Reports: Bostad to join Chryst at Pitt; Rudolph expected to be promoted

When Bret Bielema spoke to reporters Monday upon landing in Los Angeles, he revealed that another one of his assistants would be joining Paul Chryst in Pittsburgh, but declined to say which one.

It didn't take long for reports to surface that the assistant is offensive line coach Bob Bostad.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and BadgerNation.com all reported Monday that Bostad will go with Chryst after the Rose Bowl. The expectation is that Bostad will be Chryst's offensive coordinator at Pitt, while current UW tight ends coach Joe Rudolph will be promoted to offensive coordinator for the Badgers.

Obviously the loss of Chryst was huge, but Bostad will be tough to replace as well. The Badgers are known for having good running backs and effective offensive lines, but together, Chryst and Bostad turned the Wisconsin running game into a well oiled machine the last few years. Four offensive linemen -- Gabe Carimi, John Moffitt, Kevin Zeitler and Peter Konz -- have been named All-Americans the last two years under Bostad.

As for why he would make the move to Pitt instead of staying at Wisconsin, Bostad and Chryst have been considered a coaching duo for quite some time now so it makes sense. If Bielema wanted to promote Bostad to offensive coordinator, it may have made more sense to stay in Madison rather than go to Pitt where Chryst might retain play calling duties. But it's also possible Bielema was going to promote Rudolph anyway, leading the offensive line coach to make the move. This is all speculation, but we may never know the specifics as those are often kept a secret in the coaching ranks.