UPDATED 12/18: UW reportedly hires Gary Andersen with career 30-31 record

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Iceland12 said:
Can't wait for the announcement that he was Barry's "first choice all along."
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It is just like the NFL Draft where nobody ever says that we really wanted this guy A, but we had to settle with guy B.

I forgot Kill actually admitted that he was not the first choice and was fine with it.
 


Well, first let's all have a little humility and note that no one knows how this hire will turn out. He could be another Urban Meyer or he could be another Dan Hawkins. Anybody claiming to "know" just which way this will go is just blowing smoke.

Personally, I find it odd that the guy seemingly turned down Cal & Colorado jobs but would take the Wisconsin job. He's spent his whole football life (nearly 30 years) in Utah, Idaho & Arizona (except his first year coaching at SE Louisiana), so he's got to be very familiar with that area of the country but not the midwest. Plus - as others have questioned - is he going to run the spread? Or is he going to switch to a pro-style run-heavy attack that Wisconsin's been successful with? Remember how well Rich Rodriguez worked out at Michigan trying to switch schemes? It must simply all come down to $$$$ again. Just like Bielema moving to Arkansas had me scratching my head (BB was a Illinois-Iowa-Wisconsin guy), I don't see why Andersen takes this job - unless it really does just boil down to dollars. And I'd have to think Wisconsin is now willing to pay top dollar to get a guy - though I doubt they'd really need to pay any more than the $2.5M BB was making.

If you're Wisconsin, this had to be about the best they could hope for at this point, but overall it must be a bit of a letdown. They weren't able to lure any top-shelf BCS-successful level coach (few programs could) and it seems they're down to about their 5th choice or so. I just think they might've done better had they hired some up-and-comer mid-major coach who runs schemes similar to what they run and is somewhat familiar with the midwest - but that list might be incredibly short or non-existent.

Here's hoping Andersen returns Wisconsin football to where it belongs - the bottom of the Big 10!
 

Interesting choice. Alvarez obviously knows what he's doing (or so it appears), but this looks like a departure from the "steeped in Badger culture" angle he put out there right after Bielema left. It is a "Kill-like" hire and I am a bit surprised, given the resurrection and continued high performance of the Wisconsin program, that someone more notable didn't take the job. It appears a couple of the same guys who turned us down turned them down as well. Has to be a bit of an eye-opener for those east of the St. Croix.

All that said, he might turn out to be the next Amos Alonzo Stagg.
 

IDFM said:
It is just like the NFL Draft where nobody ever says that we really wanted this guy A, but we had to settle with guy B.

I forgot Kill actually admitted that he was not the first choice and was fine with it.
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http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8760368/gary-andersen-utah-state-aggies-become-new-coach-wisconsin-badgers

Check out the video on this ESPN link. It says the Madison State Journal said Andersen was Alvarez's "top choice" to replace Bielema. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha If you believe that, I have some beautiful oceanfront property in Iowa you may be interested in.
 


Personally, I think this is a great hire for Wisconsin and as a Gopher fan I'm not thrilled about it. If Anderson had another great year at USU next season, it probably would have been the Texas's and USC's of the world that would have been calling. So its entirely possible the Badgers just got a head coaching upgrade at the perfect time. The guy did a pretty amazing thing turning around arguably the worst D1 program in the country, and the national writers are basically calling this a great hire. I agree with a few other posters that I'm surprised Alvarez was able to get him after he turned down several P12 schools and issued a press statement that he was not leaving this year.
 

Utah State recruiting...

Becky you're getting one heck of a recruiter. Wow, the guy is lining up a bevy of 4 and 5 star recruits. He has California locked!
Rivals rank# 113 ( one 3 star )
Scout rank# 100 ( all 2 star )
The guy has a personality of a damp mop.
 

Barry knew he could not hire anyone until today, so maybe this was his guy and he had to put up a smoke screen by interviewing others. He got some coaches pay raises to stay at there current jobs. Kill like hire, but I think Kill was a great hire for the U.
 

