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Paul Chryst was shockingly fired by Wisconsin football this past Sunday after a 2-3 start to the season. Chryst, who had been the Badgers' coach since 2015, had compiled double-digit wins in his first three seasons, though the program has been trending downward since then. Still, it's pretty surprising to see a coach who has never had a losing season at Wisconsin shown the door.
However, new details emerged about Chryst's tenure with the Badgers, embarrassing ones that reveal why the university had no choice, per Jesse Temple of The Athletic.
“The lack of recruiting department hurt that heavily,” said another source familiar with Wisconsin’s recruiting. “They probably would’ve had Jimmy Rolder.”
Who is Jimmy Rolder, you're asking? A linebacker who was tabbed as a player with “loads of potential” who visited Wisconsin football in 2021 as a potential recruit. There was just one problem. No one from the Badgers talked to Rolder because Paul Chryst didn't have a recruiting department.
Employees, such as Wisconsin football's director of player personnel, had left the program- and Chryst formed a “makeshift staff” rather than formally hiring a department of recruiters. It clearly hurt the Badgers' chances of landing big-time recruits.
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Then there's this.
“At halftime of the Illinois game, with Wisconsin trailing 14-10, Chryst told his players it was “time to draw a line in the f—ing sand,” to take a stand and rally. Wisconsin was held scoreless in the second half, gained 68 yards of total offense and surrendered 20 points. Torchio acknowledged after the game that “something’s off” with the team.”
Paul Chryst was attempting to rally the troops with a passionate, NSFW speech at halftime of this past Saturday's loss to Illinois. But it fell on deaf ears, as Wisconsin football was blown out 34-10.
It's a stretch to say that these two instances cost Paul Chryst his job, but they certainly didn't help his case either.
