Let’s have the debate.
While debates on the state of the Wisconsin Badgers football program Luke Fickell inherited in late 2022 from Paul Chryst rage on, it’s as a good a time as any to examine a more old school debate focused on which recent ex-Wisconsin coach had the better tenure: Paul Chryst or Bret Bielema.
The arguments for Chryst? Strong. Those for Bielema? Girthy and robust. If this weren’t close, I wouldn’t spend time on it, but it is and here we are.
I’m going to use four parameters to make this comparison: Overall Record, Titles/Bowl Games, Player Development/Recruiting, and State of the Program Left Behind. Note: assistant coaching work will not be factored in.
Overall Record
Chryst: (67-26 (.720), 43-16 Big Ten) with two Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. Bielema (68-24 (.739), 37-19 Big Ten) with one Big Ten Coach of the Year Award.
This one is razor thin and, given that the eras were generally comparable, it has to be considered even. Decision: Push.
Titles and Bowl Games
This is trickier and more nuanced. Bielema was able to capture three Big Ten titles to Chryst’s zero (although one was possible only because Ohio State and Penn State were both ineligible). That’s a pretty massive advantage for Bielema, but his overall bowl record was a marginal 2-4 and his best win was in the 2006 Capital One Bowl.
He also ditched his 2012 Rose Bowl squad a few weeks before the game to take over the Arkansas job in what can charitably be called a messy divorce.
Although Chryst had only one Rose Bowl and no Big Ten titles, he was 6-1 in bowls, including an outstanding 2-1 in New Year’s Six games, featuring Cotton and Orange Bowl wins.
So, this one is also even because winning three Big Ten titles is a massive deal but so is cashing in on big time bowl opportunities. Decision: Push.
Player Development/Recruiting
Chryst oversaw 13 first-team All-Americans, a gaggle of All-Big Ten guys, and put an impressive number of productive players in the NFL, including TJ Watt and Jonathan Taylor.
Bielema also coached 13 first-team All-Americans with a robust number of All-Big Ten selections, and had a solid NFL pipeline that included future NFL Hall-of-Famer JJ Watt and Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson.
As far as recruiting, Chryst generally had higher recruiting rankings than Bielema, but those nosedived late, so not a ton can be drawn from them. On field results and obvious player development are far more valuable insight here. Decision: Push.
State of the Program Left Behind
It all comes down to this. While the vibes of Bielema’s middle of the night departure to Arkansas were abysmal, the reality is that the program he left behind was on stable ground, as demonstrated by the back-to-back-to back 10+ win seasons Wisconsin had immediately after his departure. (Yes, there’s some irony in Chryst helping Bielema’s case here.)
The cupboard and culture were stocked and robust enough to withstand the patently weird Gary Andersen era without a beat. Chryst’s first five seasons were outstanding and included a stretch of three major bowl games in four seasons, with two wins. But, starting with the 2020 COVID season and continuing into the NIL/transfer portal era, it just seemed like something had changed with Chryst, who didn’t appear to have the mindset to be a program CEO in these new times.
Recruiting cratered, and it’s fair to say that some of Fickell’s struggles have been the result of a less than stacked roster Chryst left him.
The fact that Chryst hasn’t coached again (beyond one analyst gig at Texas) since 2022 is good objective evidence for where his head was and is about modern college football. It’s a sad end for an all-time Badger great. Decision: Bielema.
Winner
If this were simply about who I’d rather go fishing/have a beer with, Chryst would have cruised to victory. But, it’s not. So, by the narrowest of margins, Bret Bielema takes this battle.