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So is Alvarez going to "coach" the Badgers in their bowl game?

 

Sounds like it. Said in the presser that he'd make the decision tonight.
But...
He sent this out to season ticket holders:
"My first concern is supporting the student-athletes on our current team, especially the senior class, and ensuring their bowl experience is a memorable one"

 

He coached the Rose Bowl after Bielema left.

 

I was chatting with an acquaintance as soon as we heard the news of Anderson bolting for Oregon State, and this thought came to mind with what exmediahack mentioned in his post about Alvarez's shadow looming over his successors as HC.

Forgive me for the history lesson.

The Wisconsin story is eerily similar to what Iowa went through in the 60's with Forest Evashevski. Evy was wildly successful as the Hawkeyes FB coach who turned the program around, won two Rose Bowls, and tied LSU for the '58 national title. Evy becomes AD after Paul Brechler left in 1960. It was no secret Evy and Brechler didn't get along, namely because of Evy's ego and quench for authority.

Under Evy's watch, Jerry Burns and Ray Nagel struggled as head coaches. It didn't help that Evy wanted to coach again, but if he did, he had to give up being AD. So Evy started second-guessing every move Nagel made, which started to drive Nagel crazy.

The Evy-Nagel feud, as it was known, became so nasty and insane, that the U of Iowa board of athletics stepped in and relieved both men of there jobs, but Nagel was rehired a few days later and lasted one more season.

I don't know if Alvarez has any thoughts about being back on the field again, but his shadow does and will make it hard for anyone to coach that football program.

 

The early report I read (Chicago Tribune) said that Anderson and Barry got along well. It was interpreted that Anderson may have been "homesick" and wanted to move back to the west coast.

I'm sure there is more to it than that. It'll be interesting to find out.

 

The 1993 Rose Bowl team with Alvarez had Callahan, Brad Childress, Dan McCarney and with Darrell Bevell as the QB. Say what you want but that crew wasn't lacking in ambition.

Think back two years ago. I imagine there's a reason that Wisconsin had to reach all the way to Utah State for the head coaching job. Wonder if Alvarez and his ego/overbearing nature behind closed doors kept some of the other names from bubbling up. What Alvarez did at Wisconsin was Bill Snyder-like. (In 1990, Wisconsin wasn't that much better than Kansas State in 1989). However, having him as the AD also reminds me of Arkansas (oddly enough) when Frank Broyles was the AD.

You always have a legendary boss who might be second guessing you after each loss.

Let's say that Andersen, during the interview two years ago, is, in no uncertain terms, told that the football program will be run by an edict sent down from Alvarez. Just as it was when Bielema was hand-picked by Alvarez over a number of more qualified/experienced assistant coaches.

Alvarez likes control and I'm sure that he will try and find another small school HC or lower-level assistant (a "non-coordinator") who can be easily controlled. If you are, say, the QB coach at, say, Oklahoma and Alvarez calls, you'll jump like a trained puppy in the interview. Same if you're at Utah State and Alvarez calls, as was the case two years ago.

Now let's say, when Mike Riley leaves Corvallis for Nebraska, and OSU starts going through names. Then they call Andersen's agent and it gets relayed to Andersen. Full control at Oregon State (unlike at Wisconsin), no "Alvarez" to deal with, lower win-total expectations and probably a similar (if not better) salary.

THAT would be hard to say "no" to.

 

Ten years ago, Bevell was 34. So I bet he WOULD HAVE taken a Big Ten head-coaching job.

 

Which makes good speculation, but I ask in all seriousness, is there any indication that Alvarez meddled or second-guessed Andersen. I haven't heard anything.

 

They just lost the conference championship game by 60 points when they were favorites. That's the kind of event that turns any program's stress lines into fractures.

 

Not sure how the "coach brokerage" firms work that schools used, I'm thinking that a school looking for a coach can see which coaches have listed their jobs as places they would be interested in. Sounds like OSU is going to paying about $750k more a year (at least).

 

When Bielema left, there was quite a bit of talk re: how (relatively) tight Wisconsin is with Asst. Coach salaries. Combine that with having King Barry looking over your shoulder, really easy for the grass to look greener.

 

Obviously, Alvarez did some great things as Wisconsin's coach, turning the program around and whatnot, but is there a single instance across the country where the school puts up a statue of a coach and is worshipped so much who never so much as played for a national title?

Going to Arkansas made a lot more sense for Bielema than leaving Wisconsin for Oregon State.

I think it's safe to say Alvarez is likely the problem there?