Gino Guidugli, Mike Brown and Jack Bicknell officially join Luke Fickell's football staff at Wisconsin
MADISON – Luke Fickell’s first staff with the Wisconsin Badgers football program continued to take shape Friday.
UW announced Jack Bicknell Jr. as offensive line coach, Mike Brown as associate head coach and wide receivers coach, and Gino Guidugli as the team’s passing game coordinator and tight ends coach.
Brown and Guidugli were part of Fickell’s staff at Cincinnati, though in different capacities. Brown coached receivers and was the passing game coordinator; Guidugli was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Bicknell comes to UW from North Carolina.
The announcements continued a busy week of coaching news for the Badgers. Tuesday they introduced coordinators Phil Longo (offense) and Mike Tressel (defense).
“I really think this is a great mesh of guys with terrific experience and backgrounds,” Fickell said in a press release. “They believe in doing things together and their varied knowledge and styles will help us grow as a team. They know the value of developing relationships with players and the importance of developing young men, both on and off the field.”
Guidugli and Brown accomplished a lot in a short time at Cincinnati.
Gino Guidugli, Wisconsin passing game coordinator and tight ends coach
This past season was Guidugli’s first running the Bearcats' offense. The attack ranked eighth in the AAC in scoring (29.2 ppg) and ninth in offense (372.2) in a rebuilding season.
The bulk of his tenure at Cincinnati was spent coaching quarterbacks. Desmond Ridder was his prize pupil. An unheralded recruit coming out of high school, Ridder led the Bearcats to an undefeated regular season and a playoff berth in 2021. He was the second quarterback selected in the NFL draft last spring.
“The history and tradition of Wisconsin football speaks for itself and I’m excited to be a part of that,” Guidugli said in the release. “I’m grateful to Coach Fickell for giving me this opportunity and I’m looking forward to helping this offense maximize its potential. I can’t wait to start working with the tremendous young men we have in this program and helping them succeed both on and off the field.”
Mike Brown, Wisconsin associate head coach and wide receivers coach
Brown joined Fickell’s staff at Cincinnati in 2019 and served as its receivers coach. This past season he added passing game coordinator to his duties. In three seasons, he coached two all-conference receivers, including Alec Pierce, who moved on to the NFL this season and leads Indianapolis with 14.5 yards per catch. In 2021 Brown’s receivers helped an offense that broke the school records for touchdown receptions (70), led the AAC in yards per play (6.7) and ranked second in the conference in scoring (36.9).
“I’m thrilled to join the Badger football family and be a part of this great program,” Brown said in the release. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with Coach Fickell, Coach Longo and the rest of the staff. I know the caliber of young men that I’ll have the chance to coach here and I am excited to be able to work with them and help them grow as players and as men.”
Jack Bicknell Jr., Wisconsin offensive line coach
Bicknell worked with Longo at North Carolina this past season and at Mississippi in 2018-19. A 35-year coaching veteran, he was the head coach at Louisiana Tech from 1999-2006 and spent seven seasons coaching offensive line in the NFL.
“I’m excited to be in Madison and part of the Wisconsin football family,” Bicknell said. “I have tremendous respect for the history of excellent offensive line play in this program and look forward to helping continue that tradition. In my short time getting to know the players, I’ve been very impressed with their character and desire to be great and I look forward to working with them and helping them develop into the best players and people they can be.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Badgers add three more assistants to football coaching staff
