Wisconsin started the season 2-3 and have decided to fire head coach Paul Chryst. Here are five potential head coaches for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin has named defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard as the interim coach for the rest of the season. Leonhard has been the defensive coordinator since 2017. Before that he was a defensive backs coach for the school and played for the Badgers. He had almost a decade-long NFL career as well.
The university made Leonhard the interim head coach for a reason. He has routinely put good defenses on the field. Even though this year hasn’t been good, over the years, Leonhard has built up a reputation as a good coach. He has regularly been brought up for head coaching jobs. It seems like he would prefer to stay at his alma mater and could be a good fit to restore Wisconsin’s culture.
Lance Leipold will be a highly-coveted coach for what he is doing at Kansas. After going 2-10 last season, he has led the Jayhawks to a 5-0 record so far this season. Before that, he successfully led Buffalo to three straight bowl appearances. He had plenty of success at the D-III level with Wisconsin-Whitewater as well.
After spending time at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Leipold has ties to the state. He has won at Kansas, so with better resources at Wisconsin, he could help restore the program to a perennial Big Ten West winner. While he will be a desired coach, Wisconsin may be the best fit for him and also the best chance for him to find long-term success.
Monken has had some time in both the NFL and at the collegiate level. Currently, he is the offensive coordinator at Georgia, where he helped the Bulldogs win a National Championship. He also was an offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns. His lone head coaching job resulted in him turning around the Southern Miss program. He had one win in year one, three in year two and then had nine in year three before he left for the NFL in 2016.
His experience running a pro-style offense at Georgia could come in handy for the Wisconsin job, as that is their preferred offense. He has pro and college experience and is ready for a head coaching job. For coaching at so many places, he has ties around the country. He likely won’t be the first choice for Wisconsin, but would not be a bad one.
Matt Campbell had a difficult job at Iowa State, but was able to turn things around. He won three games in first season as head coach of the Cyclones. He has since made a Big 12 Championship Game and five bowl games. Before his time at Iowa State he was successful at Toledo, where he was bowl-eligible in four straight seasons.
Campbell has been successful at two different programs in the midwest. He has earned credit for doing a lot at places with little resources. That would not be the case at Wisconsin. Campbell may feel like this is a job worth leaving Iowa State for, especially given that Iowa State hasn’t started off the season well.
Matt Rhule is currently the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. His job has come into question, as he has a very bad record in three seasons in the NFL. After a slow start, he may be moving closer to the chopping block. Rhule has proven to be a great college head coach at both Temple and Baylor. He has a 47-43 coaching record at the collegiate level, but is known for turning programs around.
Rhule is known as more of a program rebuilder, but Wisconsin can benefit from hiring him, even if they aren’t nearly as bad as Baylor when Rhule started there. Although he was not successful in the NFL, a college job seems to be more his speed. If he is fired from the Panthers, he could be very successful at Wisconsin.
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