Wisconsin Badgers

Paul Chryst was relieved of head coaching duties on October 2, 2022 when Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh announced that Jim Leonhard would become the Badgers' interim head coach. Chryst compiled a 67-26 record as head coach from 2005-2022 and wrapped up his time in Madison with a 86-45 overall head coaching record. 

A two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year selection, Chryst has guided the Badgers to a 65-23 (.739) record over his first seven seasons as head coach at his alma mater, including a 43-16 (.729) mark in Big Ten Conference play. His 67 wins at Wisconsin rank him third all-time in school history. Chryst finished at Wisconsin with a 43-18 (.705) winning percentage in Big Ten games.

Chryst was just the third coach in modern Big Ten history to win at least 50 games in his first five seasons as head coach. Only Ohio State’s Urban Meyer (61) recorded more wins through five seasons as a Big Ten head coach than Chryst’s 52.

Leading UW to four double-digit win totals in his first five seasons, Chryst piloted UW to three Big Ten West Division crowns. His 6-1 mark in bowl games included a pair of New Year’s Six victories.

The Badgers have produced 18 All-Americans, including 13 first-team All-America selections, under Chryst. Wisconsin had a school-record seven All-America honorees in 2017 alone. A total of 23 players earned first-team All-Big Ten laurels under Chryst’s watch.

Over Chryst's seven seasons, spanning three different defensive coordinators, Wisconsin's defense was among the best in the country. UW has ranked among the top 10 in both scoring defense and total defense in six of Chryst's seven years at the helm. The Badgers gave up just 16.5 points (second-best in the country) and 285.0 yards (best in the country) per game over the last seven seasons (2015-2021).

In his first season, Chryst led Wisconsin to a 10-3 record in 2015 — a run that concluded with a victory over USC in the Holiday Bowl. For an encore, he directed the Badgers to an 11-3 finish in 2016, including a win over Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl and the Big Ten West Division championship.

For leading the Badgers to an 11-win season against a schedule that included six matchups with top 10-ranked teams, Chryst was named the 2016 Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year by a vote of his league peers

He swept the league’s top coaching honors in 2017 after leading the Badgers to another West Division crown, a 12-0 regular season and a No. 3 ranking — the program’s highest in the AP poll since the 1960s. The Badgers capped the historic season with a victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl for a school-record 13th win and second straight New Year’s Six bowl title. In addition to repeating as Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year, Chryst was named Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year by a vote of league media.

Nationally, he was a finalist for the AFCA Coach of the Year, Dodd Trophy and “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year awards for the second consecutive season.

The Chryst File

Hometown

Madison, Wis.

Family

Wife, Robin

Daughters, Katy and JoJo; son, Danny

Education

B.S., Political Science, Wisconsin, 1988

M.S.E. Educational Administration, West Virginia, 1990

Playing Experience

Wisconsin, 1984-87 (quarterback, tight end, special teams)

Head Coaching Record

84-42 (10 seasons)

Record at Wisconsin

65-23 (7 seasons)

Bowl Record

2012    PITT    BBVA Compass  L, 38-17 (Ole Miss)

2013    PITT    Little Caesars     W, 30-27 (Bowling Green)

2015    WIS     Holiday               W, 23-21 (USC)

2016    WIS     Cotton                 W, 24-16 (Western Mich.)

2017    WIS     Orange                W, 34-24 (Miami)

2018    WIS     Pinstripe              W, 35-3 (Miami)

2019    WIS     Rose                    L, 28-27 (Oregon)

2020    WIS     Duke's Mayo        W, 42-28 (Wake Forest)

2021    WIS     Las Vegas            W, 20-13 (Arizona State)

The Badgers finished Chryst’s fourth year with an impressive 35-3 win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl, their school-record fifth consecutive bowl victory, to complete an 8-5 season.

In 2019, Chryst guided the Badgers to another 10-win season, the Big Ten West Division title and appearances in the Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl games. UW finished the season ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press poll, its third top-15 finish under Chryst.

