Lucas: For Chryst, Madison has always been final destination
December 17, 2014 | Mike Lucas
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Dec. 17, 2014
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com
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As the private jet began its descent, Paul Chryst peered out the window like he had routinely done on so many previous trips home. But it was different Tuesday because he experienced something that was unique from the all those other times that he had flown into the Dane County Regional Airport.
"Once we broke through the clouds," said the 49-year-old Chryst, who has spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers, "it was a little surreal when you see the capitol and the lakes, and it's funny because I've never felt that flying into Madison before."
The last time he had been back was two years ago when daughter JoJo graduated from Edgewood High School. She had stayed behind and lived with her grandmother, Patty Chryst, so she could complete her senior year with friends instead of relocating immediately with the rest of the family to Pittsburgh.
Such are the ties that bond.
Soon after Paul and his wife, Robin, got to their campus hotel Tuesday, their kids -- Katy, JoJo and Danny -- were out and about. "All three of them got picked up by friends," Paul Chryst said, grinning. "And we were just talking about how you can go into other cities and you don't know anybody."
That doesn't apply here.
"This is obviously a special place not only for me but our whole family and that makes it that much more special, there's more depth to it, " he said. "And now it's neat knowing you're starting another chapter in the same city; it's exciting and -- like I said earlier -- a little surreal."
On Wednesday, Chryst was introduced as Wisconsin's head football coach, replacing Gary Andersen, who left after two seasons for Oregon State. Chryst admitted to having a rush of emotion and energy when UW athletic director Barry Alvarez first contacted him about the job opening.
"You're surprised," he said, "and, then, you're awfully excited about the possibility and you're trying not to let your mind go too fast because, at the time, you know there are still a lot of things that have to happen. You're appreciative that he called and you feel really fortunate for it to work out."
After investing so much in rebuilding the Pitt program, he insisted it wasn't easy to leave. In fact, it was what Chryst expected it to be: it was hard. "It was extremely hard," he noted. "But if it wasn't hard, you shouldn't be doing this (for a living). And it was hard not just for me but for the whole family.
"I certainly feel proud of what we were doing. I told the players all the time, `I love the progress we've made, but we're not where we want to be.' I do feel good, not for me but for so many people -- coaches, administrators and, most importantly, the players -- that it is better now than when we came in.
"We've got a ton of respect and appreciation for that group of players. That's the one thing I do know about myself: I get my energy from the players and the people I'm around. What I appreciated is that a lot of them understood (taking the UW job) and they'll always have a special place in my heart."
| "This is obviously a special place, " Chryst said. "It's neat knowing you're starting another chapter in the same city; it's exciting and a little surreal. " |
But, then, so does the University of Wisconsin and Madison.
"To me," Chryst said, "what's special is the people; the people that are here and have had an impact on you or are meaningful to you. There are a lot of those people certainly in Madison and within striking distance (Platteville is 75 miles away). We have a lot of good memories of this place.
"I thought about it this way," he went on. "I was able to live it growing up here and being around the program (as a youngster) and then leave ...
He went to high school in Platteville.
"And then I was able to come back and go to school and play here -- Robin went to school here as well -- and then leave ..."
The start of his coaching odyssey.
"And then I was able to come back and be part of the program as a coach and then leave ..."
For another coaching gig.
"And then I was able to come back again as a coach ..."
Before leaving again for Pittsburgh.
"It's one of those places that can keep pulling you back and every time you're excited to come back," Chryst summarized. "And we've left some really good people and places to come back and that's because of the people here as well. What is it about this place? It's the people, right? That's what it is."
He paused and snickered, "I love the lakes, but I'm not coming back for the lakes."
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aul Chryst is back because he sees himself as others see him -- as a good fit for Wisconsin.
"The bar has been set at a high level and that's awesome and it didn't just happen (overnight)," he said. "Like any place, you want it to be better because you were there. And you want to positively impact the players and the people, something which you get to do day-in and day-out.
"What matters most to me? People talk to me about what's my dream job? My dream job is to be able to do it with a group of people and what matters is who you get to do it with. Do you have a chance (to be successful)? We've got that chance. Great things have been done here and that's the opportunity and the challenge to build on that."
