Wisconsin football: 3 best candidates who could replace Paul Chryst

1. Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin DC/Interim HC

Quite possibly the best and easiest choice to make here for Wisconsin would be promoting Jim Leonhard to full-time head coach and shedding that interim tag.

Leonhard is only 39 years old and he’s been one of the best defensive coordinators in college football for the past five years. Do you think Wisconsin has been so successful in the Big Ten West because of its offense? Nope, it’s been Leonhard’s defense.

And Leonhard knows the program like the back of his hand. He played on the defensive side of the ball back in 2004 and he played in the NFL after that as an undrafted free agent. He’s spent all of his career trying to prove himself and this is just another opportunity for him to show that he belongs. Leonhard is going through a tryout process for the remainder of the year and if he passes, he’ll be the next head coach.

That would be a huge win for Wisconsin.

The best hire is right under the Badgers’ nose as Leonhard has been a head coaching candidate for years and moving on from Paul Chryst for him may be addition by subtraction.