Badgers fire their OC

Chryst was 9-4 (.692) in his last full season at Wisconsin. Obviously, I can't speak for Wisconsin fans in general, but if 9-4 is what they deem as unacceptable then Fickell's record should have them readying the torches and pitchforks..
Sconnie fans kind of give off a Nebraska fan lite vibe. They think their program is special or deserves a spot among the top teams in the conference when the reality is they are firmly in that second tier of programs in the Big Ten.
 




I’m surprised Chryst hasn’t landed a HC job somewhere else. I remember the fire Fleck guys gushing over Wisconsin making a move.
 


Wisconsin is stupid for running a true air raid offense. If they were smart they would get the fullbacks and TEs back and run air raid concepts while having the classic punch you in the mouth power run game
This is actually a misconception about longo (not saying it’s what you’re saying exactly). He actually ran the ball more times while at UNC during all his years there except one (Mayes first year as starter when they tanked down the stretch). They’ve down that again the last 2 years in their personnel, their qb and WRs just suck and so teams don’t have to respect you on the outside and deep as much to keep 2 safeties back and they come up and run fill hard. It’s why their YPC on the ground has come down to in the 4.5 range from the 5-6 range prior to Fickell (coupled with that Longo offenses need a qb who can run which both Howell and Maye could definitely do) and this is a personnel issue. It’s part of why I expected this would be a huge failure because it’s not what WI recruits well at all and why I thought the Van Dyke experiment especially would be a colossal flop
 

I’m surprised Chryst hasn’t landed a HC job somewhere else. I remember the fire Fleck guys gushing over Wisconsin making a move.
I think firing Chryst was correct. He let their recruiting staff fall apart and after his top 2 classes, he essentially stopped recruiting it seemed. The cupboard wasn't as bare as Fickell fan boys make it sound, but Chryst had a ton of misses on the recruiting trail. The actual mistake was hiring Fickell who I believe retained 0 coaches from the previous regime. The full scale offensive change was an obvious misstep anyone within the program could have told him wouldnt work. Leonhard may have failed, but I think he knew what Wisconsin needed to retain a strong hold of that second tier of the big ten with the occasional outside shot at the playoffs every 5 years. Shucks. It will be a sad day when they have to fire their goony AD for the terrible hire.
 

I think firing Chryst was correct. He let their recruiting staff fall apart and after his top 2 classes, he essentially stopped recruiting it seemed. The cupboard wasn't as bare as Fickell fan boys make it sound, but Chryst had a ton of misses on the recruiting trail. The actual mistake was hiring Fickell who I believe retained 0 coaches from the previous regime. The full scale offensive change was an obvious misstep anyone within the program could have told him wouldnt work. Leonhard may have failed, but I think he knew what Wisconsin needed to retain a strong hold of that second tier of the big ten with the occasional outside shot at the playoffs every 5 years. Shucks. It will be a sad day when they have to fire their goony AD for the terrible hire.
Great post! Yes, the inside chat was Chryst was only coaching kids and game prep.
 




One of those teams gets to bowl eligibility on Saturday......don't really want to pull for Nebraska but the fansbase has suffered long enough...at least let them go enjoy a bowl game....it's been such a long long long long time.
I have to root for WI in this one - starting out 5-1 and still missing a bowl would be awesome to see.
 

I have to root for WI in this one - starting out 5-1 and still missing a bowl would be awesome to see.
I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm not cheering for Wisconsin, but will have a good chuckle if Nebraska blows this one & Iowa next week.
 

The run of success Ohio State has had is crazy and it makes Fickell's year stick out even more. They went 12-1 the year before and 12-0 the year after but in his lone season as head coach they went 6-7.

In fairness he was thrust into a weird situation with Tressell resigning but it is kind of telling when the guy right before you and right after you have great seasons.

Time will tell if he is the savior the Badgers thought he was going to be. Right now he is struggling to even get back to the Paul Chryst level that got him fired.....
Paul Chryst will end up going down as sane Bo Pelini
 






Chryst was once a very good HC, but I think those days are behind him.
I don’t know if Chryst is a good fit for the new era of college football



Fickell to me is a lot like frost. They won at a school that was a medium fish in a small pond. Multiple coaches have found success at Cincinnati and UCF
Now that those two schools are medium fish in the big (12) pond, not sure those two coaches would’ve had the same success there (and I honestly think that’s why Fickell jumped when he did for an above average job (Wisconsin) rather than waiting for a top 10-15 job).
 

I don’t know if Chryst is a good fit for the new era of college football



Fickell to me is a lot like frost. They won at a school that was a medium fish in a small pond. Multiple coaches have found success at Cincinnati and UCF
Now that those two schools are medium fish in the big (12) pond, not sure those two coaches would’ve had the same success there (and I honestly think that’s why Fickell jumped when he did for an above average job (Wisconsin) rather than waiting for a top 10-15 job).
It may have been time to move on from Chryst but it is definitely possible that Fickell has a lot of Scott Frost in him.
 

It may have been time to move on from Chryst but it is definitely possible that Fickell has a lot of Scott Frost in him.

The thing about "moving on" from a coach who has seen some success is it always involves a two step process.

STEP 1: Fire the coach. That's the easy part. Perhaps too easy, because then comes the much more difficult...

STEP 2: Find a new coach who is clearly better than the guy you just fired. Not so easy, this part.

If you're an athletic director, beware of Step 2. If you fumble the new hire after you fire a coach with a decent track record, the next person who gets fired just might be you.

Fans, on the other hand, can always scream for the coach to be fired without worrying about any resulting repercussions.
 
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I didn't know that. How high on the APR list are they? Wonder how many teams they will need that don't get 6 wins.
Don’t track it as much once the gophers get to 6 but last I saw projections said 4-6 teams short and Wisconsin is like 2nd on the list if you exclude teams already at 6 and teams that can’t get to 5
 

The thing about "moving on" from a coach who has seen some success is it always involves a two step process.

STEP 1: Fire the coach. That's the easy part. Perhaps too easy, because then comes the much more difficult...

STEP 2: Find a new coach who is clearly better than the guy you just fired. Not so easy, this part.

If you're an athletic director, beware of Step 2. If you fumble the new hire after you fire a coach with a decent track record, the next person who gets fired just might be you.

Fans, on the other hand, can always scream for the coach to be fired without worrying about any resulting repercussions.
We remember this 2-step process all too well when Maturi fired Mason.
 




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