Given the departures over the last three years of Bret Bielema, who left for Arkansas, and his successor, Andersen, Alvarez pointed out Wisconsin was obviously not a destination job for either. But he quickly added that the opposite has been true for himself and UW men's basketball coach Bo Ryan.
What about Chryst? How does he view this job? "It has everything that we, as a family, and me, personally, are looking for," he said. "But I think you earn that right -- like those guys (Alvarez and Ryan) have -- you have to earn that right to make it your destination. That's the quest."
Presiding over his own program in Pittsburgh for the last three years not only reshaped Chryst on the field, from coordinator to head coach, but it cast him in the role of an overseer, one who's accountable for the actions of everyone in the program, all of which has enhanced his profile.
Sometimes you have to leave to come back.
"You're always trying to grow," he said. "We ask that of our players -- to be the best that you can be and continue to grow. And I hope to continue to grow as a head coach and I feel like that (Pittsburgh experience) helped quite a bit. I'm proud of what a lot of us have done there."
That extends to how he has grown as a person and decision-maker. "That part is energizing," Chryst said. "In the end, every decision that we make comes down to one thing: Does it help our student-athletes grow? Certainly football is a big component and that's the common bond."
Chryst cited the growth of students in the classroom with the ultimate goal of getting a meaningful degree and the growth of players on the field and their relationship and responsibilities to something even bigger as maturing adults. "That's being a part of the university and state," he said.
Focusing on what matters is a driving principle in the Chryst playbook.
"It's not a complicated formula and it leads you to the right answers most of the time," said Chryst, adding that he doesn't think that his personality has changed much the last three years. "I learned there are some decisions you need to make and you weigh them and you do what's best.
"It's not hard to do what's best for the program and what's best for the team. It's just not always comfortable. But that's OK."
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In almost the same breath, he acknowledged that it's not only OK, but it's critical for a coach to remain true to himself, something that he picked up during his first tour of duty under Alvarez.
"That was the first thing I learned when I came here," he said, "the first words from Barry."
That was 12 years ago.
Chryst had just taken a risk when he turned down a full-time coaching job with the New Orleans Saints. Professionally and financially, it was a good deal, especially since he was out of work. But something didn't feel right and he had to fall back on his instincts.
For three years, he had coached tight ends for his mentor Mike Riley in San Diego. But after the Chargers released Riley, everybody was on their own. Riley wound up with the Saints as a member of Jim Haslett's staff. That opened the door for Chryst, who accepted a position as a defensive assistant.
Shortly thereafter he had a change of heart and informed Haslett that he didn't want the job. His heartstrings were pulling him in another direction -- back home to Madison and Wisconsin, where his dad had played and coached and where he had lettered as a reserve quarterback, linebacker and tight end.
Despite a significant reduction in pay, Chryst agreed to take over as Alvarez's administrative assistant and on-campus recruiter in 2002. Although he didn't have any full-time openings on his staff, Alvarez promised Chryst that if something turned up, he would be the first one considered.
By the time Chryst arrived for his first day in the office, he already had a new title and job description: tight ends coach, an opening that was created when Tim Davis left to join Pete Carroll's staff at Southern Cal. Chryst also became UW's chief recruiter in the state.
"What kind of style of coach do you want?" Chryst asked Alvarez.
"What I want and what you have to be," Alvarez replied, "is that you have to be yourself."
It would not be the last time that Alvarez would share some words of wisdom. When Riley was named the Oregon State head coach in 2003, he recruited Chryst to be his offensive coordinator; it was an offer that he couldn't refuse even though he had been on Alvarez's staff for only a year.
Upon reflection this week, Alvarez confided, "I should have given him more responsibilities and kept him here. That was a mistake that I made -- I let him leave. But I was able to bring him back (two years later in 2005) as my co-offensive coordinator (with Brian White) and he did a great job."
In 2006, Chryst assumed total control of the Badgers offense for the next six years under Alvarez and Bielema. It was during this productive, resume-building span that Alvarez recognized, "It was just a matter of time before Paul was going to get a head coaching job."
