Who Will Coach The Wisconsin Badgers In 2013?

By T.J. Bryce | Posted Monday, December 10

In one of the more stunning coaching moves of the coaching carousel season, Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bret Bielema left Wisconsin to take the head coaching position at Arkansas. So plain and simply put, it's time for the Barry Alvarez to find a new coach. Here are some candidates who are not currently within the program that he should consider.

Brad Childress - Offensive Coordinator/Cleveland Browns- Before you all start scratching your heads, look at it from this angle. This sort of move has happened before- Former NFL head coaches who had some success but were fired at the end of the day returning to the collegiate ranks. It also helps that Childress has Wisconsin connections.

Tom O'Brien - Former Head Coach/North Carolina State- O'Brien was fired from NC State because he wasn't producing Alabama-like results. That is ridiculous. His experience would be a welcome addition to the Badgers program and he could make some serious upgrades to the Badgers passing game, which is in dire need of some.

Frank Solich - Head Coach/Ohio- Solich was once the head coach of the mighty Nebraska Cornhuskers, but was fired when the program wanted to play a different style. He has since made some changes to his team's playing style and has had success the last several years at Ohio. I'll bet he would like another shot with a major program.

Ken Niumatalolo - Head Coach/Navy- Niumatalolo took over for Paul Johnson when Johnson left for Georgia Tech and just kept producing results. He deserves a shot with a bigger program.

Kirby Smart - Defensive Coordinator/Alabama- This man, not Nick Saban, is the mastermind behind Alabama's legendary defenses the last five years. This is one of the most popular choices to become a head coach in FBS, and Alvarez might be wise to hire him.

Bronco Mendenhall - Head Coach/Brigham Young- Mendenhall's teams have done nothing but win since he took the head coaching position with BYU prior to the 2005 season. Between 2006-2011, in a six season stretch, Mendenhall's Cougars won 10 games five times. He recruits well, his teams hit hard, and he would be an excellent choice for Alvarez to make.