Coaching Perspective – Wisconsin

Ah yes the Wisconsin Badgers.  One of the best programs to have never won a national title as they have over 670 wins, well over the .500 win percentage mark, 14 league titles, 2 Heisman winners, 27 All Americans, 26 Bowls and 9 – yes NINE – Rose Bowl appearances with three victories in the Granddaddy of them all.  Yes, things have been pretty good for Running Back U other than a lull in the 1970s and 1980s and outside that one glaring mark – when will this perennially powerful program claim title number one?!

Not In Consideration (Chronological Order):

• Alvin Kletsch: 1889, 0-2
• Ted Mestre: 1890, 1-3
• Herb Alwad: 1981, 3-1-1

I always find it fascinating when something with a modern feel like football cross sects with something with an ancient feeling.  Alwad is one of these meeting points as he passed away in 1897 at age 32 because of Typhoid Fever.  All I know about Typhoid is that when you get it in the old Oregon Trail video game, you need to rest for several days, otherwise you’ll kill that family member.

• Frank Crawford: 1892, 4-3

Crawford’s later life was interesting has he became a lawyer that practiced in Nebraska and France.  Thus becoming the first time Nebraska and France have ever been in the same sentence.

• Parke H. Davis: 1893, 4-2
• Hiland Orlando Stickney: 1894-1895, 10-4-1
• Arthur Hale Curtis: 1903-1904, 11-6-1 (0-6-1)
• Charles P. Hutchins: 1906-1907, 8-1-1 (6-1-1)
• Thomas A. Barry: 1908-1910, 9-4-3 (5-4-2)
• John R. Richardson: 1911, 1917, 1919-1922, 29-9-4 (14-7-3)
• William Juneau: 1912-1915, 18-8-2 (10-7-2)

Juneau returned to his alma mater after 10 years to coach.  That means in 2020 J.J. Watt will be putting on the headset for the Badgers, right…?

• Paul Withington: 1916, 4-2-1 (1-2-1)
• Guy Lowman: 1918, 3-3 (1-2)
• John J. Ryan: 1923-1924, 5-6-4 (1-5-3)
• George Little: 1925-1926, 11-3-2 (6-3-2)
• Glenn Thistlethwaite: 1927-1931, 26-16-3 (10-14-2)
• Clarence Spears: 1932-1935, 13-17-2 (7-13-2)
• Harry Stuhldreher: 1936-1948, 45-62-6 (26-45-4)

Stuhldreher had one of the more unusual tenures.  He finished in the 5th or lower in the standings eight times in thirteen seasons.  Of his five none terrible finishes, three were T-4th so not exactly in contention – but, he did have one magical season.  The 1942 Badgers went 8-1-1 (4-1).  One of the teams they knocked off was Ohio State, who would be awarded with the AP national title.  OSU won the league because they finished 5-1…yes, the good old days of really unbalanced league schedules.  Wisconsin would finish 3rd in the polls but the Helms Association awarded Wisconsin as their national champions that year.  To date it is an unclaimed national title and the only time any of the standard title-awarding measures gave Wisconsin the nod.

• John Coatta: 1967-1969, 3-26-1 (3-17-1)

In his defense, he rebounded nicely after a 0-19-1 (0-13-1) start in Madison.  The 23 game winless streak to start a career remains an NCAA record.  The rumor is Wisconsin passed on Michigan’s Bo to hire their former player.  Who knows if it is true, but the speculation is fun!

• John Jardine: 1970-1977, 37-47-3 (25-38-1)
• Jim Hilles: 1986, 3-9 (2-6)
• Don Morton: 1987-1989, 6-27 (3-21)

Morton parlayed an outstanding career at North Dakota State when they were in D-2 to getting the Tulsa job.  His stint there was pretty good too, but it just never materialized in the Big Ten.  He did have a sense of humor about the failed tenure, coming on his own coaches show in a coffin.

• Gary Andersen: 2013-2014, 19-7 (13-3)
• Paul Chryst: 2015-present, 6-2 (3-1)

Chryst’s mark is through the Illinois game of the 2015 season.

Did Not Place (6th to 4th)

• Dave McClain: 1978-1985, 46-42-3 (32-34-3)

After the nightmare of Coatta and the failure to breakthrough under Jardine the program was without question a mess.  McClain made the Badgers much more competitive and took the team to three bowl games, winning one.  He finished 5th or better four times in his eight seasons.  Sadly McClain’s improvement in Madison was cut short prior to the 1986 season when he passed away from a heart attack.

