Paul Chryst is out at Wisconsin, and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will be the team’s interim head coach.
Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh said he fired Paul Chryst because it is “what is in the long-term best interest of our football program”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 3, 2022
Chryst finishes with a 67-26 overall record and 43-18 Big Ten mark over seven-plus seasons. The Badgers got off to a 2-3 start under Chryst this year, losing their past two games by a combined 55 points. Wisconsin’s 52-21 loss at Ohio State in Week 4 was justifiable given the competition.
Losing 34-10 to Illinois at home, which the Badgers did Saturday, is a different story.
Chryst, 56, didn’t face off with James Franklin and Penn State often, and lost all three meetings with Penn State.
The first Franklin-Chryst matchup was the most memorable one. Wisconsin coughed up a 28-7 lead and fell to Penn State, 35-31, for Penn State’s fourth and most recent Big Ten championship.
The second one took place in 2018 and was by far the least interesting of the three. Penn State beat Wisconsin, 22-10 in a game plenty of fans from both teams have already forgotten.
Penn State also best Wisconsin the only time it faced Chryst in Madison, grinding out a 17-12 win to open the 2021 season.
Before Chryst got the job at Wisconsin, he was the head coach at Pitt from 2012-2014. At Pitt, Chryst finishing with a 19-19 record before the Madison native returned home.
Chryst assisted at Wisconsin in 2002 and then again from 2006-11. He spent the last six seasons as a Wisconsin assistant as the team’s offensive coordinator.
