Breaking Down Paul Chryst's First Apparent Hire To Pitt: Wisconsin OL Coach Bob Bostad As Offensive Coordinator

At this rate, Pitt's coaching staff could soon be resembling that of the Wisconsin Badgers. After the Panthers hired offensive coordinator Paul Chryst as coach, Chryst then turned to an old friend to help run his offense. The Badgers' offensive line coach, Bob Bostad, will be running the Panthers' offense under Chryst at Pitt as he's expected to become the team's new offensive coordinator.

If you're unfamiliar with the Badgers' offense and strong run game, in a nutshell, this is a good great hire.

Bostad's lines at Wisconsin have been legendary. Here's a good rundown of his many achievements. Some of the best ones?

- Running back Montee Ball this year had 38 touchdowns this season (one shy of the NCAA record)

- Wisconsin has had four All-Americans on their offensive line in the past two seasons

- The Badgers have had 11 (yes, 11) All Big Ten linemen in the past two seasons ... meaning at least one backup was given the honor

- Wisconsin was only four yards short of having three (three!?) 1,000 yard rushers last season - something never done in the FBS ranks

But there's more to like about Bostad - a lot more.

Bostad has also been in on Wisconsin's recruiting, leading the way in picking up a couple of four-star commits for the Badgers this year according to Rivals. He's also been targeting a couple dozen others according to the site.

He was also named the Football Scoop offensive line coach of the year in 2010. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine as to how credible that is. Bostad has also been on the radar of the Texas Longhorns for some time and is clearly a coach that's been desired by other programs.

Chryst, apparently, tried to bring a few Badgers' assistants to Pitt, but Bostad may be the only one coming ... for now, anyway (it looks like linebackers' coach Heathcliff Dave Huxtable could be joining the Panthers as well). Here's another interesting thing: Badgers' AD Barry Alvarez wanted to try to limit the assistants from leaving, but head coach Bret Bielema apparently didn't think that was the right approach. I wholeheartedly agree with that. Bielema's stance that guys who don't want to be there shouldn't have to be is absolutely the right one.

So how does this affect Wisconsin? It hurts, obviously. To what extent is anyone's guess. SB Nation Wisconsin blog Bucky's Fifth Quarter endorsed making Bostad the offensive coordinator with Chryst's departure. I really think had that happened, most Badgers' fans would have been fine with it. But the bottom line is that he's had a great amount of success there and now he's coming to Pitt.

And if you want to see some Xs and Os by Bostad up close and personal, well, here you are.

Hard not to get excited about this move.

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