Don't you think that it might be easier to recruit to Wisconsin than Utah State? I wonder what Urban Meyer's class looked like when he was at Bowling Green.
 



We'll see. There are some similarities between this hire and their last hire as head basketball coach. Bo Ryan? Who dat? He has done alright.
Andersen may not have the WI connections, but we'll have to see how this plays out. What's easier? Turning WI into an also ran? Or, turning Minnesota into a perennial upper half Big 10 team?
Still, I hope the guy is beating out recruits for Wisconsin-Whitewater, mistakenly refers to his new team as the Buckeyes, and has some family member who is the equivalent of Billy Carter.
 

Most fans are pretty darned pleased with the hire, although the visor is causing some concern. If you think UW will be running the spread, you are crazy. However, it could become a bit more balanced. Andersen is a "defense first" guy and that is B1G all the way.

Mandel seems to think it will work out: A championship-caliber coach will take over a championship-level program.
 

TAW said:
Most fans are pretty darned pleased with the hire, although the visor is causing some concern. If you think UW will be running the spread, you are crazy. However, it could become a bit more balanced. Andersen is a "defense first" guy and that is B1G all the way.

Mandel seems to think it will work out: A championship-caliber coach will take over a championship-level program.
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BB took you to 3 straight Rose Bowls. This will be a good hire if Anderson can replicate that. Anything less and the program is going in a worse direction than when he took over.

Go Gophers!!
 

TAW said:
Most fans are pretty darned pleased with the hire, although the visor is causing some concern. If you think UW will be running the spread, you are crazy. However, it could become a bit more balanced. Andersen is a "defense first" guy and that is B1G all the way.

Mandel seems to think it will work out: A championship-caliber coach will take over a championship-level program.
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Championship-level program? Are you serious? Championship games won? Yes. Championship-level program? Not even close.

Without the BLESSING of having Russell Wilson dropped in Wisky's lap, and two ineligible teams paving the way for a 4-4 team to make it to the BT title game, Wisky would be counting their blessings to have one of these recent titles.

I have no doubt that Andersen is a REALLY good coach. If not Wisky, he would have gotten snapped up soon by another really good program. What he's done in Utah has been really impressive. But I also highly doubt Wisky even sniffs the BT Champ game in the near future. In the next few years, Wisky won't have the benefit of the BT being in the state in which it's been over the last several.
 



BleedGopher said:
BB took you to 3 straight Rose Bowls. This will be a good hire if Anderson can replicate that. Anything less and the program is going in a worse direction than when he took over.

Go Gophers!!
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Haha...love the logic/spin, Bleed!
 

If you think you are going to hear a lot of criticism of the hire from Becky then you are fooling yourself. While they may not be excited about it personally, Becky fans are great at outwardly towing the party line. Take the BB example. Living in Madison you never heard anyone say anything negative about BB except for a little griping after the Rose Bowl losses. After he took the Arkansas job you couldn't swing a dead pig without hitting someone blathering on about what a crappy coach and person he was and how glad they were he was gone and Becky could finally hire a good coach. Same thing here, before the hire everyone was talking about Petersen and any other major coaching name they could think of. Now most are talking about what a great hire this is and he was Alverez's first choice and the great job he did at Utah State and bringing up Urban Meyer whenever they can. Give them credit, they close ranks fast. But you won't know how they truly feel until you scrape them off the Essen Haus or Come Back In floor.
 

BleedGopher said:
BB took you to 3 straight Rose Bowls. This will be a good hire if Anderson can replicate that. Anything less and the program is going in a worse direction than when he took over.

Go Gophers!!
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A good hire for the Gophers would be a coach that took them to three straight Motor City Bowls. There are different standards for success so it's ok to admit your jealousy.
 

Tom Dace said:
A good hire for the Gophers would be a coach that took them to three straight Motor City Bowls. There are different standards for success so it's ok to admit your jealousy.
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"I know you are so what am i?" This is all you got?

