If it wasn’t weird enough to see a five loss Wisconsin Badgers team go to the Rose Bowl, Bret Bielema has shocked the college football community in taking the Arkansas Razorbacks’ vacant head coaching job.
Was it all about the money?
Probably so, but let’s not discount Bielema’s urge to win a National Championship and we all know the SEC is ten times better equipped to do so then the Big Ten.
The most surprising aspect of this entire ideal is the fact that the players and media had no inkling that this was going down.
From our perspective, Bielema was Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez’s favorite long-lost son and had one of the most stable jobs in the country. He’s done nothing but win since coaching at Wisconsin (68-24 record in seven seasons) and no matter the circumstances, led a program to heights that it’s never seen before.
He may have a suspect bowl record, but the Wisconsin brand took the next step under his control. Bielema haters are going to hate and while I agree he has his weaknesses, there was absolutely no reason for him to leave from a fan’s perspective.
I believe Bielema made this move to take the next step in his career. And if that means risking job stability, so be it.
He will be just fine in the SEC because his strengths fit the conference. He’s a defensive-minded coach and his greatest strength is motivating players. It’s no secret that the SEC is the nation’s hotbed when it comes to football talent.
For Wisconsin, they’re put in a tough spot because they need to rebound with a good hire to keep the momentum from Alvavrez and Bielema afloat.
Some early names have been thrown out there like former coordinators Paul Chryst and Dave Doeren, but don’t think these guys are going to just abandon their new jobs to join a program in flux. Chryst is a loyal guy and seems committed to Pittsburgh and I’m not sold on Alvarez even wanting Doeren for the job.
On the subject of Alvarez becoming coach, I see that as an extreme long-shot, but who knows with as wacky as this season has been.
What did you think of the move? Let me know by commenting below.
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice and pretend to be a Golf expert from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best. If social media is not your thing, shoot him an email at grays@uwalumni.com.