His final game at Camp Randall has passed. His farewell tour of the Big Ten is now over and the bronze statue is in the making.
Barry Alvarez has slightly over a month left in his tenure as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, and the transition from past to present is becoming more evident each day.
Alvarez 'the general' has stepped down and the first of his closest lieutenants are beginning to follow suit.
Defensive line coach John Palermo announced Tuesday he would not be returning for a 16th season, a move that could open the flood gates for other Badger assistants.
Palermo's decision makes sense and it is not surprising he was the first to withdraw. His son, fifth-year starting guard Jason Palermo, will play his final two games as a Badger this season and the coach and his wife will soon be settling into their new home.
'We're building a condo here,' Palermo said. 'It will be our home, regardless of what happens.'
The next name that should fall from the coaches' box is Brian White. Once Alvarez's top assistant as offensive coordinator in the late '90s with running backs Brent Moss and Ron Dayne at his disposal, White's name was often linked to major Division I job openings. But shortly before the 2005 season began, his role was reduced to co-offensive coordinator when Alvarez lured Paul Chryst back to UW after a brief stint at Oregon State. White countered with a late, but unsuccessful run at the vacant Dallas Cowboys' running backs coach position, and ultimately decided to remain a Badger for one final season.
While addressing the dual role situation prior to the start of the season, Alvarez stated, 'It was the only way I could get him [Chryst] here.'
It was clear, at that time, White's time with the Badgers was limited.
A member of the UW staff since 1995, it now appears White is in the running for the vacant Temple position'a team the Badgers defeated 65-0 in week two of this season. Unlike Palermo, who will finish the season on the Badger sidelines, White could be gone as early as December 1, the date on which Temple hopes to find a replacement for former head coach Bobby Wallace.
Other assistants that remain in question include offensive line coach Jim Hueber, who also has been mentioned as a Temple replacement, and defensive assistants Ron Lee and Brian Murphy. Not to mention the open defensive coordinator position that Bret Bielema will vacate when he takes over as head coach in 2006. The Badger defense has been suspect in the second half of the season (10th in the Big Ten, allowing 478.8 yards per game) and a complete personnel overhaul appears realistic.
Alvarez would not go into specifics when reflecting on the status of his assistants.
'I couldn't be more pleased or more proud of the effort that they've given us,' Alvarez said. 'They've done just a tremendous, just an unbelievable job.'
In other words, it's been fun, but its now out of my hands.
Currently, it appears only Chryst has a concrete position secured next fall. In all likelihood, he was aware that Alvarez would step down prior to his announcement and was promised full control over the offense beginning in 2006.
It will be interesting to see how Bielema handles the coaching. He has ties to both Kansas State and most recently Iowa, but his ability to lure away assistants from those two universities remains unseen.
Bielema, who is currently in Florida recruiting during the bye week, has more game-planning to do than just Hawaii. In the coming weeks and months, he will be sculpting his first coaching staff, possibly from scratch.
