Wisconsin Football 2022- The Jim Leonhard Show ends, the Luke Fickell era begins

[UpandIn]

29 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

That's job 1,2, and 3. It's always been about development there. It was a dark day when Bostad left that position group.

Yeah, today was the exact type of game they win in the past by controlling the ball and at least making Illinois go the length of the field. It was hard for me to really evaluate Chryst when the OL was I guess probably average on balance, but for Wisconsin, that's a bad OL. We have very high expectations. We turn Kyle Costigan's into starters and road graters, and when we get a logan Brown, Wedig, Nelson...etc...etc..., they SHOULD become 1st round prospects. 

Not only has that not happened, Allen hasn't had the holes more of our backs have in the past, and when we try to pass Mertz is under siege. 

I could STILL see Bostad getting this OL group playing better and the Badgers going 7-0 the rest of the way...through the regular season...at which point I'd expect either another big L in the B1G Title game or a bowl game vs an ASU type team we could probably beat. 

It'd sure be nice to get some momentum going here. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 minutes ago, UpandIn said:

Yeah, today was the exact type of game they win in the past by controlling the ball and at least making Illinois go the length of the field. It was hard for me to really evaluate Chryst when the OL was I guess probably average on balance, but for Wisconsin, that's a bad OL. We have very high expectations. We turn Kyle Costigan's into starters and road graters, and when we get a logan Brown, Wedig, Nelson...etc...etc..., they SHOULD become 1st round prospects. 

Not only has that not happened, Allen hasn't had the holes more of our backs have in the past, and when we try to pass Mertz is under siege. 

I could STILL see Bostad getting this OL group playing better and the Badgers going 7-0 the rest of the way(in regular season...at which point I'd expect either another big L in the B1G Title game or a bowl game vs an ASU type team we could probably beat. 

It'd sure be nice to get some momentum going here. 

Yeah, Nelson, Brown & to a lesser extent Tyler Beach have been frustrating to me in their lack of development. 

Considering the lack of experience I think Wedig has actually done some nice work.

If Bostad had been with this group all the way through I'd feel more optimistic about their starting to cook. Just seems to me the combination of technique & attitude is developed over time.....time he spent coaching others. Hope for the best.

[MrTPlush]

10 hours ago, UpandIn said:

I could STILL see Bostad getting this OL group playing better and the Badgers going 7-0 the rest of the way...through the regular season...at which point I'd expect either another big L in the B1G Title game or a bowl game vs an ASU type team we could probably beat. 

It'd sure be nice to get some momentum going here. 

That is some mighty optimism. Badgers should be hopeful to make a bowl game at this point. They have to go 5-2 just to do that as their first game won't count if I understand the requirements correctly. For a team that so far has gone 1-3 against eligible opponents, that won't be a simple task.

I look at their schedule and figure, yah, it is pretty soft, However, they have already lost two home games and got crushed in one of them. Were they bad teams, no, but certainly teams you should be beating at home. Right now ESPN odds have them going 4-3, but I figure they will manage at least the 5 they need. 

They really should just play Kansas in a bowl game and let the winning coach be the next HC of the Badgers. 

[PeaveyFury]

11 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

That is some mighty optimism. Badgers should be hopeful to make a bowl game at this point. They have to go 5-2 just to do that as their first game won't count if I understand the requirements correctly. 

I believe that rule was changed and you can now count one of those types of opponents for bowl eligibility. So, they have to go 4-3.

[Samurai Bucky]

Whew!  What a weekend.  I feel bad for Chryst as a person because I believe he is a genuinely good guy.  He seems like somebody who would lay down his life for his team, although he isn't loud about it.

I have heard Chryst needed to be more vocal on the sidelines to be successful.  Not necessarily -- see Tony Dungy.

If you think about it, Chryst is a very, very good OC.  He was even offered the job with the Cowboys way back when.  He went to Pitt and was mediocre at best.  He was brought on board because he was a Wisconsin guy who had some experience after Gary Anderson and the Emperor had a mutual understanding that Anderson was not a good fit.

