Tag: Paul Chryst

Paul Chryst’s best collegiate player announces retirement from NFL

Who is Paul Chryst’s best collegiate player?

No, this doesn’t have a 100% direct relation to Wisconsin Badgers football. But when big news breaks, we try to connect it to the Badgers.

That is the case Friday afternoon when NFL legend Aaron Donald announced his retirement.

The future Hall of Famer calls it quits after a 10-year career that included 543 tackles, 176 tackles for loss, 260 quarterback hits, 111 sacks, 24 forced fumbles, 21 pass deflections, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and a Super Bowl title.

Related: Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 Big Ten football season

Donald played his college ball at Pittsburgh from 2010-2013, playing under longtime Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst in 2012 and 2013. Given that connection, it’s fair to say Donald is Chryst’s best collegiate player.

Jonathan Taylor may have an argument for production in college, as Donald did not blossom until his second year. But we’re counting NFL production and the fact Donald retires as one of, if not the, greatest defensive linemen of all time.

Chryst remains an offensive analyst at Texas entering the 2024 college football season. His name came up for several positions, including Iowa’s offensive coordinator, but the former Wisconsin coach elected to stay put and wait for a different opportunity.

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Multiple Wisconsin Badgers make ESPN’s all-playoff era team

Who was your favorite Badger of the CFP era (since 2014)?

Nearly 10 years have passed since the first edition of the College Football Playoff, won by a surging Ohio State team led by running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Cardale Jones.

Wisconsin did not make the CFP in its first decade. The Badgers came close several times, most notably falling 40 yards short of a Big Ten Championship over Ohio State and Playoff birth in 2017.

Now the format is expanding to 12 teams. It will get more challenging for schools like Wisconsin to win the entire thing, but more tickets are available for them to make the dance.

Related: Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 Big Ten football season

ESPN recently looked back upon the first decade of the CFP and put together an all-Playoff era team. Several Wisconsin Badgers were included:

  • RB Jonathan Taylor
  • RB Melvin Gordon (honorable mention)
  • C Tyler Biadasz (honorable mention)
  • OL Beau Benzschawel (honorable mention)
  • OLB T.J. Watt (honorable mention)

Unsurprisingly, Wisconsin got a few running backs, a few offensive linemen and an outside linebacker included. Those position groups also correlate to what the program has sent to the NFL, and the general strengths of the team under former head coach Paul Chryst.

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Wisconsin would be a College Football Playoff regular if it was always 12 teams

All of college football’s change affects Wisconsin in some way. On one hand, the Badgers now face a much tougher schedule and the Big Ten

The College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams in advance of the 2024 season.

There is seismic change across the sport entering the year. The Big Ten welcomes in USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, the SEC welcomes in Texas and Oklahoma and the Pac 12 no longer exists. Then there’s the Playoff, which is sure to have trickle-down effects on the rest of the sport.

All of this change affects Wisconsin in some way. On one hand, the Badgers now face a much tougher schedule and the Big Ten West no longer exists. On the other, College Football Playoff expansion opens the door for the team to become a perennial contender.

Related: Big Ten starting quarterback rankings for 2024

For reference, an account on ‘X’ recently listed the number of CFP appearances for each program had it always contained 12 teams.

Wisconsin is not at the top with Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson and the other powers. But it’s in the pack with three appearances (2016, 2017 and 2019) — an impressive group with Florida, Florida State, Washington, Oregon, Michigan State, Baylor and USC.

Now, I’d argue Wisconsin was a perennial contender when it was narrowly losing in the Big Ten Championship to Ohio State, but that argument is often ignored. But this exercise shows Wisconsin’s potential moving forward.

All Luke Fickell needs to do, in all honesty, is return the program to where it was from 2016-2019 under Paul Chryst. Then Wisconsin becomes a perennial CFP contender and one of the more relevant programs in the country.

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Iowa promotes former Wisconsin assistant coach to its wide receivers coach

Former Wisconsin assistant earns a promotion:

Iowa is promoting former Wisconsin assistant coach Jon Budmayr to its wide receivers coach, according to The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman.

Budmayr was previously a senior analyst with the Hawkeyes during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The former Wisconsin quarterback began his coaching career as a student assistant with the Badgers. He went on to spend a year as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh under Paul Chryst, before returning to Wisconsin as a graduate assistant in 2015, offensive quality control from 2016-2017 and quarterbacks coach from 2018-2020.

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Budmayr spent 10 of 12 years working with former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst in some capacity, whether as a student or assistant coach. He finally left Chryst’s program after the 2020 season to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Colorado State — which only lasted one season as head coach Steve Addazio was fired after the 2021 season.

The former Badger has now worked under Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz for the last two seasons and will get an expanded role in 2024.

