WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — According to ESPN writer, Adam Rittenberg, Paul Chryst is no longer the head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers football team.
Jim Leonard will be the team's interim head coach.
SOURCE: Paul Chryst is out as #Wisconsin coach. Jim Leonhard will be the team's interim coach. Announcement will be coming shortly.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) October 2, 2022
Sources have confirmed that Wisconsin has fired coach Paul Chryst after the team's 2-3 start to the season.
Chryst finishes 67-26 over seven-plus seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is also his alma mater.
With the Badgers, Chryst has won a Cotton Bowl, an Orange Bowl and has three Big Ten West Division titles.
The badger football program started to fall short at the beginning of 2020, going 4-3, before another slow start to the 2021 season, when the team finished 9-4.
According to Chryst's contract, Wisconsin will owe him $16.4 million if he is fired without cause, but a settlement could be negotiated.
The Wisconsin athletic board approved a rollover of Chryst's five-year contract through the 2026 season in January.
Jim Leonhard, the current defensive coordinator for the Badgers, will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Leonhard became a three-time All-American at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became an assistant in 2016.
Leonhard has long been viewed as a potential successor to Chryst and is expected to be a candidate for the permanent job.
