UC has hired Luke Fickell as coach

Intensity burned from the dark eyes of dark-haired Luke Fickell in his introductory press conference as new University of Cincinnati football head coach Saturday, as Fickell spoke passionately about his plans for the Bearcats' program.

"To the University of Cincinnati, to the city of Cincinnati, I'm not going to stand up here and promise you wins and championships," Fickell said. "But what I am going to promise you is that we'll put a product on the field that you will be extremely proud to call your own."

Fickell spoke before a crowd of reporters, UC boosters and staffers and Bearcats players at the Richard E. Lindner Center on campus. Fickell's wife Amy and their six children, including two sets of twins, also attended the press conference.

Former Ohio State University defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Fickell was hired by UC on Saturday, after days of speculation that he was the frontrunner to replace Tommy Tuberville. Fickell is a contrast in style from the laid-back Tuberville, who resigned last Sunday after a 4-8 season and 29-22 overall record in four years at UC.

"This is not a job to me," Fickell said. "This is a role to me, because it's a passion of mine. It's who I am. It's in every fiber of my body, to be a leader and a mentor of men."

The 43-year-old Fickell said he expressed the same sentiment to UC athletic director Mike Bohn this past week, when Bohn visited Fickell's home in Columbus to speak about the job.

"We have hired a man of integrity," Bohn said. "He's a leader, someone that has the ability to pull a community together, a team together. Passion and energy, and most importantly a coach who fits Cincinnati."

Bohn also said Fickell was, "The No. 1 defensive coach in the country ... and of course we have offense in mind, too."

Fickell has agreed to a a six-year deal which is pending approval by the UC Board of Trustees. Fickell will make "in the same ballpark" as Tuberville's annual $2.2 million in total compensation, a UC source said. Full contract details will be released to the public following approval by the UC Board of Trustees, the school said.

UC President Dr. Beverly J. Davenport, who also attended the press conference, said Bohn gave her a glowing endorsement of Fickell before the hire was made.

"When he told us that you (Fickell) cared about winning, that you cared about leadership, that you believe in honor and respect and that you're going to win on the field ... and that you were going to win at, every day, making these young men better people, I said, 'I'm in, how do we do this?' " Davenport said. "You go get him. Bring this amazing family back here."

Columbus native Fickell is a former Buckeyes nose guard and has coached 18 years, mostly at OSU. Fickell has coached for two national title teams, and was OSU interim head coach in 2011 (6-7 record) after the departure of Jim Tressel. Fickell stayed on the OSU staff when Urban Meyer arrived as head coach in 2012.

After reading his prepared remarks, Fickell received a standing ovation from UC boosters, staffers, and the several Bearcats players in attendance. Fickell then took questions from reporters.

Fickell, the 42nd UC head coach, will continue to serve as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator through the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff run. How will he handle the dual role during the next few weeks?

"I'm putting that schedule together now," Fickell said. "Obviously I've got a plan, but I've got to go above and beyond. I've got what I have to do there, and what I have to do on the other side of things."

With a recruiting "dead period" starting Monday, Fickell said that may actually make the transition easier in terms of his UC duties.

"If it wasn't like that, there's no way you'd be able to do it," Fickell said.

Will he make some trips down to UC in the meantime?

"I'm going to be around as much as I possibly can," Fickell said. "I know there's a lot of things that we have to do, in staffing, that can be done from Columbus, Ohio, from my house."

WHAT OF COOMBS?: Speculation had been that Kerry Coombs, a former Colerain High School head coach and UC assistant coach, would join Fickell at UC as a top assistant. Coombs is the Ohio State cornerbacks coach/special teams coordinator, but he essentially shot down the UC rumors via a Twitter post Saturday.

"For some reason, there has been an enormous amount of speculation and misrepresentation about my future over the past 24 hours," Coombs wrote. "I want to be very clear. I am a Buckeye! ... I want to congratulate Luke Fickell on being named the head coach at the University of Cincinnati, and I am very certain he will do an outstanding job for the Bearcats ... I am looking forward to preparing my unit to play Clemson in the college football playoffs, and getting on the road to recruit more future Buckeyes."

When asked directly about Coombs, Fickell said he had not spoken to any OSU assistants about joining him at UC.

"Nothing is set in stone right now," Fickell said.

PLAYERS REACT: Many players got their first taste of Fickell via a Facebook video Saturday, in which Fickell addressed the team. Several players also attended Fickell's press conference.

"I'm just excited to get this thing rolling now," UC junior placekicker and Centerville native Andrew Gantz said. "We're excited to welcome him to the family. I'm not gonna lie, I was a big Ohio State fan growing up, so I watched a lot of games where he was involved. I know he knows what he's doing."

UC junior offensive tackle Korey Cunningham said the players are ready for a new adventure.

Fickell appears to be UC's top choice

"I’m real excited for everything, ready to see where this journey goes," Cunningham said. "I’ve got a good feeling about it. I'm excited to go back to work."

MORE FROM FICKELL: Fickell addressed a wide range of topics during and after his press conference Saturday, including:

- On achieving a life goal with the UC job: "Professionally, there's no greater day. I'm so excited, obviously, I can't even talk. I can't even fathom. I can't even put it into words.

