In a move that seemed to come almost out of nowhere given Paul Chryst’s record this season, Wisconsin fired the longtime head coach despite Chryst’s 67-26 record. The move clears the way to give his favorite son Jim Leonhard a full audition to lead the Badgers program, and is why The Athletic has heard the coaching change has been made now.
Leonhard receives seven regular season games and likely a bowl game to make his case to keep his job. He was a fantastic defensive coordinator and turned down big money to stay at Madison. His seven-game stint doesn’t feature a single ranked opponent yet. The intuition here is that he will have a very, very good chance of proving himself worthy of the job. Going 5-2 or better and showing he can start the attack would probably seem like enough.
But if Leonhard doesn’t end up with a job, things will get very interesting.
Lance Leipold, head coach, Kansas
If you’re a Nebraska fan, you should probably be looking to see the Badgers go and win, aside from the Nov. 19 game at Lincoln. The reason: One of the top Cornhuskers targets we hear from, Lance Leipold of Kansas, is a Wisconsin native who won six Division III national titles in the state.
Would Leipold, a former assistant from Nebraska, opt for Nebraska over Wisconsin? We’re not so sure, but if Leonhard does well, it could become a moot point. Either way, Leipold’s stock is skyrocketing right now after the remarkable turnaround he pulled off in Kansas.