The Badgers boasted three consensus first-team All-Americans in the same season for the first time in school history in outside linebacker Zack Baun, Rimington Trophy-winning center Tyler Biadasz and repeat Doak Walker Award-winning running back Jonathan Taylor. Biadasz and Taylor — who became the first player in FBS history to rush for 6,000 yards in just three seasons — were both unanimous first-team All-America selections.

UW capped the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign with a 42-28 win over Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. In 2021, Chryst guided the Badgers to eight wins over their last nine games, rebounding from a 1-3 start, to finish the season 9-4 and a win in the Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona State.

A former UW player and assistant coach and a Madison native, Chryst was named the Badgers’ 30th head coach on Dec. 17, 2014.

Including his time as head coach and a stint as the Badgers’ offensive coordinator, he has overseen some of the nation’s best units on both sides of the ball.

During Chryst’s seven years as offensive coordinator from 2005-11, Wisconsin averaged 34.1 points and 416.3 yards of total offense per game. Both marks were the best in the Big Ten over that span and powered the Badgers to conference titles in 2010 and 2011, remarkable offensive seasons in which UW averaged 41.5 and 44.1 points per game, respectively.

Wisconsin had won 10 or more games in a season just three times before Chryst joined the Badgers’ coaching staff as offensive coordinator in 2005. In his 12 full seasons on staff since, the Badgers have posted double-digit win totals nine times, with an overall record of 122-38 (.763). 

Before spending the previous three seasons as the head coach at Pittsburgh, where he led the Panthers to three consecutive bowl appearances, Chryst oversaw the most explosive offenses in UW history as the Badgers’ offensive coordinator. During those seven seasons, Wisconsin claimed a pair of Big Ten titles while piling up a 70-22 (.761) overall record.

With quarterback Scott Tolzien at the helm in 2010, UW averaged more than 40.0 points for the first time in school history, ranking fifth nationally at 41.5 points per game. On the way to the Big Ten title, the Badgers scored at least 70 points three times. 

The following season, UW did the unthinkable and improved upon that dynamic season. Chryst and quarterback Russell Wilson combined on a season for the ages, with Wilson setting the FBS record for pass efficiency (191.8) in addition to school records for passing yards (3,175) and passing touchdowns (33, second-most in Big Ten history).

Junior running back Montee Ball etched his own name in the NCAA record book, tying Barry Sanders’ single-season record with 39 touchdowns. Ball ran for 1,923 yards and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. 

The Badgers averaged a school-record 44.1 points per game, sixth-best in the country. In fact, UW led the Big Ten in scoring in each of Chryst’s last three seasons, with the final two ranking among the top five in the league’s modern history.

Chryst was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon State in 2003-04. That followed his first stint at Wisconsin in 2002, when he served as the Badgers' tight ends coach.

Chryst was a three-time letterwinner at UW, where he earned a degree in political science. His brother, Rick, was commissioner of the Mid-American Conference for 10 years. Another brother, Geep, is a longtime NFL assistant coach. 

His late father, George, was a longtime head coach and athletic director at UW-Platteville and a former Badgers player and assistant coach.

Chryst and his wife, Robin, have three children: Katy, JoJo and Danny.

Chryst Coaching Career
Year	School/Team	Position
1989-90	West Virginia	Graduate Assistant
1991-92	San Antonio (WLAF)	Running Backs/Tight Ends
1993	UW-Platteville	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
1994	Ottawa (CFL)	Quarterbacks
1995	Illinois State	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
1996	Saskatchewan (CFL)	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
1997-98	Oregon State	Offensive Coordinator
1999-01	San Diego (NFL)	Tight Ends
2002	Wisconsin	Tight Ends
2003-04	Oregon State	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2005	Wisconsin	Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends
2006-11	Wisconsin	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2012-14	Pittsburgh	Head Coach
2015-2022	Wisconsin	Head Coach