BADGERS HIRE FORMER VIKING SLASH KICKER- Page 51

[th87]

Can someone run down for me why the odds are stacked against Wisconsin being a title contender? Not particularly knowledgeable here.

Couldn't they offer a wheelbarrow of cash to bring in the best coach available? Would name recognition really be bigger than money? And why are there better football players from Ohio and Pennsylvania?

[RiotPunch]

Can someone run down for me why the odds are stacked against Wisconsin being a title contender? Not particularly knowledgeable here.

Couldn't they offer a wheelbarrow of cash to bring in the best coach available? Would name recognition really be bigger than money? And why are there better football players from Ohio and Pennsylvania?

Wisconsin has developed an intricate recruiting system; one that Bielema was very effective at. The state of Wisconsin just does not develop the same kind of athletic talent that some other recruiting bases do, such as Ohio or Penn, as you mentioned. We develop some great linemen and get lucky at some other positions, but have to dip into states like Florida to fill out our roster, especially at skill positions. Some other programs, with better locale, have the luxury of a more fertile recruiting base.

I definitely disagree that Wisconsin has the odds against them as a title contender, I think our chances year in and year out are better than Arkansas', but we need someone who understands and can execute this recruiting system to maintain success.

Fit, loyalty and the ability to have success recruiting here will be more important to Barry than the "best" or "big name" coach. Plenty of options out there to accomplish that though.

[El Duderino]

Yeah if I thought I cold get a 25-33% raise from a competitor I wouldn't think twice about leaving my company, I know fans get emotionally invested in their teams but if you look at it from their perspective it is easy to see why and how it could happen.

That and the assistant pay thing. Apparently that was BB's biggest gripe and what had him starting to look elsewhere. I would assume they'll pay the assistants there.

If I was a manager and was pissed about my company not budgeting enough money for me to keep a competitive staff, I could leave.

(Cue everyone going, "why didn't BB pay his assistants out of pocket!")

That press conference was the first time i heard/read that UW pays it's assistant coaches at a level which makes them easier to get poached by other programs more willing to pay assistants significantly more. For example, how the hell can Pitt be willing to pay assistants 400K that Wisconsin would only pay 250K? We should have more resources than Pitt does.

I can see a program like OSU, Michigan, Texas, or Bama having the cash to poach Wisconsin assistants with extra money, but Pitt? What am i missing here?

[El Duderino]

Why the hell do you always say "I promise you" about every team on this forum? Do you have friends in the organization? If so, I apologize and would like to hear as much as I can. If not, you act like you know way more than everyone on here, which is annoying as hell.

Texas offered Chryst a boatload of money and...yet...he stayed on that year because the Badgers ponied up (or am I not remembering this one right?)

Before Paul Chryst, Bollinger who had talent but not NFL size made the NFL. Jim **** Sorgi made the NFL. I bet Stave will have a chance if he remains the starter.

"Sherer and Evridge had no talent." NO **** - that's why they sucked in 2008. Just like a transfer retread with no awareness sucked this year and our freshman QB wasn't a worldbeater but was pretty good.

"His offense averaged 40 ppg the last 2 seasons" - That's because while Tolzein was good, they had a killer O-line, some good RBs, Nick Toon, Kendricks, etc. and Russell **** Wilson who is #6 in the NFL right now in QB rating. Chryst was definitely a huge help to the offense, but I think you're giving him like 95% of the credit instead of 20% or some number closer to that.

I'm not denying that Chryst is a good QB coach, but holy **** are you giving him a lot of credit.

Chryst certainly is a very good offensive coordinator and deserves some of the credit for the success Wisconsin had during Bielema's tenure.

That said, whether it's college football or pro football, there are lots and lots of assistant coaches out there who are very good at the X's/O's of the game. Lot's of good coordinators on both sides of the ball. Being skilled at those things doesn't mean they'd also be successful head coaches, especially in college football where a head coach has so many other responsibilities besides just coaching players. That's why there have been many highly respected assistant coaches who ended up being flops as a head coach for a myriad of reasons.

On the surface, being able to get Chryst back to Madison would seem an ideal situation. If it happened though, by no means would i just assume that he'd do really well. I've just been watching college football to long and what looked like good hires for any number of college programs instead resulted in the teams losing more than winning. Head coaches need to consistently recruit well. Also when recruiting, being able to spot undervalued talent who fit your schemes. Be good at evaluating assistant coaches to fill their staffs in the present and as some leave. Be a leader the players buy into. Handle the schmoozing of donors. Keep up with 100 kids classroom work and off field activities.

