Luke Fickell is leaving the door open for former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel to be around the program in 2024.

Fickell and Vrabel are former teammates and remain close friends. Vrabel was fired by the Titans after the 2023 season and was not hired for any of the NFL’s head coaching vacancies this offseason.

With Vrabel set to be without a head coaching gig in 2024, Fickell told ESPN on Thursday he hopes to have his former teammates in Madison “around as much as possible” this year in an informal role. Despite begin dismissed by the Titans, Vrabel was widely-regarded as a top coach in the NFL.

“I love Mike and want him around as much as possible,” Fickell told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “I want to see how much he’d like to be around, in the spring for sure. And we’ll go from there.”

Vrabel and Fickell overlapped at Ohio State in the 1990’s. Fickell played nose tackle for the Buckeyes while Vrabel was a star linebacker who went on to have a lengthy NFL career.

The Badgers went 7-6 in 2023 in what was Fickell’s first year at the helm in Madison. Wisconsin will be hoping to take another step forward next season.