The Wisconsin Badgers dropped their second straight game on Saturday with a 34-10 loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Social media has been critical and calling for the Badgers head coach to be fired.
Fire Paul Chryst. Don’t even let him back in the locker room after the game.
Wisconsin football has become an absolute joke. As a Badgers fan, I’m beyond ashamed.
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) October 1, 2022
Many Badger fans are upset about their performances in the first 5 games. So there are 3 potential coaches that could replace Chryst.
Chris Petersen
Petersen retired as the head coach of the Washington Huskies in 2019. During that tenure he went 55-26 from 2014-19. It came as a shock to many Huskie fans when he departed from the football program. Before his time in Washington, Petersen went 92-12 at Boise State. Over his entire coaching career he had an overall record of 147-38. He is now an analyst on Fox since he stepped away from the sidelines. Chris Petersen could be the #1 option or the first call to replace Paul Chryst.
Lance Leipold
Leipold is a Wisconsin guy as he was graduate assistant from 1991-93. He coached Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007-14 and had a record of 109-6 overall. Leipold won six Division 3 National Championships, and only lost 3 conference games in that span. His first three seasons at Buffalo did not hold great records, but in 2018, the Bulls won 10 games and the MAC East Division Championship.
Lance Leipold left the Buffalo Bulls with a 37-33 overall record. He won two MAC East division titles, and two bowl games. In 2021, Leipold went 1-8 overall, but the Kansas Jayhawks ended many losing streaks last season. The former Buffalo head coach is currently 5-0 in the 2022 season. This could very well be another potential candidate for the Wisconsin Badgers. It is worth noting that he knows about the Badgers program, and it’s history. There were rumors after losing to Ohio State that Leipold could be called.
Badger Defensive Coordinator: Jim Leonhard
Fans on social media have listed as wanting Jim Leonhard as the interim head coach. Leonhard was a walk-on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was the Badgers defensive backs coach in 2016, and has been the defensive coordinator since 2017. Jim Leonhard has been around the Wisconsin Football program, and has been on the staff for 6 college seasons.
He could be a potential candidate to step in if Paul Chryst is let go. Leonhard may not get the team going right away, but it could be put in a better direction than the way that it is so far this season. Whether or not the program wants a Wisconsin Badgers man or not, these three coaches could potentially be called to replace the current situation in Madison.
Badgers Need A Change
The Badgers are currently (2-3, 0-2) in the Big Ten. Against the Fighting Illini, the running game only picked up two yards behind Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen during the game. Graham Mertz went 17-31 for 200 yards. The team had 10 penalties for 77 yards and three turnovers on offense.
Badger fans are not used to seeing what has been shown in the last 5 weeks. It is not normal for the power football that the Wisconsin Badgers have played over the years to struggle like they have been recently. In the state of the football program through almost half of the season, it is definitely time for a change!
A call has to be made!
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1 Comment
2out of 3 not bad choices we need a power house coach and develop a balance on offense and have a strong defense the QB needs to go or a better QB coach. Maybe someone who is a winning coach that can bring out the best of all the players and will take some risks with trick plays