The key to Wisconsin's success is the Offensive line.  They have been the rock of the team because that is Barry's formula.  Why are the Badgers getting only two rushing yards against the Illini?  It is because the offensive line can no longer excel.  "Back in the day," teams would put 8 or even 9 in the box and the Badgers would still gash them.  It also doesn't help when there is no threat over the top.  Either Mertz does not have the talent to be a 5* recruit, or Chryst and the QB coaches they have had are not good coaches.

I think of what Jim Leonard said during the press conference:  "This place means a lot to me. I grew up here... I really became who I am at the University of Wisconsin."  "I feel like I can take this opportunity and make this place grow.  That is why I came back a number of years ago and that's why I haven't left."  We all know that he could have done what Bielema did or Dave Aranda, but he decided to stay.  That means a lot to me personally because he is there for Wisconsin, not just another job.  McIntosh probably saw this an an opportunity to not lose one of the best DCs in college football.

[RedStickBrew]

38 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I think of what Jim Leonard said during the press conference:  "This place means a lot to me. I grew up here... I really became who I am at the University of Wisconsin."  "I feel like I can take this opportunity and make this place grow.  That is why I came back a number of years ago and that's why I haven't left."  We all know that he could have done what Bielema did or Dave Aranda, but he decided to stay.  That means a lot to me personally because he is there for Wisconsin, not just another job.  McIntosh probably saw this an an opportunity to not lose one of the best DCs in college football.

FWIW, from what I've read thus far is basically that AD McIntosh is very high on Leonhard, didn't want to risk losing him this offseason to another program.  The idea being that if Chryst turned things around, made a bowl game he may retain the HC position.  He pounced on an opportunity to fire Chryst as he was unhappy with the direction of the program and give the HC audition to Leonhard.

I guess it makes some sense given the surprising timing.  I will be interested to hear more directly from each side. There is no guarantee Leonhard will get this turned around and at least a couple players have let it be known via public statements that they are not very happy with the firing- although they also like Leonhard.  Lot of work to do for JL. Go Badgers!

[nate82]

This team is bad at just about every aspect of the game.  I don’t see anyone turning it around this year or even next year.  Recruiting needs to improve and the development of players on the offensive side needs to improve.

Hopefully Leonard is the guy but I am not sold on him being a head coach.  On the offensive side they really need to get someone who can coach QB’s and WR’s.  If Leonard can surround him self with some good coaches at the skill positions I think he could be a good enough head coach.  

[patrickgpe]

20 minutes ago, nate82 said:

This team is bad at just about every aspect of the game.  I don’t see anyone turning it around this year or even next year.  Recruiting needs to improve and the development of players on the offensive side needs to improve.

Hopefully Leonard is the guy but I am not sold on him being a head coach.  On the offensive side they really need to get someone who can coach QB’s and WR’s.  If Leonard can surround him self with some good coaches at the skill positions I think he could be a good enough head coach.  

thats the issue. He has a 7 game test to see if he is the Head Coach, with a team that isn't that great. If they want to keep him, its a 5 year contract. If they don't, he is gone. Its going to be hard to get a true test of his abilities. I guess if you see some improvement, you keep him. 

[Oxy]

At first I was shocked, and thought it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction by Macintosh, but after hearing the press conference, I actually kind of buy the line that this was a mutual decision for the betterment of the program. 

PC clearly didn't like all of the changes in CFB over the last 4 years or so and clearly didn't like anything non-football about being the HC of a major DI program.  He's seemed more tired and burned out that at any other time in his tenure.  When the last 2 weeks of results on the field happened, Macintosh said he brought him in and had a long conversation with him.  Had Chryst come out with some passion and some ideas to right the ship and get things going I honestly think he would have been given that leash to improve and even keep his job (basically like last year after the poor start).   When nothing in that conversation gave Mac the impression that could happen he offered PC the "out" and PC took it, knowing that he wasn't the guy for the job anymore.

[MrTPlush]

2 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

If you think about it, Chryst is a very, very good OC. 