Yeah, we didn't think you'd be very happy with the hire.
 

Tom Dace said:
A good hire for the Gophers would be a coach that took them to three straight Motor City Bowls. There are different standards for success so it's ok to admit your jealousy.
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Only if you admit your insecurities first. Thanks for stopping by though..
 


Pewterschmidt said:
There are definitely some concerns: schemes on O and D (his coordinators aren't at all familar with the Badgers scheme under BB and BA), has basically only coached in Utah, which is quite different from Madison in many, many ways, has never recruited the region, he's not a familar name, he's only had 1 successful season, etc.
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Re: Schemes - I really don't think it is hard to change your schemes, which fall more on the coordinators anyway. Randy Walker ran a pretty traditional offense, as did Northwestern before he came there. He hires Kevin Wilson as OC, switches to the spread and wins a share of the B1G the first year. I'm sure Anderson will take a close look at his roster, decide what he can do, and choose his coordinators accordingly.

Re: Being from out West - could be an advantage, knowing the West Coast recruting ground well can be a bonus up here. I'm sure he has never recruited the Midwest but if he retains one assistant or makes at least one experienced Midwest hire on his staff he will be OK. In addition, every HS coach and player in Wisconsin know who Barry Alvarez is, and although he doesn't go out recruiting he probably helps guide the process, and he probably meets the recruits when they visit.
 

badgers fans in lock step?

nah, they aren't the lock step type. Neb fans are lock step. WI fans always made time to discuss the dislike of Bielema or Barry A. now the media, well, andy baggot and tom oates are bootlickers.
 


I don't think Urban Meyer is really a great comparison. Meyer was a good recruiter with a lot of contacts in Ohio from his time at tOSU and Notre Dame when he was younger.

Gary Anderson is a totally different kind of guy, he's much more like Coach Kill than Urban Meyer.

I think it could definitely work out. From my understanding, BB was pretty hands off on the offense and sort of ran the defense. Anderson is a defense guy and I actually think will coach their defense as good if not better than BB.

Their future offense is a question mark and his ability to recruit is a question mark. I wish I could say this hire was a total failure, but I think he'll do just fine in Madison.
 

wait!what? said:
nah, they aren't the lock step type. Neb fans are lock step. WI fans always made time to discuss the dislike of Bielema or Barry A. now the media, well, andy baggot and tom oates are bootlickers.
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Don't forget Mike Lucas. I can't believe they call the guy a journalist when he is the radio color guy for the Badger football games. He is by far the worst sports reporter I have ever witnessed. I have a good friend who works with him in sports in Madison who views him as a joke to the profession.
 


Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Championship-level program? Are you serious? Championship games won? Yes. Championship-level program? Not even close.

Without the BLESSING of having Russell Wilson dropped in Wisky's lap, and two ineligible teams paving the way for a 4-4 team to make it to the BT title game, Wisky would be counting their blessings to have one of these recent titles.

I have no doubt that Andersen is a REALLY good coach. If not Wisky, he would have gotten snapped up soon by another really good program. What he's done in Utah has been really impressive. But I also highly doubt Wisky even sniffs the BT Champ game in the near future. In the next few years, Wisky won't have the benefit of the BT being in the state in which it's been over the last several.
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Note that I didn't say "Championship-level program," Mandel did. So, I am seriously quoting a national sports writer.
 

Wow, looking forward to beating Wisconsin on a regular basis.

Go Gophers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

He'll do very well there; relatively young, smart and energetic. Expect Wisconsin to continue winning (and he's a Dane, to boot). We will have our hands full with his teams.
 

maroonfive said:
Wow, looking forward to beating Wisconsin on a regular basis.

Go Gophers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Once in 10 years would be a great start. He could be a horrible coach and they won't drop to our level for years - be realistic people!
 

Seems like the guy can coach and with Wisconsin having a lot coming back next year, he has a really good shot at starting with 10 wins.
 

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