Big Ten football report: Wisconsin's Paul Chryst fired as in-season chaos continues
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WEST LAFAYETTE – Firing college football coaches in-season isn’t a new phenomenon.
Last year, five were canned before November.
Granted, the trend has picked up in recent years of dumping coaches and paying big buyouts before the leaves turn, but let’s not pretend it hasn’t happened before. And it will continue to happen.
Remember 2016? Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski fired Darrell Hazell midway through the season. That was six years ago, and Bobinski wasn’t the first AD to pull the trigger in October.
Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst became the latest to lose his job before Halloween. In fact, this was closer to Labor Day than Oct. 31. Despite winning 67 games in seven-plus seasons, Chryst – who was a strong candidate to replace Joe Tiller several years ago - was ousted after a 24-point loss at home to Illinois, which is led by former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema.
Chryst’s news overshadowed Colorado’s Karl Dorrell losing his job earlier Sunday. They join Scott Frost (Nebraska), Herm Edwards (Arizona State) and Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech) who have been shown the door.
What we’ve learned about the Big Ten and what’s next as we approach the halfway point of the season:
▶ Chryst’s firing doesn’t come as a surprise. The timing is but not the act. The Badgers have been slowly trending in the wrong direction for several years, failing to sufficiently re-stock the talent pool. Other programs have caught up or surpassed Wisconsin and most of those teams are in the East but divisions are going away in 2024 when UCLA and USC join the league. The blowout loss at Ohio State showed a wide gap, one that is increasing. Wisconsin decided it was time to stop the downward trajectory and begin the climb back to the top. The Badgers could still win the Big Ten West since it won’t take a sparkling record to claim the No. 1 spot. But the program has bigger aspirations and should be among the best teams in the Big Ten.
▶ The move is comparable to when Nebraska fired Frank Solich after a 9-3 season in 2003. New athletic director with the Huskers back then. New AD at Wisconsin now. The support for both Solich and Chryst was starting to diminish. We'll see how this plays out but Nebraska will be on its fifth coach in 2023 since Solich was let go. That's a path the Badgers want to avoid.
▶ Defensive wizard Jim Leonhard is the interim coach and should keep the job if he can generate any offense from running back Braelon Allen and quarterback Graham Mertz. The Badgers are averaging 15.5 points in two conference games and fewer than 100 yards on the ground, very un-Wisconsin-like. The Badgers face Northwestern, Michigan State and Purdue in the next three games but close with Maryland, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. Not an easy schedule but it’s not impossible to see more wins than losses. If not, the program is broken and needs a fresh start.
▶ Nebraska and Wisconsin will pay Frost and Chryst a combined $26 million not to coach. Best job in America - fired college football coaches. Chryst's contract called for a $20 million buyout but he accepted $11 million from the university, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.
▶ Six teams are 1-1. One team is 0-2. Welcome to the Big Ten West.
“It’s the Wild West right now. Everybody is fighting,” Nebraska interim coach Mickey Joseph said.
The Boilermakers are one of those 1-1 teams after knocking off previously unbeaten Minnesota.
“We just had two Big Ten games and we're 1-1, so it's not like we've done anything special to this point,” Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said.
No one has done anything special and might not the rest of the season. Someone will win the West but everyone – even the 0-2 Badgers – has a chance. Five wins might be enough but six likely puts you at the top. The Golden Gophers were in the driver’s seat but now it’s Illinois and Purdue earning the favorites label. It’s bound to change.
▶ Might be time to start a weekly feature: “Coaches who set themselves on fire.”
This week’s guest – Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, who made a bizarre decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Gophers’ 29-yard line. In the first quarter, trailing 7-0 to the Boilermakers.
Minnesota was stopped short, but its defense held Purdue to a field goal, a win in Fleck's mind. His team was sluggish, didn’t have top running back Mohamad Ibrahim and needed a spark.
“Felt like we needed to do something,” Fleck said afterward. “It only cost us three points, but it was worth it. I would do it again. We’ve got to be able to get fourth-and-1.”
Power rankings
Ohio State (5-0, 2-0): OSU's Ryan Day and Rutgers' Greg Schiano were in the middle of a mini-scrum. It was more entertaining than the game. Up next: Saturday at Michigan State, 4 p.m. (ABC)
Michigan (5-0, 2-0): Need to re-tool the defense after offensively challenged Iowa scored two touchdowns against the Wolverines. Up next: Saturday at Indiana, noon (Fox)
Penn State (5-0, 2-0): Committed five turnovers but Northwestern couldn’t convert those into enough points. Up next: Oct. 15 at Michigan, noon (Fox).
Maryland (4-1, 1-1): Good enough to beat every team in the Big Ten not named Ohio State and Michigan. But look out Penn State. Up next: Saturday vs. Purdue, noon (BTN)
Illinois (4-1, 1-1): Bret Bielema should’ve stayed in Madison after the Illini smoked the Badgers. Illinois enjoyed its own version of Jump Around. Up next: Saturday vs. Iowa, 7:30 p.m. (BTN)
Purdue (3-2, 1-1): Big jump for the Boilermakers, who humbled Fleck and Goldy Gopher. Outside of Charlie Jones, walk-on running backs and how the defense played last week are the headlines. Up next: Saturday at Maryland, noon (BTN)
Minnesota (4-1, 1-1): Before facing Purdue, the Gophers punted a total of three times in four games. They punted five times against the Boilermakers. Up next: Oct. 15 at Illinois, noon (BTN)
Iowa (3-2, 1-1): The Hawkeyes scored 14 points on offense. It’s a start. Up next: Saturday at Illinois, 7:30 p.m. (BTN)
Wisconsin (2-3, 0-2): Leonhard’s audition begins. If the Badgers don’t respond, Kansas coach Lance Leipold is ready-made for the job. Up next: Saturday at Northwestern, 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
Michigan State (2-3, 0-2): The Spartans have hit the skids at the wrong time. Up next: Saturday vs. Ohio State, 4 p.m. (ABC)
Rutgers (3-2, 0-2): The Scarlet Knights led the Buckeyes 7-0. Lost 49-10. Up next: Friday vs. Nebraska, 7 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Nebraska (2-3, 1-1): Do you realize the Huskers haven’t won back-to-back Big Ten games since 2018? Now you know why the school is looking for a new coach. Up next: Friday at Rutgers, 7 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Indiana (3-2, 1-1): The schedule gets tougher, and the losses are going to mount. Up next: Saturday vs. Michigan, noon (Fox)
Northwestern (1-4, 1-1): For about three hours Saturday, the Wildcats were the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten West. And now they’re not. Meanwhile, the renderings for the new stadium look great. Up next: Saturday vs. Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Big Ten football report: Wisconsin's Paul Chryst fired as in-season chaos continues