I mean, is he though? I am pretty sure any person could sit on the sideline and run the ball 9/10 times with a good O-Line and what was yearly elite RBs.

He has a lot of 80+ ranked scoring offenses for a very very good coach

[MrTPlush]

I think Leonard is the safe pick and certainly he is someone they greatly respect as a defensive coach that they didn't want to lose. However, he is the most boring guy to pick too. The offense is stale, they either suck at recruiting offense or suck at coaching them, and they really lack getting athletic guys on offense. So the answer to those problems and righting the ship for the future...is hiring a defensive minded coach? 

I guess it will be interesting to see how he does in the coming years. Wisconsin may be defense first and run first....that is fine, but PC was honestly a major failure in the QB/WR department. It has really caught up to them in recent years where good RBs can't even save that trainwreck of an offense. 

How much change will happen to the coaching staff going with the in-house guy? How much will Leonard change from what he has been used to being under for years? I guess in a way, you really limit that new vision and mindset just handing the ball to Leonard. At the same time, I don't know if the risk of going outside would be worth the risk. At some point one just has to accept the reality that once expansion comes the Badgers are likely going to get buried into the middle of the pack.

[Oxy]

I've heard a lot of names over the past 24 hours (and previous years) of coaches with Wisconsin ties...one guy nobody ever brings up is Darrell Bevell. He's currently the QB coach at Miami, after a dozen years of OC in the NFL and even interim HC jobs in the NFL.  Seems like he would be available, but perhaps he just never really kept up ties with UW after he graduated.

[Jim French Stepstool]

51 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

I mean, is he though? I am pretty sure any person could sit on the sideline and run the ball 9/10 times with a good O-Line and what was yearly elite RBs.

 

When he was OC I actually thought there were plenty of times he threw more than he needed to. IMO he was a very good OC. Of course, some of those years with the talent he had he could throw the ball because he CHOSE to, rather than because he HAD to. And that makes all the difference.

[Jim French Stepstool]

41 minutes ago, Oxy said:

I've heard a lot of names over the past 24 hours (and previous years) of coaches with Wisconsin ties...one guy nobody ever brings up is Darrell Bevell. He's currently the QB coach at Miami, after a dozen years of OC in the NFL and even interim HC jobs in the NFL.  Seems like he would be available, but perhaps he just never really kept up ties with UW after he graduated.

I've heard some of those names brought up, too. And we might've been in a situation where we'd be weeding through all those names in December/January if Chryst had finished out the year. 

I think part of the reason this was done now is because Leonhard is the guy McIntosh wants, he's already here, so you lock him in.

[Samurai Bucky]

2 hours ago, nate82 said:

Hopefully Leonard is the guy but I am not sold on him being a head coach.  On the offensive side they really need to get someone who can coach QB’s and WR’s.  If Leonard can surround him self with some good coaches at the skill positions I think he could be a good enough head coach.  

"Excuse me, Mr. Thomas... I know you were [one of] the best offensive lineman in NFL history.  Would you come back and coach the offensive line, please?"

[Samurai Bucky]

49 minutes ago, Oxy said:

I've heard a lot of names over the past 24 hours (and previous years) of coaches with Wisconsin ties...one guy nobody ever brings up is Darrell Bevell. He's currently the QB coach at Miami, after a dozen years of OC in the NFL and even interim HC jobs in the NFL.  Seems like he would be available, but perhaps he just never really kept up ties with UW after he graduated.

I also don't know why people have avoided him.  One bad call at the goal line during the super bowl? 

Maybe it is because he has purple on his resume (yikes)?  

[yourout]

1 hour ago, Oxy said:

At first I was shocked, and thought it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction by Macintosh, but after hearing the press conference, I actually kind of buy the line that this was a mutual decision for the betterment of the program. 

