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Paul Chryst is still widely expected to be Wisconsin's next head coach, but another expected name has been thrown into the mix: Greg Schiano.
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach met with UW athletic director Barry Alvarez on Thursday, according to USA TODAY and NJ.com. The former says Alvarez's interest in Schiano is "uncertain," while NJ.com says "it's unlikely" that Schiano will become Wisconsin's next coach. One real chill-sounding source also told ESPN's Brett McMurphy the following:
Source said Barry Alvarez’s meeting w/Greg Schiano Thursday in Tampa "real informal"
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) December 13, 2014
Schiano went 11-21 in his two seasons with the Bucs, finishing last in the NFC South in both. This excerpt from Pete Thamel's MMQB.com feature on Schiano in November nicely sums up his tenure in Tampa:
The last time the football world saw Greg Schiano, he was on the sideline of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing a season in which everything that could have gone wrong did. His quarterback, Josh Freeman, went rogue. A mysterious MRSA infection popped up in the locker room. "Fire Schiano" billboards appeared around town as the Bucs started 0-8, and former players cast him as an autocrat in the media. Humbled by his firing and blunt about his mistakes, the 48-year-old Schiano has used his first year away from full-time coaching in a quarter century to reinvent his coaching philosophy and undergo a frank assessment of himself. It's a task he is attacking through a series of small jobs, informational visits around the country and unsparing self-evaluation. "I didn't know what I didn't know, which is dangerous," he says of his entrance into the NFL.
At Rutgers, however, Schiano went 68-67 from 2001-11, starting 2-9 and 1-11 before the Scarlet Knights went 9-4 in 2011. Rutgers made five straight bowls from 2005-09, and six total under Schiano -- winning all but one.
Alas, this feels like "nothing to see here" territory while Alvarez does his due diligence in the coaching search. Barring unforeseen circumstances (famous last words), Paul Chryst will still likely be Wisconsin's next head coach.