On the Wisco Fanatics show Wednesday we discussed potential Paul Chryst replacements. While myself, my co-host Jake and our frequent Wisconsin Badgers guest Mike did want to acknowledge that there is a very possible scenario where Jim Leonhard maintains the position of head coach beyond 2022, we did all give several candidates to potentially fill the position.
Mike and Jake both had Leipold on their lists given his ties to Wisconsin and to UW-Whitewater, for this reason I purposely left him off my list to give some other potential candidates that Badger fans and writers may not currently be considering. My three candidates are offensive minded coaches, my thought process with hiring an offensive minded coach is predicated on Jim Leonhard wanting to retain his post as defensive coordinator.
Potential Paul Chryst Replacements: Todd Monken
Todd Monken is currently the offensive coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs. While the Bulldogs are a team known for having one of the best, if not the best defense in the country, it shouldn't be lost on college football fans that Georgia's offense has improved tremendously on offense in the last three and a half years.
Monken took the Georgia OC job in 2020, the covid shortened season, in 2019 Georgia's offense ranked 49th in scoring and 36th in offensive yards per play, just two years later Georgia in 2021 ranked 9th in scoring and 4th in offensive yards per play. That sounds exactly like the type of leap the Wisconsin Badgers team could use offensively.
The offensive style wouldn't be a crazy radical change for Wisconsin either, by going to an offense that does rely on passing the ball, it doesn't mean Wisconsin would abandon their identity as a rushing team. In 2019, before Monken took over, Georgia threw the ball on 49 percent of plays, in 2021 the number raised just barely to 52 percent.
The last two quarterbacks at Georgia in 2020 and 2021 finished with the highest passer ratings in Georgia Bulldogs' history.
It's not like Georgia had a perfect storm of luck in 2021 either, Georgia lost their starting quarterback, two wide receivers and their starting left tackle, and still won the National Championship.
Todd Monken's offense is a run-pass-option style offense that uses a hefty dose of play action, something we've been begging for Wisconsin to do on the Wisco Fanatics show since we started talking about the Badgers football team. Monken's style relies on the quarterback making pre-snap reads of the defense and then taking what the defense gives you, throw when the defense stacks the box, run the ball when the defensive alignment shows that it's advantageous.
Potential Paul Chryst replacements: Bill O'Brien
Bill O'Brien has been around the block in his coaching career, going from an offensive assistant for the New England Patriots, to head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, then back to the NFL to be head coach and eventual GM of the Houston Texans and then to his current post as the offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Going back to his days in New England, his offensive philosophy was simple, use the middle of the field and short routes and slants. The Patriots did this extremely effectively and it resulted in a season of massive production from Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Using tight ends effectively does fit with the identity of Wisconsin football in the past. Also while in this system Wes Welker, a slot receiver, managed to put up a 1,500 yard receiving season.
Being at Penn State was for sure a great experience in building strong character for Bill O'Brien. O'Brien took over the program after the scandal at Penn State while the school was sanctioned from playing any postseason games. O'Brien in his first season as Penn State head coach in 2012 won the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.in 2012 eventual NFL draft pick Matt McGloin put up 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions and the Nittany Lions averaged 417 yards per game. In 2013, with Christian Hackenberg at quarterback, who threw 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, Penn State averaged 433 yards. In his two years at Penn State, Bill O'Brien went 15-9 despite being in a troubled program.
Following the 2013 season, Bill O'Brien returned to the NFL as a head coach with the Houston Texans. Some of the franchise's best and worst years were under Bill O'Brien. With talented players like Deshaun Watson, Carlos Hyde, Deandre Hopkins and Will Fuller, the Texans put a formidable offense on the field. However, the Texans began losing some of those pieces and after a 0-4 start in 2020, O'Brien was fired.
Bill O'Brien then signed a deal to become the offensive coordinator at Alabama, joining Nick Saban at arguably the best football school in the country. The contract he signed with Alabama expires after the 2022 season, meaning O'Brien could potentially be available if the Badgers were to be interested.
Bill O'Brien's philosophy may be appealing to old school Badger fans as it doesn't involve a complete overhaul to a pro style spread or RPO offense. Instead, the offense would revolve around using the middle of the field and short routes. Wide receivers would be used on screens, handoffs and sweeps. The offense would use a lot of fakes and misdirection and when ready to take a deep shot down the field, would keep extra blockers in to make sure his quarterback had adequate time to get the throw off.
Potential Paul Chryst replacements: Dave Clawson
I saved the best for last, of the three candidates I'm bringing up, Clawson is my favorite. Clawson is currently the head coach of Wake Forest, a team that has been brought back to relevance the last two seasons. Wake Forest got themselves ranked as high as #9 last season and currently sits at #15 in the country. Clawson was ACC Coach of the Year in 2021, however the ACC is quickly losing relevance in the college football world as the SEC and Big Ten continue to grow.
Dave Clawson has a record of 51-48 from 2013-2021, a record just above the .500 mark, however, since 2016 Wake Forest has a record of 45-30 and is 15-2 in home games since 2019. That last mark should be especially interesting to Badger fans upset that Wisconsin just lost to Illinois at home for the first time since 2002.
In 2021, Wake Forest scored over 35 points in 12 of their 14 games. Last season Wake Forest averaged 468 yards per game, 307 passing yards per game and their defense created 29 turnovers, a rate of over two per game!
This season so far Wake Forest is averaging 40.4 points per game, nearly 11 more than the Badgers, good for 24th in the NCAA. While Wake Forest doesn't have a great rushing game they are 31st in the country in passing yards per game at 298. With Wisconsin having a strong identity as a successful rushing team and Clawson coaching a team to a strong passing game and high scoring, it could be a marriage of what the other needs.
Wisconsin and Clawson met in the 202o Duke's Mayo Bowl, Wisconsin won 42-28, Graham Mertz had three touchdowns, one passing and two rushing. That said, Dave Clawson is my favorite candidate should Wisconsin be looking for a new head coach for 2023.
Mike and Jake both joined the show and each had Lance Leipold on their lists. Other than that Mike also brought up Todd Monken, his other two candidates were Dave Aranda, former defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and current head coach at Baylor and then Chris Peterson, former head coach at Washington and Boise State and current college football analyst for Fox Sports.
Jake's other candidates were Sherrone Moore, current offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator at Michigan, Alex Golesh, the tight ends coach and offensive coordinator at Tennessee and finally Garrett Riley, offensive coordinator at TCU and younger brother of USC head coach Lincoln Riley.
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