That came following the 2011 season when he was hired at Pittsburgh on Alvarez's strong and influential recommendation. That Alvarez is once again a trusted boss, a sounding board as an athletic director, is something that Chryst didn't take for granted when he agreed to be his head coach.
"There are so many things that make this for me -- and for our family -- such a great job and that's certainly one of them," Chryst said. "Just being able to talk to him about different things, whether it's specific to football on the field or handling situations off the field."
Calling Alvarez a great resource, Chryst added, "Almost minimizes what it can be."
Asked about any national perception, real or imagined, that Alvarez's shadow can be suffocating to anyone who doesn't subscribe to his thinking, Chryst responded, "That's the farthest thing from the truth from what I've experienced. It was anything but that really.
"People would say the same thing when you come in here and you're going to be his offensive coordinator like I was. Now, he knew every bit of what we were doing (on offense). But that's what I enjoyed so much about working for him.
"He trusted you to do your job and yet you knew that he was always there for you and you could ask him things. I mean, you'd listen to his opinions. Wouldn't we all want that?"
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| " I think he'd be pretty proud," Chryst said of his father, George. "I remember him saying all the time, `This is your job and you're pretty fortunate to be able to do it.'" |
That topic was also addressed by Alvarez, a Hall of Fame college football coach.
"People who have never been around here, never been on campus, don't know me, per se, have been speculating on why coaches have left," Alvarez said. "You can ask Gary Andersen and he will tell you that I'm not a micro-manager. I allowed him to run his program.
"Now, if I see something that I don't think is right, it's my job to tell them. I'm not going to beat on the table and say, `You have to do this' or `You have to do that.' I don't give them parameters other than being sound. If I see something that is not sound, I have to speak up."
George Chryst was the same way as a player and coach. He was about sound fundamentals.
A guard/linebacker for the Badgers in the late '50s, he was the head coach at Madison Edgewood High School, a UW assistant under Milt Bruhn and John Jardine, an administrative assistant under Dave McClain, and the head coach and athletic director at UW-Platteville, where he hired Bo Ryan.
"He was a coach's coach," Alvarez once said of George Chryst, who died in 1992. He was 55. Paul Chryst has often said of his dad, "He truly had a passion for the game and, with that, he was a great student of the game. And I've always felt fortunate to have picked up some of those traits."
Tuesday, Paul Chryst elaborated some more on his father. "I remember him saying all the time, `This is your job and you're pretty fortunate to be able to do it,'" he said. "More than anything, he would say, `Respect the game and those who play it.' I still have a ways to go to get to his level. But you try to emulate and be like him."
How would his dad react knowing that his son had just been named the head coach of the Badgers? "I think he'd be pretty proud," he said. "I was just talking with Bo (Ryan) and he was saying, `What do you think would happen if George came down the hallway and he sees you as the head coach of football and me coaching basketball?' It was fun to think of it that way."
Patty Chryst would probably have a good laugh, too. "She's certainly proud but like any mom she was going to be proud no matter what you're doing," Paul Chryst said. "She was able to go out and see what we were able to do in Pittsburgh. She got a good feel for our players. That she is proud makes you feel good and I know she's really excited, too."
Excited about the Chryst homecoming. It has all happened so swiftly, so unexpectedly with Riley replacing Bo Pelini at Nebraska and Andersen replacing Riley at Oregon State. Now Chryst will be matching strategy with Riley in the Big Ten. "It's a pretty amazing the sequence of events," he said.
The essence of coaching for Chryst can be best understood when translated in his own words -- the words that he has used in the past to describe what he has taken from watching Ryan and how he accentuates the strengths of his players and pays such close attention to all of the details.
"I just love how Bo teaches the game," Chryst has frequently explained. "He still makes it a player's game. The magic? There isn't any magic. It's just teaching and how you teach and it's getting players to believe in what you're doing. Bo is one of the best at it."
So is Paul Chryst. "I'm looking forward to getting around our players," he said anxiously. "I don't want to get in the way, they're still finishing out this season and they get one more game together in the bowl. But I'm excited to start building those relationships."
And, yes, he does know that the Badgers open up with Alabama next season.
"Every great challenge," he reasoned, "is a great opportunity."
None better than the one Chryst has today in making this a destination job.
