Days after Gary Andersen suddenly left his job as Wisconsin's head football coach, the school reportedly found his replacement, alum and former player Paul Chryst.
An unnamed source told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Thursday that Wisconsin could even confirm the news by Friday. Chryst, currently in his third season as Pitt's head football coach, was born in Madison Wis., went to school at Wisconsin and played quarterback for the Badgers.
"I thought this would be the scenario from Day 1," the source told the Journal Sentinel. "He will put together a good staff."
But a source within Pitt's athletic department told ESPN that Chryst has not notified anyone of his departure, as of Friday morning. Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has reportedly met with Chryst, who was apparently on a shortlist.
After Andersen abruptly left Wisconsin to coach at Oregon State, Alvarez said he would begin the search immediately, while also assuming coaching duties for the 2014 Outback Bowl game against Auburn Jan. 1.
"It is our practice not to comment on the personnel searches of other institutions," Pitt said in a statement to the Journal Sentinel. "Paul Chryst is the University of Pittsburgh's head coach, has been recruiting all week on behalf of the program and will begin preparations for Pitt's bowl game this weekend."
Chryst was Wisconsin's offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2011, with the team reaching the Rose Bowl in each of his last two seasons there. At Pitt, he took over what many called a program in rough shape and has led them to a 19-19 record in three seasons. Pitt is scheduled to play Houston in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2.
"When someone makes the decision, they make the decision," Alvarez told the Journal Sentinel Wednesday. "I'm a big boy. I understand this business. Just take a look around the country. People move for different reasons.
"That's why I'm always prepared. That's why I have a short list."
