Wisconsin legend Barry Alvarez gives his thoughts on new OC Jeff Grimes

Much has been said about the Wisconsin Badgers making the decision to hire Jeff Grimes as the team's new offensive coordinator. At first, there were plenty of people who were against the move to bring Grimes in to be the Phil Longo replacement.

After allowing some time to pass, though, it sure looks like Grimes is the right man for the job, as he's ready for this offense to once again feature a tough-nosed look in Madison. Need another reason to believe in Grimes?

The one and only Barry Alvarez has provided it for you. While speaking with ESPN radio, Alvarez didn't hold back in saying he's a fan of the hire and that he's excited to see what Grimes can get done working with head man Luke Fickell. Yeah, fans are going to love this:

Barry Alvarez is a fan of Wisconsin hiring Jeff Grimes to be the team's OC

"He's got a run-game background and he has an O-line background," Alvarez said. "Those historically have been the strength of our program. We've won here and we've put ourselves on the map in college football because of our run game led by our offensive line. So, when I heard that I was really excited. That doesn't mean he has to run every snap, but a lot of the snaps he has to run. I'm really excited about him. I don't know him personally. I read the resume, I like the numbers he has put up where he's been."

Hey, if Alvarez is behind Grimes, then it's time for everyone else to show their support too. The knock on Grimes right now is that he just led the Kansas Jayhawks offense and KU looked rough in 2024. Just like Wisconsin, the Jayhawks posted a 5-7 mark this past season.

However, with 30 years of experience, including stops with Kansas, BYU, LSU, Colorado and others, Grimes knows ball and he also knows how to win. He was given some great news with wideout Trech Kekahuna announcing he'll be back next season, but it's up in the air who Wisconsin's QB1 will be.

Both Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke have entered the transfer portal, leaving the door wide open for someone to come in and take the job. They'll be working closely with Grimes, who is ready to get Wisconsin's offense back operating at a high level. The fact that Alvarez is backing him should give Grimes some extra confidence.