When Bret Bielema left Wisconsin to take the head coaching job at Arkansas earlier this week, one of the first names that shot to the top of the unofficial “short list” for the Badgers was Pitt head coach Paul Chryst.
However, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez shot down the idea of Chryst returning to Madison on Thursday when he announced that he would be “coaching” the Badgers in the Rose Bowl against Stanford.Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez says he doesn’t think it’d be appropriate for #Pitt coach Paul Chryst to leave after one year.
— Chris Peak (@PantherLair) December 6, 2012
As if Alvarez needed to be any more specific, he said directly “Paul’s going to stay at Pitt.”
Chryst was wildly successful as the former Badgers offensive coordinator from 2005-11 and guided the Panthers to a 6-6 season in his first year in Pittsburgh. His name was bound to come up, but Chryst released a statement two days ago pledging his loyalty to Pitt and it looks as though that’s going to be the case for at least a little while longer.
That’s a good thing for the Panthers. Chryst is the program’s sixth different head coach in the past three years. Losing him after one year given the recent coaching turnover would have been a crushing blow.