Paul Chryst won double-digit games in four of his six full seasons as Wisconsin’s coach.
He took the Badgers to the Rose Bowl in 2019 in a season where they won 10 games. There was a 13-win season only a handful of seasons ago.
Chryst was 67-26 overall and 43-18 in the Big Ten. And now he’s fired.
I’m the last person to come to the defense of coaches especially those who aren’t winning at a high level. It’s basically why they’re paid millions of dollars. Everyone involved understands the stakes when taking these high-profile jobs.
But is this where we’re at now?
Chryst is a Madison guy through and through, had history at the school before becoming a head coach, has actually done much better at Wisconsin than his previous head coaching job at Pitt and never had a losing season.
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Maybe some of this was Chryst’s choice. Maybe he was tired of it all in the middle of a frustrating season where seemingly nothing was going right. Maybe the recruiting efforts required to keep pace in the Big Ten, especially with the rise of NIL, left Chryst with a little who-needs-it attitude.
And believe me, I get why Wisconsin fans would be frustrated this year. Washington State looked faster and tougher and for the Cougars to come into Camp Randall and win is sort of inexcusable.
Wisconsin didn’t really look all that competitive in a blowout loss to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the standard in the Big Ten, if not nationally, and the Badgers were not in the same league.
The final straw was Illinois outplaying Wisconsin which is beyond belief. The Illini looked more prepared, more athletic, dare I say tougher that the Badgers on Saturday afternoon. On the other sideline was former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema and that victory had to feel pretty sweet as he rebuilds the Illinois program.
Maybe moving on from Chryst is best. A refresh might be needed. But I hope this wasn’t a reflex action because the season has come unglued a little bit. Because if we’re basing coaching success and employment on every season having to be Rose Bowl or bust then there are going to be a lot of unhappy people.
Did Chryst need to fix some problems? Absolutely. The offense didn’t have a pulse for way too long of stretches. But if this decision was not his then this feels like a gross overreaction to me after some bad performances. Unless this is the Badgers passing the torch to defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, the whole thing feels like a mistake.
Chryst can coach. He’s proven it at Wisconsin and his record backs it up.
