By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Other than maybe when he led the Wisconsin football team to a 13-1 record in 2017, Paul Chryst never has looked better than right now.

As his alma mater and former employer continues to struggle under Chryst’s predecessor, Luke Fickell, the more its look as if Wisconsin over-reacted by relieving Chryst of his duties after just five games in the 2022 season.

The Badgers had stumbled to a 2-3 record in 2022 and that was enough for Chryst to have been shown the door even before the season was half over.

Chryst was given the boot despite having led Wisconsin to at least 10 wins in four of his first seven season as head coach.

He also grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and played quarterback for the Badgers.

But none of that mattered, nor did the fact that Wisconsin had won nine games the season before Chryst was fired with seven games left in the 2022 season.

The program was hardly in a free fall when Chryst was let go.

But now look at it.

This should be a reminder to Hawkeye fans about how quickly things can change, especially in this new era of the transfer portal and NIL.

That doesn’t mean you should be afraid to make changes, because sometimes, change is necessary.

It just didn’t seem necessary for Wisconsin to fire Chryst in season.

He won 10 games or more in four of his first five seasons with the Badgers, winning a Cotton Bowl, an Orange Bowl and three Big Ten West Division titles.

But the program fell off beginning in 2020, going 4-3, before a slow start to the 2021 season, in which the Badgers finished 9-4.

So, it’s fair to say the program had lost some energy and it didn’t help that Chryst has a bland personality.

But again, Wisconsin had finished 9-4 the season before Chryst was fired in season.

Luke Fickell was a hot commodity at the time after having compiled a 57-18 record in six seasons as the Cincinnati head coach from 2017 to 2022.

He was considered a step up from Chryst, but it’s probably safe to assume that few Badger fans still feel that way today.

Fickell might actually be coaching to save his job since this is year three and things only appear to be getting worse.

Wisconsin is 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play heading into Saturday’s game against Iowa at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The Badgers have lost seven straight conference games under Fickell dating back to last season.

Iowa also crushed Wisconsin 42-10 last season at Kinnick Stadium.

Wisconsin’s once-mighty rushing attack, which was built by former head coach Barry Alvarez and then sustained by Bret Bielema and Paul Chryst has fallen way off, averaging just 109.2 yards per game.

The Badgers still are pretty stout on defense, and they have great fan support, but the days of them dominating the Big Ten West Division are long gone and will never return.

It’s a new world with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington now members of the Big Ten, and right now, Wisconsin football is struggling to keep up in this new world.

Fickell has a 15-16 overall record as the Wisconsin head coach, including 8-12 in conference games.

The former Ohio State defensive lineman also finished 6-7 as Ohio State’s interim head coach in 2011, so perhaps that was a warning sign that was overlooked, considering the Buckeyes hardly ever have a losing season.

This is one of those be-careful-what-wish-you-for scenarios because the decision to fire Chryst has backfired miserably.

Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz both had their breakthrough seasons in year three at Iowa, while Fickell’s third season at Wisconsin is at risk of unraveling.

Four of Wisconsin’s final seven opponents are currently ranked, and the three teams that aren’t ranked – Iowa Washington and Minnesota – are more than capable of beating the Badgers.

It now seems pretty clear, of course, with hindsight, that Wisconsin acted too impulsively in letting Chryst go.

His brand had supposedly become stale and it was time to raise the bar.

But right now the only thing being raised in Madison is frustration.

The decision to fire Chryst is now showing signs of being sort of similar to Nebraska’s decision to fire Frank Solich after the 2003 season, even though Solich had won at least nine games in five of his six seasons as head coach.

Solich had the massive burden of following Tom Osborne as the Nebraska head coach, and with it came an unrealistic expectation that bordered on delusion.

Nebraska has been searching for the next Tom Osborne ever since with Matt Rhule currently carrying that heavy burden.

Wisconsin isn’t searching for a new head coach right now, but it will be if perhaps as early as this coming off season if Fickell can’t right the ship.

Or maybe the Badgers would pull the plug on Fickell in season, as they did with Chryst, if the situation doesn’t start to improve in a hurry.

Deshaun Foster didn’t even last a season-and-a-half as the UCLA head coach before being fired earlier this season.

Foster was a star running back for the Bruins, and a respected position coach.

However, as a head coach, Foster seemed in over his head.

Some might argue that Fickell deserves another season to fix things at Wisconsin.

The problem is that most of the things that need fixing are of his doing.

Iowa, meanwhile, will be looking for a new head coach sooner than later with Kirk Ferentz now 70 years old and in his 27th season as the head Hawk.

Ferentz has earned the right as the Big Ten’s all-time winningest head football coach to decide when to retire, and the only way that would change is if Iowa were to struggle.

No head coach, even someone as deeply rooted as Kirk Ferentz is at Iowa, is immune from the hot seat.

If Iowa were to finish this season with a losing record, the pressure would start to build on Kirk Ferentz.

His job wouldn’t be in jeopardy, but it certainly would be if Iowa had two straight losing seasons.

That’s a big if, though, considering Iowa has only had two losing seasons since 2001.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, is at risk of having two straight losing seasons under a head coach who replaced the previous head coach who never had a losing season in Madison.