Paul Chryst
Paul Chryst went 86–45 as a head coach, 2012–2022, at Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. Share
- Record
- 86–45 career
- Seasons
- 11
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 2 seasons
- Born
- Nov 17, 1965
- Alma mater
- Wisconsin
- Best season
- 2017 13–1, No. 7
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Pittsburgh | 6–7 | 5th | BBVA Compass Bowl L | ||
| 2013 | Pittsburgh | 7–6 | 6th (Coastal) | Little Caesars Bowl W | ||
| 2014 | Pittsburgh | 6–6 | T–3rd (Coastal) | Armed Forces (not coached) | ||
| 2015 | Wisconsin | 10–3 | T–2nd (West) | Holiday Bowl W | 21 | |
| 2016 | Wisconsin | 11–3 | 1st (West) | Cotton Bowl W | 9 | |
| 2017 | Wisconsin | 13–1 | 1st (West) | Orange Bowl W | 7 | |
| 2018 | Wisconsin | 8–5 | T–2nd (West) | Pinstripe Bowl W | ||
| 2019 | Wisconsin | 10–4 | T–1st (West) | Rose Bowl L | 11 | |
| 2020 | Wisconsin | 4–3 | 3rd (West) | Duke’s Mayo Bowl W | ||
| 2021 | Wisconsin | 9–4 | T–2nd (West) | Las Vegas Bowl W | ||
| 2022 | Wisconsin coached five of 13 games | 2–3 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
T.J. WattNo. 30 pick, 2017
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 38 | 15–23 | 39% |
| Against top-10 teams | 16 | 5–11 | 31% |
| Against rivals | 26 | 19–7 | 73% |
| Conference games | 84 | 53–31 | 63% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 9 | 7–2 | 78% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 41 | 20–21 | 49% |
| At home | 68 | 49–19 | 72% |
| On the road | 49 | 30–19 | 61% |
| At neutral sites | 14 | 7–7 | 50% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 96 | 69–27 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 35 | 17–18 | 49% |
His own 131 games on file, 2012–2022, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Ferentz 2014–2021 | 5–3 | Iowa | 8 | |
| Pat Fitzgerald 2015–2021 | 4–3 | Northwestern | 7 | |
| P.J. Fleck 2016–2021 | 4–2 | Western Michigan, Minnesota | 6 | |
| Jim Harbaugh 2016–2021 | 3–3 | Michigan | 6 | |
| Lovie Smith 2016–2020 | 4–1 | Illinois | 5 | |
| Jeff Brohm 2017–2021 | 4–0 | Purdue | 4 | |
| Mike Riley 2015–2017 | 3–0 | Nebraska | 3 | |
| Scott Frost 2018–2021 | 3–0 | Nebraska | 3 | |
| Frank Beamer 2012–2014 | 2–1 | Virginia Tech | 3 | |
| Brian Kelly 2012–2021 | 1–2 | Notre Dame | 3 |
Paul Chryst’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Illinoisseries | 8 | 6–2 |
| Iowaseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| Minnesotaseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Northwesternseries | 7 | 4–3 |
| Nebraskaseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Purdueseries | 6 | 6–0 |
| Michiganseries | 6 | 3–3 |
| Ohio Stateseries | 5 | 0–5 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | West Virginia | Graduate assistant | |
| 1991 | San Antonio Riders NFL Europe | Wide receivers and tight ends coach | |
| 1992 | San Antonio Riders NFL Europe | Running backs and tight ends coach | |
| 1993 | Edmonton Eskimos CFL | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1993 | Wisconsin–Platteville | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | |
| 1994 | Ottawa Rough Riders CFL | Special teams coach | |
| 1994 | Ottawa Rough Riders CFL | Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers coach | |
| 1995 | Illinois State | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1996 | Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1997–98 | Oregon State | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1999–2001 | San Diego Chargers NFL | Tight ends coach | |
| 2002 | Wisconsin | Tight ends coach | |
| 2003–04 | Oregon State | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2005 | Wisconsin | Co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| 2006–11 | Wisconsin | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2012–14 | Pittsburgh | Head coach | |
| 2015–22 | Wisconsin | Head coach | |
| 2023 | Texas | Offensive assistant and special assistant to head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Don NehlenWest Virginia
- Mike RileySan Antonio Riders, Oregon State, San Diego Chargers
