Our perspective: College football is a brutal business, just ask Paul Chryst – Kenosha News
College football is a brutal business. And it’s getting more so.
Just ask Paul Chryst. The Wisconsin football coach got the ax last Sunday after the Badgers stumbled out of the blocks this season with an upset loss to Washington State, a dismal 52-21 blowout against Ohio State on national television, and then the capper, a 34-10 home less against former Badger coach Bret Bielema.
A day later Chryst found himself on the unemployment line when Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh met with him and showed him the door and announced defensive coordinator Jim Leonard would take over as interim coach.
By Wisconsin standards, that’s pretty brutal and dismissive. But in these days of multi-billion dollar TV contracts and fans clamoring for winning seasons, the landscape of college football is changing.
McIntosh sugar-coated the axing, of course, saying, “After a heartfelt and authentic conversation with Coach Chryst about what is in the long-term best interest of our football program, I have concluded that now is the time for a change in leadership. Paul is a man of great integrity who loves his players. I have great respect and admiration for Paul and the legacy of him and his family at the University of Wisconsin.”
But pack your bags. It’s tough to teach team loyalty when there is none for the coaching staff.
It’s not like Chryst wasn’t a winning coach. Over his seven years at Wisconsin, he led the Badgers to 67 wins vs. 26 losses. That’s a 72% winning record and his mark of 43-18 against Big Ten teams was 70.5%.
But, now, slip out of the gate and you’re gone. That apparently is Wisconsin’s ruthless new standard – one that is echoed throughout college football and explains why Chryst joins four other major college coaches on the unemployment line – just since the beginning of the season.
The last time UW fired a coach was three decades ago, when it finally dismissed Don Morton after he posted a 6-27 record and went 3-21 in the Big Ten in his three years at UW. And we can’t overlook the record of former football coach John Coatta, a star quarterback at UW who set the Big Ten season pass completion record of 64.2 percent that stood for 27 years. As UW coach, however, Coatta did not win a game in his first two seasons. He set an NCAA record, which still stands, for most consecutive games without a win to begin a career—23. When the drought finally ended in 1969 with a 23-17 win over Iowa, Badger fans stormed the field at Camp Randall and then thousands of alcohol-fueled revelers marched across campus, up Langdon Street and then to the state Capitol, celebrating in the streets into the early morning. Coatta finally departed with a 3-26-1 record.
Those days are gone. Thankfully.
But so is the patience for any coach who does not produce immediately and spectacularly and continue to do so.
Chryst’s departure from his $5.2 million-a-year job will be eased a bit by a reduced $11 million contract buyout that will be paid by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, the university’s fundraising organization. And his coaching days may not be over, considering his strong winning record.
Perhaps, the best commentary on Wisconsin’s decision and the state of college football, came from Bielema.
Bielema left the Badger coaching job after posting a 68-24 record, to seek the bright lights of the SEC to coach at Arkansas. He was fired a few years later when he led the Razorbacks to 34 wins and 34 losses.
He landed at Illinois and had a 5-7 record last year, but is 4-1 this season, including the blowout against the Badgers which apparently put the nail in Chryst’s coaching coffin.
After talking with Chryst on Monday, Bielema said, “It’s a grim reminder of the world we live in. I’ve been in that rodeo.”
That rodeo is getting more ruthless and demanding every season.
Photos: Paul Chryst through his Wisconsin football coaching tenure
UW coach Paul Chryst speaks with Illinois coach Bret Bielema following the 2021 game in Champaign.
Paul Chryst was born into a football family in Madison in 1965. He is one of three sons of George Chryst, who played football and coached at UW-Madison in addition to tenures as coach and athletic director at Madison Edgewood High School and UW-Platteville (pictured above).
Paul Chryst began his coaching career at the age of 24 as a graduate assistant while he attended West Virginia from 1989-90. Following that, he coached in various capacities for the San Antonio Riders (1991-92), UW-Platteville (1993, pictured), the Ottawa Rough Riders (1994), Illinois State (1995), the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1996), and Oregon State (1997-98) before becoming the tight ends coach for the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001.
