MADISON, Wis. -- The coaching carrousel that is the college football offseason is winding down, and Wisconsin finds itself searching for a defensive coordinator. Yes, you've read that sentence before.
But despite the fact that national signing day is a mere two weeks away, and the Badgers will soon be operating under their third coordinator in as many seasons, there shouldn't be cause for alarm. Not at Wisconsin, anyway, where it's simply business as usual on a unit that has thrived as much for its on-field talent as for the person responsible for coaching it.
The latest departure comes from Justin Wilcox, who left last week after one season to take over as head coach at Cal. This occurs one year after Dave Aranda exited to become defensive coordinator at LSU. While players and fans might not like the Badgers' constant coaching turnover, it should be viewed, in part, as the ultimate sign of respect for Wisconsin.
The nature of being a successful assistant coach at this level is that other schools will want to snatch away that talent. They see something special in the work being done at Wisconsin, which is the product of the entire program. And there is no reason to believe that excellence won't continue under the next defensive coordinator.
In three seasons under Aranda, Wisconsin ranked first nationally in total defense, second in scoring defense, third in pass defense and fourth in run defense. In one season with Wilcox, the Badgers ranked seventh in total defense, fourth in scoring defense, 30th in pass defense and third in run defense. Wisconsin also won double-digit games, including its bowl game, for a third consecutive season.
That success, coupled with all of Wisconsin's returning defensive talent, has positioned head coach Paul Chryst to make a seamless hire at one of his most important coaching spots. And money should not be a deterrent to him finding the person he believes to be the very best fit. When Aranda left Madison, his salary increased from $520,000 at Wisconsin to $1.3 million at LSU. Aranda will make $1.8 million next season in Baton Rouge and be the highest-paid assistant coach in the country, which is a threshold few Big Ten programs would be willing to match.
Wilcox made $500,000 in his lone season at Wisconsin but was set to be paid $950,000 if he had stayed for Year 2 -- the most for any assistant in school history. Only 13 FBS assistant coaches made more money in 2016, according to data from USA Today. The narrative that Wisconsin is unwilling or unable to retain assistants because of salary (something former head coach Bret Bielema often bemoaned) is no longer necessarily true.
Given that Chryst hired Wilcox, someone with no ties to the program who left after only one year, he may be more inclined to choose stability this time. Chryst likely wants to keep Wisconsin in the 3-4 defensive system first established by Aranda because it matches up with his personnel. That was part of the reason Chryst hired Wilcox, who had experience in such a scheme.
If Chryst opts to make the hire in-house, he could select outside linebackers coach Tim Tibesar, who served as Purdue's defensive coordinator in 2012 and held the same position in 2011 with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. Tibesar applied for the Badgers' vacant defensive coordinator position last year before it went to Wilcox and has been a central figure in the development of All-American outside linebackers Joe Schobert and T.J. Watt, among others.
Badgers defensive backs coach Jim Leonhard has garnered substantial praise for his work in the secondary this past season. Leonhard was a three-time All-American safety at Wisconsin who played 10 years in the NFL. But this season also marked Leonhard's first year coaching at any level, and he could be a few years away from being ready to take over an entire defense. Or perhaps Chryst could employ both Leonhard and Tibesar as co-defensive coordinators. Wisconsin last used co-defensive coordinators in 2011 and 2012 with Charlie Partridge and Chris Ash.
Speaking of Partridge, he could be another potential option after recently being fired as Florida Atlantic's head coach and replaced by Lane Kiffin. Partridge spent five years with the Badgers, including four coaching on the staff with Chryst from 2008-11. In 2012, Partridge's final season as co-defensive coordinator, Wisconsin's defense ranked in the Top 25 nationally in all four major defensive categories: total defense (15th), scoring defense (17th), pass defense (18th) and run defense (24th).
Whoever takes over will inherit a group that should again be one of the best in the Big Ten, if not the country. The Badgers bring back seven starters, including their entire defensive line: nose guard Olive Sagapolu and defensive ends Conor Sheehy, Chikwe Obasih and Alec James.
Despite losing Watt a year early to the NFL draft, as well as co-captain Vince Biegel, Wisconsin's deepest position group will remain its linebackers. Jack Cichy and Chris Orr return from season-ending injuries, alongside leading tackler T.J. Edwards, Ryan Connelly and Garret Dooley. Junior-college transfer Andrew Van Ginkel, a former Missouri Valley Conference freshman of the year at South Dakota, could compete for playing time there as well. In the secondary, Derrick Tindal, Natrell Jamerson and D'Cota Dixon are among the players with significant playing time who are returning to the unit.
Wisconsin's next defensive coordinator, like its last few, will be walking into a great situation on a team ready to compete for a Big Ten championship. It's business as usual in Madison.