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Seems like we just did this, right?
So, a few days ago, Pitt football head coach Paul Chryst had his name floated around by ESPN's Dari Nowkhah as a candidate to fill the Nebraska Cornhuskers' coaching vacancy. Nebraska ended up going in a different direction, but now there's another high-profile school that could be interested in him.
Per ESPN's Brett McMurphy, that would be the Michigan Wolverines. McMurphy was on a radio show recently and dropped this tidbit:
"A name that came out of nowhere, I talked to somebody today that's plugged in, said don't be surprised if Paul Chryst gains some traction, which surprised me," he said. "That's kind of surprising since he's been about a .500 coach at Pitt, but he had great success (as the offensive coordinator) at Wisconsin. His thinking was, if you can't get your two marquee guys, then you start looking to see what's the best fit for that program. Chryst is widely-respected, really well-liked, almost similar to how (Mike) Riley is.
Oh, come on.
I don't say that to discredit McMurphy, who is obviously plugged in. Rather, I say it because Chryst being mentioned as a possible replacement for a second major program in the span of a few days is just mind-boggling. There was a time when Chryst was a hot commodity as a coordinator at Wisconsin. But after three consecutive 6-6 regular seasons, you'd think that schools would have cooled on him by now.
Another thing that looks really bad is his history of ugly losses. Youngstown State? Akron? To a lesser degree, Navy? Those just aren't games you can lose - particularly when it comes to prestigious jobs.
Like the Nebraska gig, I don't see any chance of this happening. It just makes more sense for the Wolverines to pursue a head coach with more success. McMurphy breaks news as opposed to Nowkhah, who is more of an anchor, so I trust his views a little more. Still, for an annoyed fanbase following the Brady Hoke era, you've got to think they are setting their sights a little higher than a coach who has yet to finish over .500 in the regular season.
Then again, Nebraska hired Mike Riley, so ...
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