I just don’t understand how denials help anyone. I mean I think the fair answer would be, “USC is one of the top jobs in the country, and I think I’d be foolish not to listen at the end of the season.” That sets everyone up for realistic expectations, maybe you can sell the players on the one last ride philosophy, then if you leave at the end of the season you were honest and really it’s completely understandable.
This is one of the things I hate about college football. We have gone through it 3 times, and all the speculation takes away a lot of the joy of a good season. I know it will never change, but it does suck.
I think Fickell is waiting on Ryan Day to tap out at Ohio State, maybe Harbaugh getting canned at Michigan. Already turned down Michigan State.
His buyout is only $3.5M, which seems pretty low IMO.
I doubt he leaves. He’s making good money, Cincinnati is headed to the B12 with a better chance of winning a Conference Title and making the playoffs than USC in the next few years.
I also think Fickell has a little more loyalty than any of our previous coaches who bolted for these types of opportunities.
That Tulsa game we drove up for in 2007. That team was distracted and not prepared at all to play that day. I hate these distractions for the kids.
We have had it impact us multiple times - Tulsa, Sumlin in Championship game, Herman. If college football is all about respecting the importance of the season, this has to be addressed.
I am with you but USC is a top three program for any coach. USC needs a coach that has a real offense or defense identity. It has not been the case since Pete Carol.
UH is America’s Coaching B###t Detector.
LOL 
Fickell’s name will be associated with every job opening up this season.
Did his eye twitch?
Did he glare at the reporter?
There are a couple of reasons that you absolutely shouldn’t take this approach:
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It kills any bargaining power with your current employer. If Fickell plays his cards right, he can get Cincy to offer him a raise, which he can turn around and make USC beat. He can’t do that if Cincy believes he’s gone no matter what.
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It would absolutely kill Cincy’s recruiting class. The moment he comes out and says “yeah, I’d jump to USC,” every Cincy commit gets it in their text messages, DMs, email inbox and voicemail every single day. If the deal then falls through, he’s suddenly up a creek.
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If he doesn’t get the job, every potential future employer then knows that USC sniffed around and decided they didn’t like him. If he says he’s committed to Cincy, he at least has plausible deniability and can say he turned them down, or never considered it.
The best strategy here is to act like he’s a lifer until he signs on the dotted line.
Agree, you have to be a lifer until you aren’t. The key’s to preserving your reputation are to not allow leaks while secretly negotiating with other schools and once you officially sign and announce your intention to leave you make all effort to say it was the hardest decision of your life, you want to do everything possible to leave the school setup for success (no recruit stealing) etc…
Or a simple, I won’t comment on that until the end of the season or just no comment, I’m focused on the next game.
It’s nice because you talk only to your agent. Your agent talks to any interested parties.
“I honestly have not and will not talk to any schools!” = True statement
Don’t forget Briles.