Wisconsin is hiring longtime NFL personnel executive Morocco Brown as its general manager, according to a report Sunday from ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Brown most recently spent eight seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, six as the director of college scouting and two as the chief personnel executive. He was a candidate for a half-dozen NFL general manager jobs during his time in Indianapolis.
Prior to that, Brown was the vice president of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns from 2014-16, and was previously the director of pro personnel for the Washington Commanders and the assistant director of pro personnel for the Chicago Bears. A 4-year letterman at NC State, Brown led the Wolfpack in tackles three times and was a team captain as a senior. He started his own consulting practice in between Indianapolis and taking the Wisconsin job.
Brown joins a Wisconsin program struggling to find its footing in college football's new era. Head coach Luke Fickell carries a 17-21 record (10-17 Big Ten) into his fourth season in Madison. In retaining Fickell for the 2026 campaign, AD Chris McIntosh said Wisconsin had not invested around Fickell enough for him to be successful.
"One of the things this season has shown us is that we can identify the challenges that we've faced this season, and that allows us to develop a plan that. That's a plan that we've begun to execute on, it's not like that starts today. It begins with the people in and around our program. Every aspect of our program will be evaluated and scrutinized. It starts at the top -- with me, with Coach Fickell. It ends to our coaching staff, everyone that's within our program. One of the things that I'm most pleased with is the alignment that we have from the top, the alignment for the need for us to invest in our program," McIntosh said.
McIntosh is no longer at Wisconsin, having taken a job at the Big Ten headquarters last month. Marcus Sedberry previously worked as Wisconsin's general manager while also serving as the Badgers' deputy athletics director, a clear indication of how Wisconsin has fallen behind on the personnel side. Sedberry is now Wisconsin's interim AD. Brown will now lead, and presumably grow, Wisconsin's 5-member personnel, recruiting, and scouting staff.
Though the executive that controversially retained Fickell is gone, the work to surround Fickell with the necessary infrastructure to succeed continues.