Brian Bennett, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Paul Chryst could do more than stabilize Badgers

It used to be that Wisconsin was the picture of stability.

Barry Alvarez coached the Badgers from 1990 until 2005, and then the Hall of Famer's handpicked successor, Bret Bielema, kept the operation running smoothly while preserving the same style of play. But lately, change has become almost a constant in Madison, Wisconsin.

A fifth-year senior on next season's team will be playing for his third head coach (or fourth, if you count Alvarez stepping in to coach a bowl game -- twice). If that player is on the offensive side of the ball, he'll be working under his third different offensive coordinator. And if he's an offensive lineman, his head is probably spinning from all the turnover there.

That's a huge reason why bringing back Paul Chryst to succeed the shockingly departed Gary Andersen carries so much appeal for the Badgers. The belief is that Chryst -- who was born and raised in Madison, played quarterback for Wisconsin in the 1980s and was an assistant coach under both Alvarez and Bielema -- isn't just some short-timer like Andersen. He wouldn't jump at a midlevel SEC job like Bielema. He could be, if all goes well, a lifer.

The hiring of Chryst also indicates that Wisconsin itself isn't likely to change.

Bielema complained about the pay rates for his assistants, and the Badgers still rank just ninth in the Big Ten in total staff pay, according to the latest USA Today salary database. Andersen reportedly bristled at the school's admission standards, which are higher than many of the other programs in the conference. Wisconsin is not likely to lower its entry policies in the near future, nor should it if that's a core value for the university. There is nothing wrong with high standards, after all.

Thanks to his history in and around the program, Chryst is likely to know all of these things when he walks in the door. And he'll understand what it takes to work around some of those restrictions. There should be zero buyer's remorse, as seemed to be the case with Andersen when he bolted after just two seasons.

Just hiring a guy because he knows the place and isn't likely to leave right away, however, is rarely a good idea. If that's all this were, then Wisconsin could be trading one problem for another. But Chryst could also be the right guy at the right time for this job.

Forget his pedestrian 19-19 record at Pitt. He inherited a program whose revolving coaching door makes the Badgers' recent problems pale in comparison. Focus instead on his work from his previous stint in Madison, and how much Wisconsin could use that again.

In Chryst's final season as offensive coordinator, 2011, the Badgers set a dozen school records, including points per game (44.1) and total offense. The team averaged 39.2 points per game from 2009 to 2011. Chryst, who was also the quarterbacks coach, turned Scott Tolzien into a reliable starter and future pro and of course experienced his greatest success with Russell Wilson at the helm.

It's no coincidence that Wisconsin has struggled to find consistent play from its quarterbacks since Chryst left for Pitt, and that's one of the biggest areas that has held the team back from winning its most challenging games. The running attack and powerful offensive line should remain a constant going forward, but better performances under center could lift the program toward being more than just a Big Ten West Division power. Another Russell Wilson isn't likely to fall out of the sky, but it's way past time for Wisconsin -- which just got destroyed by a third-string quarterback in the Big Ten championship game -- to develop a respectable passing game.

If Chryst can convince current defensive coordinator Dave Aranda -- one of the brightest defensive young minds in football -- to stick around, along with bringing popular former Wisconsin assistant Joe Rudolph back with him from Pitt, then he would have the makings of an excellent coaching staff (and one that will need to be paid accordingly, by the way). Chryst is not a rah-rah guy who's going to light up the room in a news conference, but then neither was Andersen. His personality should mesh well with Alvarez and the long shadow he still casts from the athletic director's office.

Alvarez might have hired Chryst after Bielema left in December 2012 if Chryst had coached more than one season at Pitt by that point. Now he's handing the keys over to a guy he's liked and admired for years.

Wisconsin has averaged 9.7 wins per season over the past 10 years. It has won three Big Ten titles plus this year's West Division crown in the past five years. There aren't many reasons to overhaul the way things have been done in Madison. And maybe, just maybe, there won't be a need for more coaching changes again in the near future.

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