- Jim HeacockIllinois State
- Barry AlvarezWisconsin
- Bret BielemaWisconsin
- Steve SarkisianTexas
Assistants who became head coaches
- Joe RudolphPittsburgh
- Dave ArandaBaylor
- Jim LeonhardWisconsin
- Justin WilcoxCalifornia
Worked under (6)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Nehlen | West Virginia | 1989–90 | Graduate assistant | |
| Mike Riley | San Antonio Riders pro | 1991–92 | 1991: wide receivers and tight ends coach; 1992: running backs and tight ends coach | |
| Jim Heacock | Illinois State | 1995 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Mike Riley | Oregon State | 1997–2004 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Mike Riley | San Diego Chargers NFL | 1999–2001 | Tight ends coach | |
| Barry Alvarez | Wisconsin | 2002–05 | 2002: tight ends coach; 2005: co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| Bret Bielema | Wisconsin | 2006–11 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Steve Sarkisian | Texas | 2023 | Offensive assistant and special assistant to head coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (4)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Rudolph | Pittsburgh, 2012–14: assistant head coach and offensive coordinator; Wisconsin, 2015–21: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Pittsburgh | |
| Dave Aranda | Wisconsin, 2015: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Baylor | |
| Jim Leonhard | Wisconsin, 2016: defensive backs coach; 2017–22: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | Wisconsin | |
| Justin Wilcox | Wisconsin, 2016: defensive coordinator | California |
Other assistants under him (11)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Engram | Pittsburgh, 2012–13: wide receivers coach; Wisconsin, 2022: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Dave Huxtable | Pittsburgh, 2012: defensive coordinator | |
| Eddie Faulkner | Pittsburgh, 2012: running backs coach | |
| Matt House | Pittsburgh, 2012: defensive backs coach; 2013–14: defensive coordinator | |
| Jon Budmayr | Pittsburgh, 2014: graduate assistant; Wisconsin, 2015: graduate assistant; 2016–17: offensive quality control coach; 2018–20: quarterbacks coach | |
| Mike Shanahan | Pittsburgh, 2014: volunteer assistant | |
| Daronte Jones | Wisconsin, 2015: defensive backs coach | |
| Sam Siefkes | Wisconsin, 2015: graduate assistant | |
| Tim Tibesar | Wisconsin, 2015–16: outside linebackers coach; 2017: running game coordinator and outside linebackers coach | |
| Bobby April III | Wisconsin, 2018–22: co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach | |
| Mark D’Onofrio | Wisconsin, 2022: inside linebackers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Wisconsin | head coach$260,000 in bonuses paid; buyout $4,000,000 | $3,200,000 USA Today | |
| 2016 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $440,000; $100,000 in bonuses paid | $2,706,200 USA Today | |
| 2015 | Wisconsin | head coachbonuses up to $440,000 | $2,300,000 USA Today |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Chryst’s teams went for it on 15% of fourth downs and on 29% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 41% of plays and took 28.7 seconds a play, 2012–2021.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 13 g | Pittsburgh | 15 of 103 15% | 28% | 49% | 26.2 | +0.01 | |
| 2013 13 g | Pittsburgh | 10 of 99 10% | 18% | 49% | 26.6 | +0.12 | |
| 2014 12 g | Pittsburgh | 14 of 76 18% | 35% | 37% | 28.2 | +0.16 | |
| 2015 13 g | Wisconsin | 8 of 100 8% | 20% | 48% | 27.8 | −0.02 | |
| 2016 14 g | Wisconsin | 12 of 104 12% | 33% | 36% | 29.5 | +0.03 | |
| 2017 14 g | Wisconsin | 6 of 84 7% | 15% | 37% | 30.3 | +0.05 | |
| 2018 13 g | Wisconsin | 12 of 81 15% | 29% | 38% | 28.3 | +0.11 | |
| 2019 14 g | Wisconsin | 23 of 89 26% | 43% | 39% | 30.4 | +0.11 | |
| 2020 7 g | Wisconsin | 12 of 55 22% | 29% | 43% | 30.7 | −0.04 | |
| 2021 13 g | Wisconsin | 20 of 97 21% | 35% | 37% | 29.5 | −0.07 | |
| All 126 g | 132 of 888 15% | 29% | 41% | 28.7 | +0.05 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.