Could the Wisconsin Football coaching staff the best in all of college football? Colin Cowherd thinks so.
In case you aren’t familiar with him, Colin Cowherd is a well-known sports media personality who has gained notoriety for the many controversial statements and hot takes he has made over his time at ESPN and Fox Sports. He has bashed Wisconsin Football in the past, but Badger fans should be pleased with his latest opinion on the program.
Yesterday on his show The Herd, Cowherd and Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt were discussing the most underrated coaches in college football. Unsurprisingly, Paul Chryst’s name came up, and both Klatt and Cowherd praised the job he has done at Wisconsin so far.
Cowherd even went so far as to say Paul Chryst and his staff are the best in all of college football.
"I think that's the best coaching staff in America." — @ColinCowherd on Paul Chryst and @BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/1dSq0MjPCs
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 22, 2018
That is certainly a bold proclamation, but only because Chryst, and the Wisconsin program as a whole, have been underrated by the sports media for years.
Top to bottom, there is a case to be made that the Badger coaching staff has earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as those of powerhouse programs such as Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State. The Wisconsin staff may not bring in top recruiting classes each year, but it’s very difficult to argue that any coaching group across the nation develops its players better.
Since Chryst has taken over the program, no coach in college football has accomplished more with less. He and his staff have taken the Wisconsin program to the next level, as it is right on the cusp of annual College Football Playoff contender status. And they’ve done it all with unheralded recruiting classes.
Over the three years, Chryst has led the program, Wisconsin has had a .829 winning percentage. The only schools that have done better are Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, programs that routinely land Top 10 recruiting classes. The best Wisconsin has ever finished in the recruiting rankings under Chryst is 35th.
Chryst, the back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year, is increasingly cementing himself as one of the very best in the nation with each passing season, but the assistant coaches on his staff are among the best around as well.
Take Jim Leonhard, for example. The former All-American and NFL veteran has just one season as a defensive coordinator under his belt, but Wisconsin’s performance on that side of the ball in 2017 made it clear that he already is one of college football’s best.
He was a finalist for the Broyles Award last season, an honor given to the nation’s top assistant coach. He was rumored to be in the mix for a number of high-profile positions in the offseason, namely the defensive coordinator gigs at Texas A&M and Florida State.
Leonhard is truly a defensive savant and one of the brightest minds in all of the sport. He will almost certainly be a head coach somewhere sooner rather than later.
Another Wisconsin assistant who is destined for a head coaching position in the near future is Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Joe Rudolph. Like everyone else on Chryst’s staff, Rudolph is a masterful developer of talent.
Under his tutelage, former Badger offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk became a first-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Rudolph has also overseen the construction of Wisconsin’s loaded 2018 offensive line, arguably the best in the country.
It doesn’t end there, as the rest of Chryst’s staff is rock solid. Athletic Director Barry Alvarez seems to be of the same opinion, as he bestowed handsome pay raises on all of the returning coaches this season.
I can count the number of times I have agreed with Colin Cowherd on one hand. But in this instance, I can’t help admitting that he may just be right.