Why the hell did Gary Andersen leave Wisconsin to go coach Oregon State?!

The beauty of low expectations, a steady paycheck and a boss that isn't constantly looking over your shoulder.

I grew up in WI, have a BS from UW Madison, and was at the ass-kicking that was the Big Ten championship. I will not miss Gary Andersen.

He's a weird guy. He badly wanted a dual-threat quarterback to complement the nation's top running back. He became enamored with a transfer student who couldn't throw the ball, sat down a kid who could throw somewhat better, and started the kid who can't throw. Sure he could run, but so could MGIII. The team lost a the game against LSU, Andersen sat MGIII down (apparently for suggesting they switch QBs), and then claimed he was hurt, then claimed the other qb was hurt, all lies.

He made strange decisions and then tried to lie his way out of them when they didn't work out.

He had a really weird pattern of behavior. And he let these kids down bigtime.

Andersen never connected with the local community. He never connected with the alums. He never seemed like he really wanted to be there. I'm glad he's leaving.

I'm happy with the Paul Chryst signing. He's the guy they should have gone after 2 years ago anyway.

- A big reason was because he (and especially his wife) missed the West. His wife hated Madison. There was a video on a local Madison channel showing the couple when they first arrived & moved in. You could tell by the look on her face that she did not like Madison. Who could blame them. Madison/midwest treeless prairie farmland absolutely sucks compared to anywhere out west. Melvin Gordon said that he talked with Andersen shortly after the announcement and said Andersen sounded hurt. He heard hurt in his voice. So it probably wasn't entirely Andersen's decision to leave. Maybe Alvarez forced him out after the big loss to Ohio State or his wife played a factor & kept urging him to head west.

- Athletic Director, Barry Alvarez is very Jerry Jones like & he was always sticking his head in business thinking he knows best. Who wants to work under someone like that when you're trying to be a head coach? Alvarez is an absolute scumbag. He put a statue of himself outside of the stadium while he was still alive & part of the program. He had infidelities, but this was quickly swept under the rug & never came out, but google Alvarez cheerleader hot tub for starters. Who pays himself $118,500 to step in & coach one game? Now he's going to do it again & coach in the next game after another head coach left because of him. Oh sure, the seniors approached him & asked him to coach. So what. He could still say no. He has assistants he hired that he knew would do a better job than him. He didn't have to give himself a nice $118,500 bonus for coaching 1 game either. This is a good sign that he's sticking his head too much into the football program alone if he is able to step right from athletic director to head coach.

- A lot of sources say Andersen was upset with the low pay of the assistant coaches, but they'll get paid almost the same (a touch less) at Oregon State.

- I liked Andersen a lot actually. When he left Utah State for Wisconsin he called everyone of players individually to inform them of his decision. He was held on a tight leash by Alvarez so he was not able to coach to his full potential. I look for him to do very well at Oregon State. There's a large pool of hidden JUCO athletes in that area he'll be able to recruit. Aaron Rodgers anyone?

- Now Chryst is in & everybody is singing his praises just like they did when Bielema & Andersen arrived. Few years later & the state of Wisconsin hurls profanities & insults at them when the leave. "Oh they sucked anyways." I should record the praises Chryst is receiving & bring them back up when he leaves in a couple years to coach at Marshall.

1) Anderson was terrible. With either Bielema or Alavarez this Wisconsin team would have been undefeated entering the big ten title game because they would not have blown the lead against LSU(reference the other poster describing Anderson's obsession with a running qb who cant throw) and they would not have lost to a terrible northwestern team due to not showing up the first half. He proved his shittyness by the way he prepared his team for the big ten title game

2) Him and his family didn't like Madison. Madison didn't really like him either, he is a weak little man.

3) Barry Alvarez is Barry Alvarez, he DOES know best. I'm guessing Alvarez urged him to head back out west after the big ten championship game.

4) Now they get the guy they wanted two years ago so it worked out.

PS Are you bashing the guy for deciding to do a shit ton of extra work and coach this team in a bowl game at the urging of the seniors in the program? Good lord.