There is a punchline somewhere regarding Iowa’s history at the wide receiver position and the program’s struggling offense. But I’ll leave that up to the funny people on ‘X.’

Former Wisconsin offensive coordinator retained by new Commanders staff

Former Wisconsin offensive coordinator retained by new Washington Commanders staff

The Washington Commanders are keeping former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Bobby Engram as their wide receivers coach, according to a report from the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala.

Engram was Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022 as the Paul Chryst era came to an end. Most of his coaching career has been at the NFL level, including as the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach in 2012-2013, the Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach from 2014-2018, the Ravens tight ends coach from 2019-2021 and now the Washington Commanders wide receivers coach from 2023 to today.

Related: Win totals released for Wisconsin, every Big Ten team in 2024 football season

The decision was made as Dan Quinn works to hire his new staff in Washington, taking over for Ron Rivera after he was fired after the team’s 4-13 2023 season.

Engram’s legacy at Wisconsin is mostly tied to the struggles at the start of the 2022 season which led to Chryst’s firing. That, and online conspiracies that offseason about whether the Badgers had a real shot to land future Heisman winner Caleb Williams.

His one-year stop at Wisconsin is his only experience as an offensive coordinator in his young coaching career.

Related: Where Wisconsin football stands in 2024 transfer portal team class rankings

Report: Former Wisconsin head coach a candidate for the Boston College opening

Would this work out?

Former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst is a candidate for the current opening at Boston College, according to a report from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

Chryst spend 2023 as an offensive analyst at Texas under head coach Steve Sarkisian after Wisconsin fired him midway through the 2022 season. He at least somewhat aided Texas in its successful 12-2 campaign, Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff birth.

Boston College, meanwhile, has an opening after its former head coach Jeff Hafley took the defensive coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers.

Feldman writes that he’s heard Chryst “has gotten some traction for this job,” alongside top candidate Ohio State OC Bill O’Brien and other candidates including Army head coach Jeff Monken, Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun, Boston College outside linebackers coach Paul Rhoads and former Boston College player Al Washington.

O’Brien appears to be the favorite after spending 2023 on the Patriots’ offensive staff, that before taking the Ohio State offensive coordinator job after the 2023 season.

Whether the job is his or not, a key takeaway here is Chryst’s clear desire to return to the coaching mix after a year at Texas. He recently was a candidate for the vacant offensive coordinator spot at Iowa, and now is reportedly in the mix for a head coaching position.

If we don’t see Chryst somewhere on the sideline in 2024, I’d bet he’s back leading a program in 2025.

Wisconsin had Jim Harbaugh’s number for the bulk of his tenure at Michigan

Wisconsin had Jim Harbaugh’s number for the bulk of his tenure at Michigan

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took the head job with the San Diego Chargers Wednesday night. The reigning national champion college coach returns to the NFL for the first time since 2014.

He leaves Michigan after a solid coaching tenure became a legendary one. Program stagnation and calls for his job in 2020 were met with three straight College Football Playoff appearances and this year’s national championship.

Harbaugh’s final record is 89-25. He went 2-6 in bowl games, a record that doesn’t count the national championship game.

There will be substantial fallout from this news. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is likely to get the job, which will create stability. But as seen with Alabama post-Nick Saban, there will be a 30-day transfer window for the entire roster. This could lead to widespread player departures from one of the nation’s best rosters.

Before all of that happens, it’s time to rehash Wisconsin’s history against Harbaugh over the last decade. Despite the direction the series trended after 2020, the Badgers actually had his number for a significant chunk of time.

Paul Chryst reportedly turned down Iowa Hawkeyes’ OC offer

Former Wisconsin head football coach and current Texas Longhorns analyst Paul Chryst reportedly turned down Iowa’s OC offer.

As the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ offensive coordinator search rolls into the back half of January, there’s an update on the ongoing coaching search for Brian Ferentz’s replacement.

Per Chad Leistikow of Hawk Central, former Wisconsin head coach and current Texas Longhorns analyst Paul Chryst turned down the offer to become the Hawkeyes’ next offensive coordinator.

Ferentz’s top target, Paul Chryst, has decided to stay at Texas, where he was an analyst last season. The Register has learned that Chryst was given the opportunity to take the job but ultimately declined in recent days.

The former Wisconsin head coach would have made total sense. Personally and professionally, Chryst was a perfect fit for Iowa and Ferentz. – Leistikow, Hawk Central.

Chryst’s work in morphing Barry Alvarez’s offense from a unit that averaged 20.8 points per game in 2004 to 34.3 points per game in 2005 put Chryst on the national map. Then, with quarterbacks Scott Tolzien and Russell Wilson, Wisconsin averaged 41.5 points and 44.1 points per game during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, respectively.