- Football philosophy: "We will have an up-tempo offense. Defensively we will be extremely aggressive, with a burning desire to be the top tacklers in the country."

- Recruiting: "We need to reconnect with Ohio high school recruits. There are plenty of players across this country. The easiest thing is to evaluate size and speed. You must evaluate the intangibles."

- On the importance of not only current players, but former and future Bearcats: "To former UC players, our door is always open to you. To Ohio high school football players, our door is open as well."

- On staying with OSU during its playoff run this year: "I told (UC players) I was committed to those (Ohio State) players. I know they respect that."

- Regarding his potential UC assistants, Fickell said he is working on that. The offensive coordinator spot is one of high interest, after UC slipped from No. 6 nationally in total offense (2015 season) to No. 99 this year. Fickell said he has "five or six guys" in mind for offensive coordinator.

- On the perception of UC being a stepping stone to Power Five jobs (see Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones): "When my wife and I really sat down and mapped out if we were ever going to do this, it would be a place where we really felt like we could raise a family. And if we could go someplace and stay for seven, eight, 10 years. I'm not saying that's always normal. If there are options and opportunities and you do a great job, those are things you've got to weigh out. But you've got to look at me and say, OK, you stayed at Ohio State for, you know, 15 years and you've had a lot of opportunities, well, why didn't you?"

Here, Fickell nodded toward his family, who were in the background.

"Because the No. 1 most important thing to me, is those people behind me. If it's not right for them, it's not right for me. Does that really answer the question? No, but the reality is I'm a very loyal guy. I wouldn't do anything that's not in the best interests of my family, and I can tell you I'll be fully committed to what we're doing here."

- On UC's program, especially its recent history of mostly winning: "Do I believe this is a great place? Yes. Obviously they've done it. They've done it in the recent past. But the ability to kick-start, to jump-start, to change a bit of a culture into the way we want to do it, with a different leadership style, I think we've got everything going."

- On UC playing at OSU arch-rival Michigan next season (Sept. 9, 2017): "It was something I noticed and saw quite a while ago. It's kind of ironic, but maybe that's a part of what helped me get this. Hey, he's had an opportunity to have 14 pairs of gold pants, and he's had a chance to beat those guys the last five times they played them. Is it luck? Is it dumb luck? I think it's what it is. I think it's going to be a great opportunity to measure themselves against an unbelievable opponent."

NOTE: OSU players and coaches receive a gold pin in the shape of football pants when they beat "That Team Up North."

- On his brief tenure at OSU as interim head coach: "I wasn't ready. I learned a lot from those eight months."

- On nearly coming to UC as an assistant in 2004, when fellow OSU assistant Dantonio took the UC head coaching job: "It just wasn't the right time for me and my family."

STRONG BACKGROUND: Fickell is a considered an excellent recruiter, with strong Midwest and Florida relationships. He was named the American Football Coaches Association assistant coach of the year in 2010 and named a “top recruiter” in 2012 by both Rivals and ESPN.

His NFL Draft selections include first-round picks A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter, Ryan Shazier and Darron Lee, NFL standout James Laurinaitis and Joshua Perry, Anthony Schlegel, Larry Grant, Marcus Freeman, Austin Spitler, Ross Homan and Brian Rolle.

Hawk, who played for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, Bengals and Atlanta Falcons, told The Enquirer via text Saturday:

"Coach Fickell is one of the best coaches I have ever been around. His attention to detail and love for his players shows every single day. I still stay in contact with him, and admire how he carries himself on and off the field. Cincinnati is getting one of the toughest, most respected people to have ever played football. I'm excited to watch the Bearcats play and know he will bring a culture of respect and toughness to program."

The 2016 Buckeyes earned a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Clemson after finishing the regular season 11-1 and ranked No. 3 in CFP poll. OSU won five consecutive games to close the season and have the nation's No. 4 total defense (282.3 yards per game allowed), including the No. 1 pass efficiency defense and the No. 3 scoring defense (14.2).

Since 2005, Fickel-coached defenses at Ohio State have ranked among the NCAA FBS Top-40 in yards-per-play allowed, averaging a ranking of No. 17 and earning its highest rank of No. 3 in 2016. Cincinnati based ProFootballFocus ranks OSU's defense as its No. 3 overall unit in 2016.

Fickell is a graduate of Columbus DeSales High School, where he was a three-time, undefeated state wrestling champion, and he is a 1997 graduate of Ohio State. He played for the Buckeyes from 1992-96, redshirting the first year and then starting the next four seasons at nose guard. He started a school-record 50 consecutive games between 1993 and 1996.

Fickell at a glance

Born: August 18, 1973 (age 43)

Hometown: Columbus

Wife: Amy

Children: Landon, Luca, Aydon, Ashton, Laykon, Lucian

Education: Ohio State (1997, B.S.)

Year in Coaching: 18th

Playing career: 1992-96, Ohio State (four-year starter at nose guard)

Coaching career:

1999 Ohio State Graduate Assistant

2000-01 Akron Defensive line

2002-03 Ohio State Special teams coordinator

2004 Ohio State Linebackers

2005-11 Ohio State Co-defensive coordinator/linebackers

2011 Ohio State Interim head coach (6-7 record)

2012-16 Ohio State Defensive coordinator/linebackers