6:21PM EST December 4. 2012 - College football fans and media members (particularly those with Big Ten leanings) were largely shocked Tuesday when Bret Bielema left Wisconsin after seven years to become the head coach at Arkansas.
Not only had Bielema's name been out of the rumor mill, but there was no obvious personal reason or financial motivation for him to be a candidate anywhere much less at Arkansas.
So why would Bielema, who compiled a 68-24 record at Wisconsin, abandon one of the better jobs in the Big Ten for a middle-of-the-pack job in the SEC? Why would a native of Illinois who played at Iowa and lived his entire life in the Midwest leave his comfort zone for more rugged football territory? And why would he do it now, after clinching Wisconsin's third straight Rose Bowl berth last Saturday night?
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This is a guy, after all, who told the Sporting News earlier this year, "We at the Big Ten don't want to be like the SEC – in any way, shape or form," in response to the aggressive recruiting tactics. Now he's going to dive headlong into the snake pit of the SEC West?
But understand this about the coaching business, especially these days: It's always better to leave a couple years too soon than stay a couple years too long.
Make no mistake, Wisconsin is a good job. But it's not one of the three best jobs in the Big Ten, and it's certainly not a place where you should be going to three straight Rose Bowls. Somehow, Bielema pulled it off. And now he's leaving for a new fan base and a new contract before he had a chance to fall short of the impossibly high standard he just set.
Deep down, he had to know it wouldn't go on forever. College football is cyclical. Most programs reach a certain point, level off, then decline and start the cycle all over again. With Michigan back on the rise and Ohio State almost there already under Meyer, this stretch of football was as good as it could get for Wisconsin. Three Rose Bowls in a row may never happen again in the entire history of the school.
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And if the Badgers went five years without winning a title, what do you think would happen? Remember, it wasn't so long ago that Kirk Ferentz was considered the best coach in the Big Ten, going 31-7 over a three-year stretch. Ferentz had plenty of opportunities to do what Bielema did, but he stayed. Now, after a couple bad years, he's locked into a contract the school can't afford to buy out and stuck with a fan base that expects way more than it's getting.
It's uncomfortable, and at a place like Iowa or Wisconsin, probably inevitable. Coaches get too comfortable, fans get bored and the moment churning out an 8-4 or 9-3 season seems like a disappointment, it's time to get out and start over.
So Bielema played this exactly right. He gave Wisconsin seven years, brought the program to its ceiling and left before bumping his head on it. Now he's got a new challenge at a school with plenty of resources and a fan base that will unite behind him. It's a fresh start, and a lucrative one at that. In a sport where a coach can get fired two years after winning a national title, that's never a bad thing.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2012/12/04/bret-bielema-arkansas-wisconsin/1746989/