Eric Burrell, a former Wisconsin defensive back, had harsh criticisms of Wisconsin following the reports that the Badgers are hiring Luke Fickell as head coach.

Burrell, who played at Wisconsin from 2017 to 2020 didn’t hold back on Twitter when expressing his feelings about the news.

“Losing jimmy Leonhard will be the worse decision Wisconsin will ever make,” Burrell said on Twitter. “I said what I said.”

***UPDATE*** Burrell did circle back on Twitter to clarify his remarks. He wanted to make sure he would be okay with the move of Fickell but said his comment is if Leonhard is not on the coaching staff as the DC.

Jim Leonhard took over as interim head coach after Paul Chryst was fired and helped the Badgers achieve a decent 6-6 record all things considered. Before taking over as interim head coach, Leonhard was the Badgers’ defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2022 and led one of the top defenses in the B1G.

There is still a chance that Wisconsin could retain Leonhard as defensive coordinator, though with a new coaching staff coming in and the desire for Leonhard elsewhere, it isn’t likely.