Having coached at Wisconsin as a tight ends coach, offensive coordinator and head coach for so long, Chryst seemed a natural fit given his familiarity with the Big Ten and with the Hawkeyes.

But, it’s time for Iowa to pivot. According to Leistikow, fans can scratch two other popular names as well.

There have been countless other rumored candidates. One of them is Joe Philbin, the former Iowa offensive line coach and offensive coordinator of the 2010 Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl-winning team with NFL head-coaching experience.

The latest flavor of the week (or day) has been UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion.

From what I’ve learned in the last 24 hours, neither Philbin nor Marion is happening. – Leistikow, Hawk Central.

Iowa already missed on another popular prospect in the offensive coordinator ranks when former South Dakota State OC Zach Lujan joined Northwestern head coach David Braun’s staff as the new Wildcats offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Could this mean a promotion from within for senior special assistant Jon Budmayr? Or, does Iowa turn to the NFL ranks?

This is a fascinating development in a search that Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz expected to be nearing its end by this point when he met with the media ahead of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Tennessee last month.

“Obviously, it’s tabled right now. The focus is right on this game. Hope to have a clear idea the first two, three weeks of January. I’d like to think by the third week of January that we’ve got it done. Feel really optimistic right now and we’ll end up with a really good person,” Ferentz said ahead of the Hawkeyes’ bowl date.

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Report: Former Wisconsin head coach to remain at Texas, forgo Iowa’s vacant OC position

Report: Former Wisconsin head coach to remain at Texas, forgo Iowa’s vacant OC position

Former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst is staying at Texas next season and forgoing the Iowa offensive coordinator position, according to a report from FootballScoop’s John Brice.

Chryst was thought of as one of the favorites to join the vacancy on Iowa’s staff left by former OC Brian Ferentz. This news means he will return to Texas in his position as offensive analyst and special assistant to the head coach.

The long-time Wisconsin head coach joined the Texas staff after being fired from Wisconsin in 2022. His coaching resume also includes stops in the CFL, at Oregon State as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (1997-1998, 2003-2004), with the then-San Diego Chargers as tight ends coach (1999-2001), at Pittsburgh as head coach (2012-2014) and, obviously, at Wisconsin as tight ends coach (2002), offensive coordinator (2005-2011) and as head coach (2015-2022).

Jim Leonhard, meanwhile, remains employed as a senior analyst under Bret Bielema at Illinois. Both he and Chryst still await a good opportunity to return to the top of the coaching ranks.

247Sports shares Christmas wishlist for Iowa Hawkeyes

All Iowa fans want for the holidays is a new offensive coordinator to feel good about. 247Sports agrees in its top 25 Christmas wishlists.

Christmas may have come and gone, but it’s still the holiday season. You might have thought that you received all of your presents under the tree, but for you Hawkeyes fans out there, 247Sports is pulling out a surprise.

Hidden away in the closet for the big reveal, Carter Bahns wrote his list of every top 25 college football team’s biggest Christmas wish after this season. For Iowa, it’s clear. All we want is a new OC.

Offensive coordinator upgrade:

Iowa’s much-maligned offense could look different next season with coordinator Brian Ferentz leaving the program at the end of the 2023 campaign. The Hawkeyes seem unlikely to waver too far from their traditional philosophies, but hiring the right coordinator could make them more competitive with Big Ten frontrunners. – Bahns, 247Sports.

That’s all we want in Iowa City, a better play-caller and offensive scheme for the Hawkeyes. No more getting shutout by any opponent worth their salt.

It’s been a mighty struggle under Brian Ferentz, and finally, the University of Iowa has a chance to improve things. With Ferentz on his way out the door after this season finishes, Iowa can right the wrong. They have been given a clean slate and the opportunity to reinvent themselves.

That’s the dream for all Iowa fans. And, yes, we are allowed to dream. How many of you out there would give up a family member to have a modern style offense? Not a close family member such as a brother or sister, of course, but surely there’s probably a third cousin out there you’d offer up for scoring 30-plus points a game. No?

Knowing this team, the gift of a brand new and improved OC may be just a dream, though. They don’t want to stray away from their “traditional philosophies” on Iowa, which means being garbage on that side of the ball.

All signs seem to be pointing to former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst taking over the job, which… OK. Seems like the Badgers were in pretty much the same situation as Iowa when he was at the helm there, boasting a middling offense propped up by great defensive play.

I’ve heard fans say that the Badgers’ offense was much better when he was just offensive coordinator, but, come on, that was back in the days of guys like Montee Ball, James White, Scott Tolzien and Russell Wilson. That was a long-behind time ago.

Sure, maybe Paul Chryst can be improvement over Brian Ferentz, it really wouldn’t be that hard. Still, touting a big improvement and delivering with Paul Chryst feels like getting your first gaming console for Christmas this year and it being a Playstation 3.

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