Why Did Phil Longo Fail at Wisconsin?

Phil Longo's tenure in Madison was short... but not sweet. Here are some of the reasons why he didn't succeed as the Wisconsin Badgers' OC.

Phil Longo was hired shortly after Luke Fickell came to Madison from Cincinnati. His “air raid” offense was highly regarded and worked (somewhat) at schools like North Carolina and Ole Miss. He was already known as one of the best offensive coordinators in the country, so his hiring felt like a no-brainer for Fickell. However, it soon became clear that his vision for Wisconsin football differed from Phil Longo’s vision, which is partly why Fickell decided to part ways with him during the season instead of waiting for the regular season to conclude.

It is puzzling that Luke Fickell believed that Longo was the right fit two years ago. Fickell’s traditional offensive schemes have looked a lot closer to the Wisconsin offenses of the past than the Texas/West Coast offense that Phil Longo was attempting to implement. Fickell is a defensive guy, meaning that most of his coaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that you need to be tougher, stronger, and more physical than your opponents. Barry Alvarez coached the same way.

Phil Longo didn't.

We saw glimpses of excellence under Longo, most notably during last year’s Reliaquest Bowl when the Badgers battled it out with LSU and scored 31 points en route to a 35-31 bow loss that still gave Badger fans hope for the future.

The thing that came painfully clear during this season is that Wisconsin benefits most from an offense that is run-first, but has a capable quarterback that can both scramble and air it out. Former Badger quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Jack Coan, and even Alex Hornibrook fit the bill.

Players like Braedyn Locke do not.

While Tyler Van Dyke’s injury was extremely unfortunate and definitely killed the Badgers’ chances to be special this season, it still doesn’t make up for the fact that Braedyn Locke was Wisconsin’s second string and has regressed since last season. Last year, Locke was inaccurate but wasn’t turnover prone. This year, he is both inaccurate and extremely turnover prone, as he’s thrown an interception in every single game he has started this season.

Even during Wisconsin’s electric three-game win streak this season, a lot of that success was thanks to Mike Tressel and this Wisconsin defense. The run game was very strong, but Locke struggled in both the Rutgers and Northwestern games and relied on impressive defensive stops in the red zone. This winning streak made it clear that Wisconsin needs to somewhat return to their roots and play the Midwest style of football that they can win with. Michigan did it last year, so why can't Luke Fickell and the Badgers?

Now, I don’t think Phil Longo is a bad coach at all. In fact, some of his play designs are incredibly creative and innovative. That being said, he clearly isn’t the right man for the job here in Madison and is far better suited as a coach at a program that has a history of strong quarterback play and “air raid” offense.

One thing that stood out to me when watching film back is how infrequently the Badgers’ used trickery in the backfield. While Chryst deserved to be fired and was not the right man to lead this program anymore, his offense had a lot of great plays in it.

For example, look at the video below from 2017:

There are countless examples of plays like these that worked with Chryst and would still be successful now with how strong Coach Blazek has been as a position coach and recruiter for the offensive line room. Longo didn't use much of this style of offense, which makes sense why Fickell and him didn’t quite get along. Fickell loves this kind of physical play, but Longo doesn't.

I trust Luke Fickell and Wisconsin fans should too. He just flipped a major recruit in 4-star Jaylen Williams from Michigan yesterday and is most likely going to land 4-star dual-threat quarterback Carter Smith who was also originally committed to Michigan. That level of recruiting was non existent under Chryst and wouldn’t have been possible if Jim Leonard was made head coach. Fickell needs time to develop his recruits, which is why 2025 and 2026 are such important years for the program. With the right offensive coordinator, the Badgers can be a good team in ‘25, but a playoff contender in ‘26 if they play their cards right.

I trust Fickell to make an excellent offensive coordinator hire, whether that be Gino Guidugli (Notre Dame), Mike Shanahan (Indiana), Ben Arbuckle (Washington State), or Brennan Marion (UNLV). No matter who he brings in, Fickell will almost certainly work to find a top-tier quarterback in the transfer portal as a stopgap measure until the younger recruits are developed and ready. Either way, Wisconsin fans should be cautiously optimistic about the future of this program and a real chance to be contenders in 2026 and 2027.