Wisconsin's Chryst can be choosy

TAMPA, Fla. - Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst was asked Friday what kind of offseason he expected it to be for him, hectic or calm.

"I think it can probably be what you want it to be," he said.

And what would he like it to be?

"Calm," he said.

It was definitely hectic for Chryst last February, when he was heavily courted by the Dallas Cowboys to be their quarterbacks coach. Chryst had to turn them down repeatedly before they finally backed off.

With his ties to the Pac-10, as the former offensive coordinator at Oregon State, Chryst recently interviewed for the coaching job at Washington State that went to Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff.

"It was good to go through the experience," Chryst said.

It was thought Chryst might be a candidate for the open job at West Virginia, given his ties there. He was a graduate assistant for the Mountaineers in 1989 and '90 and is friends with Rich Rodriguez, who left to become coach at Michigan.

Chryst said he has not officially been contacted by West Virginia about that job, but has talked to some friends there. Central Michigan coach Butch Jones is considered a leading candidate there.

"A couple (people) from there have talked (to me), but they were people I knew from being back there," Chryst said. "I think they're well on their way (to finding a coach). No, I don't anticipate anything."

One of the big reasons Chryst was intrigued by the Cowboys was the chance to work under offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

While Chryst doesn't get a chance to watch the Cowboys much, he stays in contact through Bruce Read, a friend of his who is Dallas' special teams coach.

"It's like most decisions - you don't look back," Chryst said. "I've enjoyed being around this group this year, I know that."

Chryst is in a good situation because he's not looking to leave and he can be picky in choosing what his next step will be.

"Really, the things that kept us here haven't changed," he said. "What's around the corner? Don't know. But it would have to be pretty unique and really pretty good to leave. Because we've got it really good. The factors that really were key to keeping us here, those haven't changed."

Strickland Likely Starter: Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz stopped short of saying senior Ben Strickland will start at left cornerback in place of injured freshman Aaron Henry, but barring a late change, that's the way it looks.

Strickland has been working almost exclusively with the No. 1 defense at practices here, while sophomore Josh Nettles has worked with the second team. Nettles is expected to be the nickel cornerback, so he also will get a lot of snaps.

"Ben obviously has an advantage with his experience," Hankwitz said. "He's played a lot of football, he's been on special teams, he started against Iowa a year ago, he's been in our five-defensive-back stuff. He's the leading candidate."