Chris McIntosh addresses how players were informed of Paul Chryst firing

After Illinois throttled Wisconsin at home 34-10 this past weekend, Badgers brass made the decision to cut head coach Paul Chryst loose after just five games this season. Chryst coached the team to a 2-3 record thus far this season, with losses to the Illini, Ohio State and Washington State.

A tough decision to fire the head coach in the middle of the season and leave a team full of college athletes to finish the year without the guy they committed to play for. Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh understands the difficulty of the situation, and explained at a press conference following the firing that he and the department want to do the best they can by the players.

“Yeah, Coach Chryst, Coach Leonard and I met with the team this evening. We had a closed door meeting,” McIntosh said in the wake of Chryst’s departure. “With everything, everybody around the program, it goes without saying. And I mentioned it earlier. You know, it’s a tough day for us all, given how much we all cared for and how much we love coach Chryst. His players are first on that list in terms of how much they care for him and it was a tough meeting. And it’s one that’s, in my mind, going to live in that meeting room.”

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McIntosh then addressed questions about the players, who all committed to play ball for Chryst, and how they plan to move forward with the team the rest of the way.

“Yeah, number one is the emotion. You mentioned the the players. Like, for the majority of these players, a huge determining factor in coming to Wisconsin, is coach Chryst, right,” McIntosh shared.

“So very shaken with the news. We understand that our five-game resume this year is not what we want. We have not been playing up to our capabilities. And even before this news, you know, there was some hard conversations that were had today between coaches, players, among the staff, on on…how do we get it corrected? And so I think the emotions being very open and real about where we currently are and what can we do to win this coming Saturday.”

A whirlwind of events surrounding the Badger football program and Chris McIntosh. Yet focus is staying on the task at hand: coming out next weekend and taking care of business vs. Northwestern on the road.