PPS Are you bashing him for nailing hot cheerleaders in a hot tub? You are the biggest pus*y I have ever seen.

Among other things already mentioned, he said on Jim Rome's radio show that Wisconsin would not grant admission to players slightly below their academic standards. I read this as "far below standards." He claims OSU said that will not be an issue. He also said that he could not recruit kids to Madison as though Corvallis is a large step toward the positive. I can't imagine trying to recruit against in-state NIke University's facilities.

I think he HAD to transfer due to problems with his passport. The passport plays an integral role in the life of the football coach.

Andersen seemed like a nice enough guy. I suspect the players liked him a lot, though he apparently blindsided them with this decision.

His loyalty to Tanner McEvoy was just odd. McEvoy is a great athlete, no doubt, but he can't throw. He could have kept him at safety, or he probably could have played wide receiver -- both areas of need. Instead he made him the starter without a real competition. Redshirt a promising Freshman (Gillins), and leave a four star recruit to do Australian style punting. Seriously...how bad is Houston if he can't beat out McEvoy? Or did he ever have a chance?

I think Chyrst is a good pick. He's not a big name D1 coach, but how many of those guys would have come anyway? He won't see this as a stepping-stone, and the program now needs some continuity. He's a great offensive guy, so he'll need a strong DC to go with him. I really hope he brings Rudolph with him, and there's a rumor they might go after Bob Bobstad (?) who was the offensive line coach when they were just churning out NFL quality linemen. That would help.

No, Andersen wasn't terrible. Andersen was able to recruit not only quality players, but more athletic players than any previous coach at Wisconsin. He was a coach who players loved to play for and he could mold players. He was just starting to make changes to the program. He went 9-4 and 10-3 with players from the Bielema era that were not his style of recruits. Remember when he first arrived & the Wisconsin fans were blaming Bielema saying Bielema didn't recruit his last couple of years? So these records were with limited talent.

Undeafeated entering the big ten title game with Bielema or Alvarez? HA. Is that a joke? So, basically the Badgers would have likely been a top 5 ranking this year. Nope. The talent simply isn't there. Andersen did great with what he was given. Wisconsin fans need to drop their extremely high expectations with the football program. Be realistic. Sure a freak #4 ranking in 1999 or 1962 may occur, but it's going to be a 30 year thing, not a yearly thing like with Alabama, Ohio State, or Florida.

Uh huh. Madison sure liked him a few weeks ago. Maybe he grew tired of the classless & "tough" Wisconsin fans who chant sexual connotations at Dukes coach and target a peaceful protest demonstration with F bombs & comments such as "I hope you freeze. Maybe the fire dept should come & hose you away." Classy fans.

College football is a dirty business & Andersen was known as one of the actual good guys. That's why this should sting with Wisconsin. Yup, keep thinking Alvarez knows best. Meanwhile 2 great coaches have dumped the program in the past 2 years for arguably worse or equal programs. What does that tell you?

The problem is either 1) Wisconsin isn't paying the assistants enough money

2) Nobody can work with Barry Alvarez breathing down his neck.

Like I said above, Oregon State pays assistants less than Wisconsin, so all eyes are on the Godfather.

Do you think he'll be any better? 2015 was the year that Andersen's recruits would finally be coming in at force. What are these recruits going to do when they have to play a different style of ball? How is Chryst going to make it work with recruits geared towards a different style of play? Many of Andersen's high level recruits have given verbal commitment to play for an Andersen like system. Some are now likely to bolt.

Also, it's likely that the assistants will go with Andersen to Oregon State. Defensive coach, defensive line & offensive line coaches. There are long range consequences of 2 coaches leaving within 2 years.

Chryst has left from coaching at Wisconsin twice already to move up in the coaching ranks. Everybody seems to think Chryst is here to stay. How do we know he won't continue this coaching climb after a couple successful seasons at Wisconsin? Being a TE coach & having to deal with Barry is a lot different than being a head coach & having to deal with Barry.

