Lions Interviewed Cincinnati HC Luke Fickell Last Year, Who Is Expected To Draw Further NFL Interest

According to Tom Pelissero, the Lions interviewed Cincinnati HC Luke Fickell last year during their search for a new head coach. 

Pelissero adds if Fickell wants to make the leap to the NFL, he’ll have options this year, as he’s once again expected to draw interest from the pros. 

Fickell’s work with the Bearcats has also made him a hot college coaching commodity, though, and salaries are rising faster at that level than they are in the NFL. 

Fickell, 48, played college football at Ohio State and had a brief stint in the NFL before returning to OSU as a grad assistant coach in 1999. After a two-year interlude at Akron, he returned to Ohio State and worked his way up to co-defensive coordinator from 2005-2016, also serving as the interim head coach in 2011. 

The Cincinnati Bearcats hired him away as their head coach in 2017. In his five years at Cincinnati, the Bearcats have a 62-48 record. Fickell is 2-1 in bowl games and on the verge of leading Cincinnati to the first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff not from a Power 5 team.