College Football

Cincinnati's Luke Fickell agrees to new contract extension

Published Feb. 15, 2022 11:23 p.m. ET

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One of College football's hottest coaches of the offseason has officially been taken off the market.

With Lincoln Riley heading west to USC, and Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame to lead LSU, Cincinnati's head coach Luke Fickell has agreed to a new contract through 2028 that will pay him an average of $5 million per season.

On top of a raise for Fickell, his staff will receive a boost of more than $1.4 million to a total of $5.2 million.

And the new money is more than deserved for Fickell and his staff. In his five seasons as the head coach, he has led Cincinnati to a record of 48-15 and two conference championships, not to mention undefeated regular seasons in 2020 and 2021. This season, his Bearcats became the first team from outside the Power 5 to make the College Football Playoff.

That earned him the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

It also made him a hot commodity on the market.

Notre Dame considered Fickell heavily for their head coach opening when Kelly bolted to LSU, though they eventually settled on Marcus Freeman, who happened to be one of Fickell's former assistants.

There has also been speculation that Fickell might be willing to jump to his alma mater Ohio State, or to Big Ten rival Michigan, if either Ryan Day or Jim Harbaugh take a leap to the NFL.

And while neither of those things has happened, this latest deal with Cincinnati could serve to keep Fickell from jumping to a bigger program, especially with Cincinnati preparing to join the Big XII in 2024.

With Fickell locked into the head coaching position for the foreseeable future at Cincinnati, there is reason to believe the Bearcats can continue their string of success.

That continued success will make Fickell more than worthy of his new contract.

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