Leonhard is the odds on favorite to get the job, but this is a tryout as well. If he flops or not, Wisconsin will open it up just to see who is interested. Legally, they have to post the job of a state paid position in Wisconsin. If a good P5 coach in a conference that's being decimated by expansion wants to jump ship, they'd be dumb not to listen. But I'd say there's an 85% chance Leonhard gets the job unless he loses every game from here on out.
Most Wisconsin fans I talk to are neutral to glad Paul Chryst the coach is gone. Most are also disappointed it happened to Paul Chryst the person. He was a stand up guy, ex player, his dad was a coach there, and he had no scandals at UW, but his offense has become stale in the college football landscape of today.
Lot of people pointing out Paul's success as a whole but seem to be ignoring his recent lack of offensive output. Luckily for him, Jonathan Taylor covered up many years of mediocre offensive game plans. For a guy who was considered an offensive guru, he sure hasnt shown it lately. It seems UW AD is making the correct call on getting rid of the coordinator of the worse unit. Leonhards top ranked defenses have been what is keeping UW relevant.
I wouldn't point to Leonhard's lack of success this year as a sign of bad things to come. He replaced 9 starters on defense and his unit has still been the strong point this year, which isn't saying a ton for the UW offense. I saw UW hasnt scored in the second half of two of their three losses. Again, a sign of poor offense, which is Chryst's forte.
