Konz going pro (Update 1/17, new OC is Matt Canada)

Post #1 » by **MickeyDavis** » Fri Jan 6, 2012 6:54 pm

Rudolph is the recruiting coordinator and supposedly a very good one.

One day after All-American tailback Montee Ball announced he would return for his senior season at Wisconsin, the program suffered another player departure and appeared to move closer to losing another assistant coach.

UW officials have not made a formal announcement but junor center Peter Konz has decided to skip his senior season and enter the 2012 NFL draft.

A UW source confirmed Konz's decison Friday morning.

In addition, according to multiple reports assistant Joe Rudolph is set to interview at Pittsburgh.

Rudolph recently was promoted from tight ends coach to offensive line coach/run-game coordinator.

However, he has a desire to be at least co-offensive coordinator and that oppotunity could come at Pittsburgh.

A UW source said earlier this week Rudolph, who is from Belle Vernon, Pa., was conflicted because he felt loyalty to UW but also respected Paul Chryst, who left the UW staff after the Rose Bowl to begin his work as Pittsburgh's head coach.

Chryst has already hired two assistants from the UW staff -- linebackers coach Dave Huxtable and offensive line coach Bob Bostad. Huxtable will be Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator; Bostad reportedly will be the offensive coordinator, though Chryst is expected to call the plays.

It is possible Rudolph, who grew close to Chryst and Bostad during his four seasons on the UW staff, could be given the title of co-offensive coordinator with Bostad.

The loss of Konz means UW must replace three starters from the offensive line. Right guard Kevin Zeitler and right tackle Josh Oglesby played their final games for UW in the Rose Bowl.

The likely replacements for Konz are Travis Frederick or Ryan Groy, who will be redshirt juniors next season.

Post #2 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 12:30 am

Ugh. I'd like them to hold onto Rudolph.

SugarRay34 · Post #3 » by **SugarRay34** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 1:07 am

Bielema must be a real jag to work for. Assistants have been leaving at the first chance they get. This is a huge loss for the program. I would be worried about Houston and a couple of other recruits now.

Post #4 » by **MickeyDavis** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 1:10 am

I'm not concerned so much with these guys leaving but why all the defensive coaching are staying.

RiotPunch · Post #5 » by **RiotPunch** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 1:44 am

SugarRay34 wrote:Bielema must be a real jag to work for.

I've been fearing the same thing. I mean sure, Chryst is offering these guys position and pay upgrades, and Rudolph and his wife have Pennsylvania ties... but part of me thinks that these guys would straight up much rather work with someone other than Bielema. His doucheyness might not just be a public opinion.

It should be an interesting rest of the off-season.

Post #6 » by **MickeyDavis** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 3:07 am

Yeah they suck so I ask again, why are they staying? I'm asking why aren't they being offered other jobs as the offensive guys are, I'm asking why WE aren't giving them the boot.

Ayt · Post #7 » by **Ayt** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 3:25 am

If BB was a douche to work for, Chryst would have left years ago.

chuckleslove · Post #8 » by **chuckleslove** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 4:08 am

Ayt wrote:If BB was a douche to work for, Chryst would have left years ago.

Exactly what I was thinking, he has been in consideration for other jobs but decided to stick it out at UW longer than he had to.

Bernman · Post #9 » by **Bernman** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 4:23 am

As we know there were many coaching debacles at the Rose Bowl. Maybe there was some scapegoating that went down which alienated the assistants, the ones of whom with alternatives, walked. I can't imagine the DC's have palatable alternatives after how their unit fared.

If BB has developed a reputation now among the coaching community, it may be time for Alvarez to step in for him and be the acting HC for a while, so the ship can stay afloat, and in the meantime he can search for a new captain to sail it into the next decade.

El Duderino · Post #10 » by **El Duderino** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 10:35 am

humanrefutation wrote:Ugh. I'd like them to hold onto Rudolph.

He is the guy i really wanted to stay. Rudolph being close to Chryst, getting bumped up to co-coordinator supposedly, and being from Pennsylvania all probably conspired against him staying unless there truly was an issue between Bielema and some coaches. If so that's a bad sign.

Either way, it's not good at allseeing Bostad/Rudolph both go and will be even worse if we also lost some recruits. I can't help but now feeling some dislike toward Chryst for the way he's raided the Badgers coaching staff. Granted, those guys have to agree to leave, but taking three coaches can't leave Bielema and Alvarez happy, especially if reports are true that Barry put in good words for Chryst to Pittsburgh.

For Bielema, this is a real key phase in his tenure as head coach. If he wants the program to stay upper tier in the Big Ten, he'll have to make some good hires to replace four of his coaches, especially at OL, offensive coordinator, and recruiting coordinator.

El Duderino · Post #11 » by **El Duderino** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 10:55 am

MickeyDavis wrote:I'm not concerned so much with these guys leaving but why all the defensive coaching are staying.

Hey, i'm no fan at all of the ultra-conservative and vanilla schemes the Badgers defense ran this year under Ash and the previous year under Doeren, but that defense this year IMO also had to be blamed a lot on recruiting problems.

