Former Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst emerges as potential candidate for Northwestern opening

Northwestern is in the market for a new head coach after Pat Fitzgerald was fired on Monday. Former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst could potentially be a candidate for the job, according to a report.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic put out his list of candidates for the job Tuesday morning and Chryst is one of the names mentioned.

Chryst is currently an analyst at Texas, after serving as the head coach at Wisconsin from 2015-22. He was also previously the head coach at Pitt. Chryst was fired in the middle of last season after the Badgers got off to a 2-3 start.

As Feldman points out, Chryst knows what it takes to compete and win in the Big Ten. He was 67-26 during his time leading the Badgers, including a 43-18 mark in Big Ten play.

Chryst had four 10-win seasons at Wisconsin, and while the Northwestern job is tougher, expectations are also lower. It remains to be seen if Paul Chryst is ready to jump back into being a head coach, but if he decides that he does want to do that, having the opportunity to be a Big Ten head coach again at Northwestern should at least get his attention.

Northwestern expected to make David Braun ‘day-to-day’ liaison in the immediate

At some point, Northwestern will hire a full-time head coach. However, it needs someone to run the program until that happens.

According to college football insider Matt Fortuna, sources close to the program anticipate that defensive coordinator David Braun will become the ‘day-to-day liaison’ of the program going forward. He also revealed that Fitzgerald has been in contact with the players since the announcement.

“Expect Northwestern to make defensive coordinator David Braun the day-to-day liaison for the football program for the time being.

“Pat Fitzgerald and his family addressed the players tonight in an emotional farewell, per source,” wrote Fortuna via Twitter.

Fitzgerald took over head coaching duties at Northwestern in 2006 after spending his first five years as a position coach for the Wildcats. During his time as head coach, he has amassed a record of 110-101 with two Big Ten West division titles (2018, 2020) and a record of 5-5 in bowl games. In 2018, he was awarded the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for his time at Northwestern as a linebacker from 1993-1996.