Whether it's here or at Pitt, time will tell if Chryst becomes a really successful head coach or ends up not do so well and instead is destined to be back in an offensive coordinator job somewhere.

[humanrefutation]

I think the lack of financial sway isn't just a problem in the Athletic Department, it's a university-wide issue. Outside of the grant-laden scientific research departments, UW has had issues with young professors being poached by better paying universities. There are two factors which come into play:

1. A rapidly declining amount of state contributions to UW education (less than 16% of UW's budget is paid by the state).

2. Despite yearly increases in tuition (it's about 6K more per year to attend UW now than it was when I started there 7 years ago), there is a resistance to raising it even more to cover the gap because there is a perception that state schools should be accessible to all individuals without taking massive loans.

Other schools are suffering in similar ways, but either have huge financial donors willing to pump in money to uphold the university, something Wisconsin doesn't seem to have in similar numbers, or have raised tuition to ridiculous levels to cover the gaps.

Wisconsin has elected, it seems, to focus on offering competitive salaries to those at the top (head coaches, department chairs, high powered professors) and hope that they'll be able to maintain institutional excellence even as young blood is directed elsewhere. It's a tough issue to address, and its one of the reasons its hard to compete for the best and the brightest.

[ReasonablySober]

Mel Tucker hasn't heard from Wisconsin.

[MickeyDavis]

Alvarez was supposedly out of town earlier this week. Given that he knew BB was quitting he may have been on the road doing some interviews. Maybe. I agree that most coaches don't want it to be known they've interviewed or even that they have interest so they can save face should they not get the job. I do expect a hire by the end of the weekend.

[MickeyDavis]

Maybe I missed it but does Arkansas owe us anything due to a buyout clause in BB's contract? Seems odd to me that a coach can just walk out on a contract with no repercussions.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Some interesting tweets...

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez said he would always talk to a candidate's athletic director first. Said Arkansas never asked him for permission to talk to Bielema

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez: "Bret used my game plan to win. The coach I hire will have to understand who we are and how we go about our business."

Extremely interesting...

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez said he had a coaching candidate in his hotel room 5 minutes after Bielema told him he was leaving in NYC on Tuesday

Regarding the Rose Bowl...

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez says he will manage the game, oversee both sides of ball. Expects coordinators to do game plans.

[Kerb Hohl]

Some interesting tweets...

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez said he had a coaching candidate in his hotel room 5 minutes after Bielema told him he was leaving in NYC on Tuesday

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Some interesting tweets...

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez said he had a coaching candidate in his hotel room 5 minutes after Bielema told him he was leaving in NYC on Tuesday

John Chadima? Too soon?

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Another good one...

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez: Our pay scale for assistants is more than fair and competitive.

[MickeyDavis]

I would expect him to say that about the pay but this isn't the first time it's been brought up.

Maybe I'm missing something else, I thought Barry knew before this week that BB was leaving?

[Run-MKE 311]

God I love Barry Alvarez! I am half surprised he did not kick Bret's ass in that hotel room. It was some poor poke from Bret, Barry at least deserved a heads up, he gave Bret his first shot.

Barry is a Wisconsin sports legend and will add a 4th Rose Bowl to his crown, the guy is awe inspiring.

Curious to see who the next coach is going to be.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

I would expect him to say that about the pay but this isn't the first time it's been brought up.

Maybe I'm missing something else, I thought Barry knew before this week that BB was leaving?

I'm guessing BB told him he had some good offers and that he may take one, but had to think it over. Then after the Big Ten Championship he probably let him know that he was going to Arkansas.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Chryst is not a candidate.

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez asked some close friends to help Paul Chryst get Pitt job. Wouldn't think it would be right or appropriate to hire Chryst now

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez: "Paul's going to stay at Pitt." So there's that

[trwi7]

Just said Chryst is staying at Pitt.

[Kerb Hohl]

Damn, xTitan had promised me that the Chryst HC, Kareem McKenzie OL coach duo would have won multiple national titles.

[LUKE23]

I think it's going to be Golden. Am hoping for Petersen and would also like Tucker. Wouldn't be mad at Golden, but I don't know a ton about him to be honest. Wouldn't be happy with Bostad, Ash, or Bevell.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Barry is killing it.

Rittenberg/Bennett ‏@ESPN_BigTen
Alvarez says he won't use a search committee. "Most search committees use me."