Wisconsin football targeting Jeff Grimes from Kansas as offensive coordinator
Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers football team are reportedly targeting a Big 12 offensive coordinator to lead their offense in 2025.
The University of Wisconsin football program is targeting Kansas offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to fill the same role for the Badgers, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
If hired, Grimes would bring a wealth of experience and a distinct offensive identity to the Badgers as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 5-7 campaign in Year 2 under Luke Fickell.
Grimes joined Lance Leipold at Kansas in 2023 after a successful stint as Baylor's offensive coordinator, where his "wide zone" scheme powered the Bears to a Big 12 championship and Sugar Bowl victory in 2021 working under Dave Aranda.
During his time at Baylor, Grimes referred to his offense as the "RVO" — short for "reliable, violent, offense" — highlighting the physicality and attacking mindset that defines his offensive approach.
Known for his offensive line and run-game coordinator background, Grimes emphasizes balance, staying in attack mode, and efficiency. That philosophy could align well with Wisconsin’s desire to blend physicality with more modern offensive creativity. This challenge eluded the Badgers during their failed Air Raid experiment under Phil Longo.
“Our ability to be multiple and maybe be a little bit different from what we’ve seen the last two years I think is really important,” Fickell said. “But we don’t want to throw away the things we’ve done. Our ability to be better in the passing game because of what we’ve done the last two years is really going to be good.
“Our ability to acquire skill levels over the last two years gives us a greater opportunity to still play with those guys on the field if they’re our best 11 guys, which I think they are.”
At Kansas, Grimes helped lead an offense that averaged 29.7 points per game this season. The Jayhawks' balanced attack featured a strong running game, ranking 6th nationally in EPA per rush.
They complemented that with a passing game that ranked 21st in EPA per dropback, contributing to their overall marks of 8th in EPA per play and 15th nationally in yards per play at 6.85.
Prior to his time at Kansas and Baylor, Grimes coordinated a BYU offense in 2020 that was considered one of the best in the nation, averaging 43.5 points per game.
A deal between Wisconsin and Grimes hasn't been finalized, but talks are ongoing and expected to intensify in the near future. Should the move to hire Grimes materialize, it would make sense for the Badgers to pursue a quarterbacks coach next to round out their staff, which is something that coach Fickell alluded to during his most recent media availability.
“I would tell you that we want to be more of a pro-style," Fickell said. "And what does that mean? That doesn't mean anything more than we want to be multiple. We want to be able to play in 11 personnel. We want to be able to play in 12 personnel.
“We want to be able to play it if we have 13 personnel, if that's possible, 21, we want to be in the gun. We want to be able to do the things that we've done out of the gun in the passing game. But we also want to be able to see ourselves under center for six, eight, 10 snaps a game.”
For Wisconsin, Grimes represents a potential course correction, focusing more on a system that could marry the Badgers' traditional identity with the creativity needed to compete in today’s college football landscape. His emphasis on physicality, a downfield passing attack, and running game aligns well with what the program has historically done best.
As coach Fickell and his staff at Wisconsin navigate an offseason of significant roster turnover, landing Grimes could be a pivotal first step toward rebuilding a competent offense in Madison.
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