Jeff Potrykus

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison — With Justin Wilcox reportedly agreeing Friday to a five-year deal to become the head coach at California, the pressing questions facing Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst are:

• Who will Chryst choose to replace Wilcox to run the defense in 2017?

• Will he look outside the program to bring in a proven defensive coordinator, as he did last winter when Wilcox was hired to replace Dave Aranda?

• Or will he promote from within the staff?

Chryst appears to have good options either way.

He has two viable candidates on the current staff — secondary coach Jim Leonhard and outside linebackers coach Tim Tibesar.

Leonhard, a former All-American safety at UW who enjoyed a productive 10-year NFL career, recently finished his first season in coaching.

POLL: Who should replace UW’s Justin Wilcox?

Chryst believed in Leonhard enough to hire him despite the lack of coaching experience. Given how well UW’s secondary played in 2016 and how often the players raved about his ability to teach the game, Chryst surely sees a bright future for Leonhard.

Is the future now?

Tibesar, who has done outstanding work with his position group in two seasons at UW, has served as defensive coordinator at Purdue, Montreal of the Canadian Football League and North Dakota.

He applied for the defensive coordinator position last winter after Aranda left.

Chryst probably wouldn’t be opposed to rewarding both assistants and going with co-coordinators. He surely has a list of potential outside candidates, but here are two intriguing names :

Todd Orlando and Jay Sawvel.

Orlando, who played linebacker at UW in the 1990s, recently followed Tom Herman from Houston to Texas.

The odds of prying Orlando away from the Longhorns? Probably less than nil, but Chryst's phone bills are covered by the UW athletic department so a call wouldn't hurt.

Sawvel recently lost his job as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator after P.J. Fleck was hired as head coach. Fleck reportedly is bringing in Robb Smith, who was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas for the last three seasons. Smith's first season went well as the Razorbacks finished 10th nationally in points allowed (19.0 per game), but the Razorbacks slumped to 85th nationally this season (31.1).

Sawvel coached Minnesota's defensive backs and special teams from 2011-’15 before taking over as defensive coordinator last season. The Gophers allowed 22.1 points per game. That was the No. 5 mark in the Big Ten and Minnesota’s best mark since the 2003 team allowed 21.9.

The Gophers capped the season with a 17-12 victory over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. Minnesota held the Cougars to their lowest point total of the season.

Another possible option involves former UW assistant Charlie Partridge, who was the head coach at Florida Atlantic for the past three seasons before being fired in November.

Partridge coached linebackers in his final season at Pittsburgh (2007) before coming to UW. He coached at UW for five seasons, with his primary responsibility the defensive line. Partridge and Chryst worked together at UW for four seasons (2008-'11). Partridge was a solid recruiter and had a reputation for being able to teach the game.

If Chryst decides he already has Wilcox's replacement on the current staff, perhaps Partridge could return to UW to coach inside linebackers. It is no secret Partridge enjoyed his time at UW and wanted to stay when Gary Andersen was hired before the 2013 season.

Expect Chryst to work quietly behind the scenes until he has the staff solidified. He went outside the staff last winter, but this time he has more options on the current staff.