• Milt Bruhn: 1956-1966, 52-45-6 (35-37-5)

Bruhn was a more successful McClain.  He finished 5th or better five times in eleven season, but those were pretty good seasons.  Five times were his Badgers ranked in the final polls.  The 1959 and 1962 teams both won the Big Ten and would play in the Rose Bowl (0-2).  The 1962 squad finished 2nd in the polls but lost a nail biter to USC in Pasadena.  The Trojans were #1 in the nation and Wisconsin #2 so a win would have given Wisconsin a national title from any polls released after the bowl games.  Sadly the insane 23 point fourth quarter rally fell short by just 5 points.

• Ivan “Ivy” Williamson: 1949-1955, 41-19-4 (29-13-4)

Bruhn’s success could not have been achieved without Ivy laying the groundwork.  He finished 4th or higher every season but one, 1955 when he had become the athletic director.  His AD career would last until 1969 but as a coach he guided UW to 5 final polls, twice landing in the top ten and playing in the 1952 Rose Bowl.  Another tight loss to USC prevented a special season from becoming magical as the Trojans won the defensive battle, 7-0.

Bronze Medal:

Phillip King: 1896-1902, 1905, 66-11-1 (17-8-1)

Quick, name the three coaches with three league titles in Madison.  I’m sure everyone said Barry.  Most would begrudgingly say Bret but you need to get in the way back machine for Phillip King.  At the turn of the century, King’s Badgers were a machine.  In addition to three league crowns, he finished no worse than third every year from ’96 to ’01.  His 1897 team might be my favorite for one strange oddity.  This club went 9-1 (3-0) to win the conference.  They gave up just 14 points all year, shutting out eight opponents.  They lost one game 6-0.  The opponent?  The Wisconsin Alumni team.  Assuming Paul Chryst works out or if Bruhn or Williamson had won some more games or one of those Rose Bowls, King in all honesty would not make the podium due to how long ago his tenure was.  For the time being though, let’s give coach King his due.

Silver Medal:

Bret Bielema: 2006-2012, 68-24 (37-19)

This is a tough one to stomach, but it is warranted.  He won 3 (only two were totally legit) league titles and took Wisconsin to three straight Rose Bowls.  The 2010 team was an MSU Hail Mary away from possibly making the BCS title game.  He burst onto the scene with a 12-1 (7-1) season but as Barry’s players left the returns weren’t as good.  A bitter 7-6 (3-5) 2008 put him on the hot seat three years into his tenure.  Bielema got back on track though, winning 32 games over the next three seasons.  No one is happy how he left Madison and it is easy to laugh with each struggle Arkansas has gone through, but deep down I’m sure all of us Wisconsin fans would agree he was highly successful.

Gold Medal:

Barry Alvarez: 1990-2005, 2012, 2014, 119-74-4 (65-60-3)

The longest tenured coach in Wisconsin history is a living legend of college football.  He took a limping program and turned them into a force, winning 3 Rose Bowls, 9 bowls overall and guiding them to 11 bowls as a coach (not counting his two interim appearances).  His brutal brand of football ran roughshod over the league, highlighted by Ron Dayne steamrolling people in the late 90s.  The consistency he brought was incredible.  From the 1993 breakthrough season on, he had just 2 losing seasons (’95 and 2001) and got UW into the final polls six times with three top-10s.  The fact that the first of these appearances was the magical ’93 season and the final two were 2004 and 2005 shows that there was no drop off like you see many coaches have as the game passes them by or age creeps up on them.

As for which team is my favorite, I always struggle with 1993 or 1998.  The ’93 team was an emotional roller coaster with zero expectations, a bitter loss at Minnesota, the Michigan win marred by the crush and eventually getting to Pasadena and winning.  The 1998 team was invited to the Rose Bowl on a technicality.  They lost to Michigan, Ohio State lost to Michigan State and the Wolverines lost to the Bucks in The Game.  All three were 7-1 but the tiebreaker the Big Ten used was longest drought since going.  Because UM and OSU had both been since the 1993 team, Wisconsin got the nod despite not playing Ohio State and having a worse record against common opponents than the Bucks.  The outrage reached a boiling point when then-ESPN hack commentator Craig James called the ’98 Badgers, “The worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl.”  Barry famously shut him up after the game by saying, “Well, I know we’re at least the second worst.”  Classic Alvarez.