Hammers were almost always dropping this season at Arizona State, Colorado, Georgia Tech and Nebraska.
Administrators can espouse patience in their programs through offseasons of manufactured hope, but first-month results at all four of those programs are at the root of those programs' head-coaching vacancies.
Wisconsin, though, is a bit more jarring. The Badgers had posted a 9-4 record a year ago and closed their 2021 season with a win against the aforementioned, scandal-plagued Arizona State Sun Devils in their bowl game.
But Paul Chryst, the Madison, Wisconsin, native and homegrown former quarterback who had spearheded Wisconsin football since 2015, was dumped Sunday in arguably one of college football's more stunning dismissals in recent history.
Chryst had won almost 70 games, played for Big Ten championships and made a couple Rose Bowl appearances.
Now, the Badgers are turning to another favorite son, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. He's also a former player and a program linchpin whose loyalty to Wisconsin cannot be disputed; Leonhard's turned down multiple opportunities in recent years, leaving salary on the table to remain at his alma mater.
Can Leonhard win enough and show enough across the season's final seven games to maintain the job on a permanent basis? If not, does Wisconsin immediately turn to Kansas program resurrector Lance Leipold, whose championship roots are anchored in Wisconsin, or Iowa State's Matt Campbell, who's sustained success atop the Cyclones is unprecedented?
The Badgers' job is a good one. We debate all these potential candidates and elements, as well as look at the broader picture of why Wisconsin likely felt it had to make this move right now, less than a week into October.
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