He first returned to UW-Madison in 2002 for a year as tight ends coach, then left again for the offensive coordinator job at Oregon State from 2003-04.
Paul Chryst was Wisconsin’s co-offensive coordinator (he shared the role with Brian White) and tight ends coach in 2005, the last year Barry Alvarez served as head coach. The team won 10 and lost 3 and ended with a 24-10 win vs. No. 7 Auburn at the Capital One Bowl. They finished ranked 15th in the AP poll.
After entering the season unranked after a disastrous 2008, the Badgers had surprising success in 2009 losing only three games to No. 9 Ohio State, No. 11 Iowa and Northwestern and shutting out Purdue 37-0 at home. The team finished the season fourth in the Big Ten and ranked No. 16 after a 20-14 win vs. Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl.
The Badgers followed 2009’s success with a great season in 2010, losing only one regular season game (34-24 at Michigan State) to end as Big Ten co-champions with the Spartans. They earned a coveted Rose Bowl berth and held their own against No. 3 TCU but lost 21-19 after a failed two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. They ended the season ranked No. 7 by AP.
2011 was another strong season for the Badgers. Led by QB Russell Wilson, Wisconsin lost only two regular-season games (at Michigan State and at Ohio State), won the first-ever Big Ten Championship game 42-39 against Michigan State, and earned their second Rose Bowl berth in a row. They lost the Rose Bowl 45-38 — a record high score for the Rose Bowl — vs. No. 6 Oregon. The ended the season ranked No. 10 by AP.
Paul Chryst was a finalist for the Broyles Award, which honors the nation’s top assistant coach. Following the Big Ten Championship game, Chryst took a job as the head football coach for the University of Pittsburgh on Dec. 22, a job he would hold for the next three years.
Paul Chryst had a rocky start in his first year at Pitt, the program’s last season in the Big East. After losing their first game 31-17 against Youngstown State, the Panthers went on to a losing season, winning just six games and losing the BBVA Compass Bowl 38-17 against Ole Miss.
In their first season in the ACC, Pitt again lost their home opener in 2013, getting wiped out 41-13 against No. 11 Florida State. They lost five more games during the regulars season, but won the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl 30-27 against Bowling Green.
Back with the Badgers, Chryst hit the ground running, overcoming a loss in their first game vs. No. 3 Alabama in neutral territory to finish third in the Big Ten West Division with a 9-3 record in the regular season. The Badgers went on to beat USC 23-21 in the Holiday Bowl and ended ranked No. 21 by AP. The Badgers finished with the top scoring defense in the country and came in second in total defense in 2015.
The 2016 season began with a bang when the unranked Wisconsin Badgers upset No. 5 LSU 16-14 in the season opener at Lambeau Field. They lost only two games in the regular season (at No. 4 Michigan and vs. No. 2 Ohio State), but lost the Big Ten Championship game 38-31 to No. 6 Penn State. The team ended the year with a 24-16 win vs. Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl Classic and were ranked No. 9 by the AP.
In Chryst’s third season as head coach, Wisconsin ran the table against an uncharacteristically soft schedule (playing only two ranked opponents) to end the regular season with a 12-0 record. It was the team’s first undefeated season since 1912.
Fired Wisconsin football coach Paul Chryst, right, served on staff with Barry Alvarez.
Former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan, left, discusses a play with coach Paul Chryst, who was fired Sunday.
An angry Paul Chryst after Illinois scored in the 3rd period. The Wisconsin Badgers hosted the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium, Saturday, October 1, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin lost 34-10. Photo Steve Apps for the State Journal.
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst was the offensive coordinator at Illinois State in 1995. He was fired after the season despite the Redbirds winning their final three games, including two over ranked opponents.
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst watches during the second half of Saturday’s season opener at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst watches during Saturday’s game at Camp Randall.
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, left, and Ohio State head coach Ryan Day pose with the Big Ten championship trophy prior to the 2019 title game. Day and the Buckeyes beat the Badgers 52-21 on Sept. 24, 2022.
Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz (5) talks with coach Paul Chryst against Illinois State Sept. 3.
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst watches from the sideline during the season opener Sept. 3 against Illinois State.
Catch the latest in Opinion
Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!