Bret and his staff obviously have done a fabulous job the last few years at recruiting and then developing quality players on offense which lead to unprecedented offensive production at Wisconsin.

On defense though, there were some real talent deficiencies. With Watt gone, there was pretty much nobody left on the DL that could regularly generate pressure or make plays in the backfield. In the secondary, one place that Barry/his staff consistently brought in better players compared to Bielema/his staff is at corner and safety to a lesser degree.

When you run a 4-3 defense, so much rides on the DL, especially if you run a mostly just rush four scheme. When the talent on the DL is just mediocre, particularly pass rush wise, that effects the whole defense. Mix in a secondary also with real talent issues, that i think was an even bigger problem than the scheme.

Post #12 » by **MickeyDavis** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 3:18 pm

I agree about lack of talent. BB was a defense coordinator before he got here, and he was DC his one year on Barry's staff. But he never seems to be able to recruit defense talent as he does offensive talent.

midranger · Post #13 » by **midranger** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 5:43 pm

Rudolph gone.

Offensive staff decimated.

Defensive staff..... remains.

emunney · Post #14 » by **emunney** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 6:10 pm

Bad form for Chryst to take so much staff with him.

BUCKnation · Post #15 » by **BUCKnation** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 7:09 pm

emunney wrote:Bad form for Chryst to take so much staff with him.

yeah... i may have to take back my well wishes

PkrsBcksGphsMqt · Post #16 » by **PkrsBcksGphsMqt** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 7:17 pm

So was Rudolph never offered the OC job at Wisconsin? If that's the case, what is the reason why they wouldn't offer him the OC job?

Post #17 » by **MickeyDavis** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 9:11 pm

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/136878658.html

Post #18 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 9:30 pm

El Duderino wrote:I can't help but now feeling some dislike toward Chryst for the way he's raided the Badgers coaching staff. Granted, those guys have to agree to leave, but taking three coaches can't leave Bielema and Alvarez happy, especially if reports are true that Barry put in good words for Chryst to Pittsburgh

I don't feel any ill will towards Chryst. I get the idea of loyalty, but his first obligation now is to Pittsburgh, not to the Badgers. If he feels that adding guys like Rudolph/Bostad would be good for Pittsburgh, he's got to make the offer. It's the smart thing to do, and it's the right thing for him to do. And, obviously, it's a two way street. If those guys feel that going to Pittsburgh is the right thing for them to do for their careers, then more power to them. I don't see why Chryst should potentially settle for less when he's ultimately going to be held responsible for the performance of his team.

Coaching staffs from good teams always get raided, eventually. The key thing is to be able to replace those guys. It's not much different than replacing good players. They perform well, move on, and if you've done a good job with recruiting and preparation, you should have guys ready to step up and fill those shoes. That's one of the marks of a good coach, IMO.

midranger · Post #19 » by **midranger** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 9:33 pm

Potrykus sucks.

Methinks the fact that the assistant AD in charge of football hust "resigned" indicates that several people inside this mess are furious with how this all went down. But... the fans should "exhale."

Again, JP sucks.

El Duderino · Post #20 » by **El Duderino** » Sat Jan 7, 2012 10:09 pm

humanrefutation wrote:
El Duderino wrote:I can't help but now feeling some dislike toward Chryst for the way he's raided the Badgers coaching staff. Granted, those guys have to agree to leave, but taking three coaches can't leave Bielema and Alvarez happy, especially if reports are true that Barry put in good words for Chryst to Pittsburgh

I don't feel any ill will towards Chryst. I get the idea of loyalty, but his first obligation now is to Pittsburgh, not to the Badgers. If he feels that adding guys like Rudolph/Bostad would be good for Pittsburgh, he's got to make the offer. It's the smart thing to do, and it's the right thing for him to do. And, obviously, it's a two way street. If those guys feel that going to Pittsburgh is the right thing for them to do for their careers, then more power to them. I don't see why Chryst should potentially settle for less when he's ultimately going to be held responsible for the performance of his team.

Coaching staffs from good teams always get raided, eventually. The key thing is to be able to replace those guys. It's not much different than replacing good players. They perform well, move on, and if you've done a good job with recruiting and preparation, you should have guys ready to step up and fill those shoes. That's one of the marks of a good coach, IMO.

I don't agree and it's not about loyalty, instead some respect for people who helped you out.

If reports are true, both Bielema and Alvarez called Pitt and talked up Chryst in an effort to help him land the job and he pays back Bielema/Alvarez by raiding the Badgers coaching staff. I think that's in bad taste and my guess is both Barry and Bret aren't very happy with Chryst about this.

Had Chryst just taken Bostad and maybe Huxtable, i'd guess that Bielema/Alvarez could be reasonably ok with that. To then go and also lure away a key guy like Rudolph has to leave a bad taste in the mouths of Bret/Barry and i now wonder if they regret helping Chryst land the job at Pitt. I certainly would. They go to bat to help out Chryst and he pays them back by putting the Badgers program in a real bind.