PC clearly didn't like all of the changes in CFB over the last 4 years or so and clearly didn't like anything non-football about being the HC of a major DI program.  He's seemed more tired and burned out that at any other time in his tenure.  When the last 2 weeks of results on the field happened, Macintosh said he brought him in and had a long conversation with him.  Had Chryst come out with some passion and some ideas to right the ship and get things going I honestly think he would have been given that leash to improve and even keep his job (basically like last year after the poor start).   When nothing in that conversation gave Mac the impression that could happen he offered PC the "out" and PC took it, knowing that he wasn't the guy for the job anymore.

The Jalen Berger situation and NIL and transfer rules helped burn him out i think.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I could be mistaken but I thought I read Joe Thomas was completely disinterested in coaching. 

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, yourout said:

The Jalen Berger situation and NIL and transfer rules helped burn him out i think.

And the COVID season, and having to let go/push out/encourage to seek other opportunities his friend Joe Rudolph, and having to deal with passing of one of his assistant coaches.

I had to deal with the passing of a direct report once.  Someone who was my age and I considered a friend.  It can take the wind out of your sails for a long time.

[yourout]

33 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I could be mistaken but I thought I read Joe Thomas was completely disinterested in coaching. 

Unless your looking for a Hunting/fishing coach. He loves the outdoors.

[LouisEly]

A few other quick thoughts:

1) Leipold is 58 years old.  If he's 48, it may happen, but Leipold is a year older than Chryst. 

B) Leipold has had one good half-season at Kansas.  Scott Frost looked like the second coming of Tom Osborne after two seasons at UCF.  Then he stepped up to a big-boy conference.

3) This does not happen if Leonhard isn't on staff.

[JosephC]

At least now I won't feel guilty about saying no when UW asks me for a donation.  ESPN is reporting that Chryst is getting an 11 million dollar payment out the University of Wisconsin Foundation.  Here is a link to the Why Give? page from the University of Wisconsin Foundation's website-

https://www.supportuw.org/why-give/

So everything on that page seems to be about maintaining a quality and affordable education system.  I wonder how paying eight figures to a football coach who isn't even going to be coaching fits into that?  So the athletic department couldn't eat this money with the 10's of millions of revenue they bring in every year?  Hopefully the faculty will raise all sorts of hell now that this news is public.

Chris McIntosh sucks.  I was very happy when he got the AD job, but I'm bitterly disappointed with him now.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

35 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

A few other quick thoughts:

1) Leipold is 58 years old.  If he's 48, it may happen, but Leipold is a year older than Chryst. 

B) Leipold has had one good half-season at Kansas.  Scott Frost looked like the second coming of Tom Osborne after two seasons at UCF.  Then he stepped up to a big-boy conference.

3) This does not happen if Leonhard isn't on staff.

I think Leonhard is the guy but you're shortchanging Leipold. He has over a decade of success in CFB, yes most notably that's in Whitewater but it is relevant because Wisconsin is not Ohio State. He had to find diamond other schools were ignoring and that's what he'd have to do at UW with more resources. 

Beyond that, Whitewater immediately stepped back without him. He was brought to Buffalo to make them respectable, did so quickly, went to Kansas and has them on the right track immediately.

I'll repeat that Leonhard is the guy but I also don't think Leipold's age really matters at all. His youngest kid is like 17 now and he's 58, not 78. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

37 minutes ago, JosephC said:

At least now I won't feel guilty about saying no when UW asks me for a donation.  ESPN is reporting that Chryst is getting an 11 million dollar payment out the University of Wisconsin Foundation.  Here is a link to the Why Give? page from the University of Wisconsin Foundation's website-

https://www.supportuw.org/why-give/

So everything on that page seems to be about maintaining a quality and affordable education system.  I wonder how paying eight figures to a football coach who isn't even going to be coaching fits into that?  So the athletic department couldn't eat this money with the 10's of millions of revenue they bring in every year?  Hopefully the faculty will raise all sorts of hell now that this news is public.

Chris McIntosh sucks.  I was very happy when he got the AD job, but I'm bitterly disappointed with him now.

Chryst could have demanded more and gotten it per the terms of his contract. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, LouisEly said:

 

3) This does not happen if Leonhard isn't on staff.

I tried to convey that a few posts ago. You did it in a much neater, cleaner fashion. Cheers.