Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
The calendar says October, which means it's open season on Big Ten coordinators.
Iowa's two coordinators, Ken O'Keefe and Norm Parker, are taking heat after the team's back-to-back losses, forcing head coach Kirk Ferentz to take the blame himself. And Madison might be Paul Chryst's hometown, but the Wisconsin offensive coordinator has taken a beating after the offense stalled in the second half last week against Michigan.
Several of you have voiced your displeasure about Chryst in my mailbag, and I understand the sentiment. Wisconsin's pro-style offense is no longer the fad -- that would be the spread -- and when it struggles it's easy to use terms like vanilla, stale and outdated. But remember that Chryst is a well-respected playcaller who has overseen offenses that have averaged 29 points per game or more in each of the last three seasons. This is the guy who turned down the Dallas Cowboys in 2007. He can coach.
Chryst responded to the criticism this week, defending some of his play calls against Michigan and putting the onus on better execution from quarterback Allan Evridge and the rest of the offense.
From Jeff Potrykus' story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
"Well no [expletive] that was a bad call if it doesn't work," Chryst said. "I agree with that. There is not one fan that is beating me to the punch [asking]: 'What the hell were you calling that for?' They weren't bad [calls]. But they were bad [plays] ... At the time it sure seemed like it would be a good idea."
Adam Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago.
