At one point earlier in the season, the Wisconsin Badgers looked like they would be a major disappointment after losing in the finals last season. Bo Ryan had retired in the middle of the season, and the Badgers started 9-9. Since the 9-9 start, though, Wisconsin has won nine of their last 10 games and not only look like an NCAA tournament team, but also a threat when they get there. Interim head coach Greg Gard has done a masterful job with this team, and all signs point to him being hired full-time, according to Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated.
The reason for this news coming out now is that Wisconsin posted their open head coaching job on their Office of Human Resources website. What this does is get the clock started on the hiring process, which is a great sign for Gard. Per Wisconsin law, the job must be posted for at least one week, and multiple candidates must interview for the job before someone is officially hired. Because of that, Wisconsin will obviously do their due diligence, but Gard seems to be the guy.
By posting the job on Friday, Wisconsin would technically be able to hire Gard by next Friday, but that is not likely to happen, according to Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports. The likely reason for posting the job now is so that Wisconsin can make a counter offer to Gard should he receive other offers when the Badgers season is over. This in no way guarantees that Gard will get the job, but it is a very good sign for him, and Wisconsin would be foolish to let him go.
Bo Ryan retired in the middle of December when the team was 7-5 and looked like it had very little hope. Ryan's timing was curious at the time, but his intentions were good as he wanted to let his guy, Gard, have a chance to earn the full-time position. Things got worse before they got better for Wisconsin under Gard, but they have gotten much better recently. The Badgers are projected to be safely in the tournament as of Friday morning, according to Joe Lunardi of ESPN, and Gard has a lot to do with that.
