The Wisconsin head coaching job is open again

This evening Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen announced that he is accepting the head coaching job at Oregon State. I do not know why a man would choose to leave a pretty good Big Ten program after two years for Oregon State, but that isn't my business.

The Wisconsin search could have some impact on NC State, though, which is my business. A significant portion of the coaching staff at NC State, including head coach Dave Doeren, has ties to Wisconsin. Doeren brought several of his Wisconsin/NIU guys to Raleigh, and he nabbed offensive coordinator Matt Canada directly from Madison in the wake of Bret Bielema's departure for Arkansas.

So we may--may--have some coaches who'd be interested in a return to that area, if they are given that opportunity. I want to be clear that THERE ARE NO REPORTS LINKING DAVE DOEREN OR ANY OTHER NC STATE STAFF MEMBER TO WISCONSIN. This is just a vacancy we may have to keep an eye on in the near term.

Some names being tossed around by national outlets:

Names for Wisconsin: Greg Schiano, Paul Chryst, Dave Clawson (finished 2nd last time), Justin Fuente, Matt Wells, Dave Aranda.

— Pete Thamel (@SIPeteThamel) December 10, 2014

From CoachingSearch.com:

Wisconsin: Some names to keep an eye on include Pitt head coach Paul Chryst, Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, Ohio State offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach Tom Herman and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.