respect of what it means to play Nebraska and to be at Nebraska."
Coming into a storied program that finds itself in dire straits, Rhule knows that Nebraska is years away from true contention. But for his first year in Lincoln, he plans on changing the way everyone talks about the 'Huskers.
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