MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo has been fired, the school announced in a news release Sunday night.
“After continuing to evaluate the program, I decided we are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said in a statement. “I appreciate Phil’s commitment to helping us build our program over the past two seasons and wish him well moving forward. This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success.”
The news came one day after Wisconsin lost 16-13 to No. 1 Oregon during a game in which the Badgers averaged just 3.6 yards per play — the lowest mark in 23 games under Longo. Wisconsin dropped to 5-5 this season, including 3-4 in Big Ten play.
Longo arrived at Wisconsin with much excitement for his variation of the Air Raid offense, which was a shift away from the traditional pro-style system the Badgers previously used. But Longo’s offense never fully meshed at Wisconsin, as the team struggled to adapt to the change. Wisconsin averaged 23.5 points per game last season, the lowest total for the program in 19 years. Through 10 games this season, the Badgers were only slightly better at 23.9 points per game.
Wisconsin’s offensive challenges under Longo were aided by injuries to the starting quarterback in each season. Tanner Mordecai missed 3 1/2 games last season with a broken right hand, while Tyler Van Dyke sustained a torn ACL in his right knee during the third game this season. Those injuries thrust backup Braedyn Locke into a starting role. Locke completed 55.1 percent of his passes for 1,514 yards this season with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. He threw an interception in all seven of his starts.
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(Photo: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today via Imagn Images)
