Do you think all those years you’ve spent as an unpaid assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers football qualify you to replace Bret Bielema as the Badgers’ new head coach?
You have to apply by Dec. 19. Make sure you have at least three professional references.
It won’t happen in time to lead the team through the tunnel at the Rose Bowl — that job belongs to former coach Barry Alvarez — and is unlikely to happen at all for most of us. Who might Alvarez actually choose, after Bielema surprised almost everyone in the state by accepting the head coaching job at Arkansas?
Madison radio station Big 1070 reported last week that Chris Petersen of Boise State will interview for the job Monday. Soon after, a Sporting News reporter Tweeted that he would not. Petersen is 83-8 in seven years at Boise.
Brad Childress, who gained infamy in Wisconsin as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, is reported to have interest according to CBS Sports. That same report also identified Darrell Bevell — former Badgers quarterback and now the Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator — as another strong candidate.
Alvarez quickly sought to quash the idea that he himself would return to the sidelines for more than a sniff. “This will be one game,” he said in his press conference.
Other candidate names have been mentioned in the media, but until one name is confirmed, you can get together that resume and cover letter for Position Vacancy Listing No. 75429.
Salary negotiable.
Some of us can remember the long slog following the 1963 Rose Bowl. There were a few bright spots, but mostly until Barry Alvarez came on the scene we endured difficult years. Barry and his chosen successor Bret Bielema brought a sustained winning program to Camp Randall. The choice of a new head coach will determine if that continues. I hope “Coach” Alvarez gives serious consideration to Philip Fulmer, former head coach at the University of Tennessee. Fulmer’s record in Knoxville was 152-52. The Vols were national champions in 1998 and went to the SEC title game five times during his tenure. He’s a proven recruiter and his program put more players in the NFL than all but one or two other schools. He ran a clean program and helped launch some great charities. Only a year older than Nick Saban, he is the second youngest coach to enter the Hall of Fame. George Mitchell