Because cheating on your wife is what it takes to be a real man & things like self control & loyalty are just so wimpy? College coaches are held to certain standards, especially at certain programs such as Wisconsin where they claim to value integrity.

There might certainly be a quality of life issue here. I have been to Madison a lot (lived in WI for 3 years). Great college town. Never been to Corvallis though.

I bet he has assurances from the AD at OSU that salaries will increase. PAC12 schools will be getting a large infusion of cash.

As for the offense, my guess is that he thought he could transition to a more "modern" offense (I actually like I formation and pro set football with some spread features tossed in) but probably butted heads with Alvarez. Maybe he would have failed in that transition. We will never know. Will be interesting to see what happens in Corvallis. I think that might be the toughest place in the PAC12 to win.

Is Chryst going to be the coach or not? Pitts holding on to Chryst. It has come to a holding period, but Alvarez has been interviewing other coaches since talking with Chryst, such as former Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano. Ha. Could you imagine. Alvarez & Greg Schiano together!?

http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2014/12/15/7392865/wisconsin-coaching-search-paul-chryst-pittsburgh-chris-beatty

http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2014/12/13/7389075/wisconsin-coaching-search-dave-aranda-paul-chryst

Alvarez= Al Davis or Jerry Jones, is what I've heard as well. Its reinforced by the fact that Wisconsin has had the same damn offense since Alvarez was coaching. Bielema of course also left to take what was at best a sideways job at Arkansas. He was obviously annoyed with Wisconsin as well.

Ultimately everybody should be happy. Anderson leaving for another job means no buy out cost for Wisconsin. Alvarez definitely knows football. Wisconsin should be happy just to hire some Alvarez protege' on the cheap and they can continue their success.

Anderson should be happy at Oregon State. I think he was a true West Coast guy and will have free reign over the OSU program. Oregon St did well for itself. With Riley leaving they avoided paying the huge buyout in his contract and got a good coach in Anderson.

The fact that the players even knew the AD enough to "ask" him to coach the bowl game confirms Alvarez is a micro manger. GA made poor in game decisions at Wisconsin and Utah State.

The blow out against Ohio State is shady to say the least. If there was ever a game to point to look at as some sort of fix at worst or at best a team wrecked by dysfunction this game was it. Then the coach bails ?

Having been to Madison (without the snow) and lived in Corvallis, my pick is hands down, Corvallis >>>> Madison. Oregon is the most beautiful and raw place to live out west, even with all the rain (and potential flooding) in the winter.

The guying mentioning the difficulty trying to recruit over Oregon- are you kidding? Eugene and Oregon's campus is a s***hole! Nasty place.

Also to add to the fire, Gary Andersen & Urban Meyer have a decades old close friendship. If Andersen knew he was leaving & really wanted to stick it to Alvarez, why not help out his good buddy Urban at the same time?

Completely agree. People in Wisconsin are very proud, closed off, & dumb. They can't understand why anyone would want to live anywhere outside of Wisconsin. I'm not even talking entirely about colleges & coaching.

1) If he wasn't terrible then his coaching decisions wouldn't have gave away a game to LSU and not prepared his team for games against Northwestern or OSU. I would disagree that "Beilema didnt recruit." You're just an idiot. Beilema left to go to the SEC.

2) Don't try to speak for Madison. There certainly wasn't loads of love for ol' gary. He makes terrible in-game decisions and his preparation is more Utah State level than it is Wisconsin level.

3) If Alvarez wasn't good at what he does, he wouldn't be as successful as he has been as a coach and ad. I get that some people aren't mentally strong enough to put bias aside in a debate but check your facts chief.

4) Yes. Chryst is better than Anderson. Hence, the reason they wanted Chryst two years ago but had to settle for Anderson.

PS A lot of hate from you. I'm guessing you couldn't get in to Wisconsin and had to settle for Minnesota?

This comment aged like milk. Andreson sucks and Chryst doesn't. Glad he left!