serve as interim coach, only for the 2011 season. After Ohio State posted a 6–6 regular season record, Fickell was passed up as the permanent head coach, and instead Ohio State hired Urban Meyer. Fickell guided the Buckeyes one last time in the 2012 Gator Bowl against Meyer's old team, the Florida Gators. After Meyer took the helm, Fickell returned to his old job as co-defensive coordinator (helping guide the Buckeyes to the 2014 CFP National Championship), a job in which he served until he was named head coach at Cincinnati. Cincinnati On December 10, 2016, Fickell was named as the 42nd head coach of the University of Cincinnati, taking the place of the resigning Tommy Tuberville. In his first season, Fickell led the Bearcats to a 4–8 record. 2018 would be a historic turnaround of the program, finishing with an 11–2 record and a victory in the Military Bowl. Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the 2018 season, which was only the third 11-win season in the University of Cincinnati history. He led the team to another 11-win season in 2019. The Bearcats reeled off nine straight wins after falling to Ohio State in the second game of the year. The team won the East Division championship in the AAC for the first time, but fell two straight weeks to Memphis, in the final regular season game and in the conference championship. For the second straight year, Cincinnati won its bowl game over an Atlantic Coast Conference team, winning the Birmingham Bowl over Boston College by a score of 38–6. Before the start of the 2020 season Fickell agreed to a contract extension which would keep him at Cincinnati through the 2026 season. Fickell had previously received head coaching interest from other schools such as Michigan State, Florida State, West Virginia, Louisville, and Maryland. Fickell was one of thirteen coaches named to the watchlist for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award before the 2020 season. In 2020, Luke Fickell led the Cincinnati Bearcats to a 9–1 campaign including Cincinnati's second perfect regular season which included winning the 2020 AAC Championship Game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Cincinnati was selected for the 2021 Peach Bowl against the #9 Georgia Bulldogs. Both teams went into the game down a number of key players due to injury, illness, or opt-outs, including Cincinnati's two All-Americans Sauce Gardner and