Wisconsin football shockingly fires Paul Chryst in most disrespectful way
Wisconsin football made the decision to shock the college football world by firing head coach Paul Chryst in the middle of a dramatic Packers game.
Nebraska firing Scott Frost? It was a long time coming. ASU dumping Herm Edwards? It was inevitable. But Wisconsin firing Paul Chryst? Now that one was a surprise.
The Badgers followed up a loss to Illinois on Saturday by firing their head coach on Sunday, but they did it in the cheekiest way.
The news dropped right as there was drama in the Packers game against the Patriots.
Doubs didn't catch it and Paul Chryst just got fired. What a wild couple seconds. https://t.co/AW4OX4XbZL
— JR Radcliffe (@JRRadcliffe) October 2, 2022
The Chryst news breaking as the Packers drop a TD. What a moment for the state of Wisconsin.
— Brendan Stiles (@thebstiles) October 2, 2022
Holy Chryst the Packer game has been wild. https://t.co/687zoiFHEJ
— Matt Froehlich (@Matt_Fra_) October 2, 2022
Talk about a news dump in re Paul Chryst … right as it looks like the Packers are going to OT. https://t.co/4Z6NhoYZEI
— Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻♀️😎 (@rachelmlenzi) October 2, 2022
Wisconsin waiting until the fourth quarter of a Green Bay game to make the move was definitely premeditated.
This was the NFL Sunday equivalent of dropping a breaking news story at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday.
Wisconsin shocked college football fans by firing Paul Chryst
Twitter was stunned.
If you had Bryan Harsin outlasting Paul Chryst 2 months ago, I would have thought you are insane.
— Zachary Ament (@zach13090) October 2, 2022
Excluding Covid year, Chryst won 10, 11, 13, 8, 10 and 9 before this year’s 2-3 start. Wisconsin making some real Nebraska moves here. https://t.co/Z3HKfZhf9b
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) October 2, 2022
Winning more than 70 percent of your games doesn’t save you.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 2, 2022
Both Chryst and Ed Orgeron (at LSU) won 72 percent of their games.
For what it’s worth: Barry Alvarez won 61 percent of his games at Wisconsin. https://t.co/kbL21647Mq
Paul Chryst had the same damn problems at Wisconsin that he did at Pitt: Ridiculously conservative on offense, failed to adjust to opposition schematics, and in the end, it robbed his teams of a lot of winnable games.
— Schlasser (@UrinatingTree) October 2, 2022
It is what it is, I guess. https://t.co/Eb4zMwdRA5
Ready for a wild stat?
— Dirk Chatelain (@dirkchatelain) October 2, 2022
Bo Pelini's record at Nebraska (2008-14): 66-27
Paul Chryst's record at Wisconsin (2015-22): 67-26
Somewhere on the Plains, Harsin is yelling in his office at how he has to gameplan for Georgia while both Paul Chryst and Karl Dorrell became multi-millionaire free agents today. https://t.co/NegGXPe2QW
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 2, 2022
Cannot make this up… Paul Chryst is fired after getting 67 wins at Wisconsin, third all-time for the Badgers.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 2, 2022
The guy above him? Bret Bielema, who won *68* games with Wisconsin and blew out Chryst yesterday in Madison.
Last year, on this very week, Paul Chryst got a raise from Wisconsin.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 2, 2022
The cost to fire Chryst is pretty huge. He is reportedly owed a buyout of more than $16 million, per Pete Thamel.
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to be elevated to interim head coach.
Where might Chryst land next?
https://twitter.com/thejasonkirk/status/1576712092660506627
There will be more than a few teams who will see Chryst as a major upgrade on the other coaching prospects available to them. It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him land on his feet at a Power 5 program, whether it’s Nebraska, Arizona State, Georgia Tech or one of the other jobs sure to open before the fall is complete.
Wisconsin hired Chryst in 2015 and he won 10 or more games in four of his first five seasons. He won the division three times, with Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl wins capping the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2019 he took his team to the Rose Bowl but they lost.
The last three seasons have been more challenging. In 2020 the Badgers were 4-3. Last year they lost four games. The start to this season was a disappointing 2-3 with embarrassing losses to Ohio State and Illinois. Being battered by the Illini on Saturday was the final straw for Wisconsin and Chryst.
Winners and Losers from the Week 6 AP poll. dark. Next
For more College Football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.