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| Brad Childress has ties to Wisconsin, and could end up a candidate for the head coaching job in Madison. (US Presswire) |
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress is intrigued by the head coaching vacancy at Wisconsin and is a potential candidate for the position, according to sources.
Childress served on the staff of current Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez -- who is heading the search for new Badgers coach -- for eight seasons (1991-98), including the final five as offensive coordinator. Childress was most noted in Madison for his work with Ron Dayne, who won the 1999 Heisman Trophy and amassed the majority of his all-time FBS-best 6,397 yards while working in Childress' offense. Childress was criticized at times in Madison for that most common of fan complaints -- not throwing the football more. An ESPN profile of Childress from 2010 quoted Alvarez as calling his former underling Childress a "good communicator."
Childress was 40-37 with two playoff appearances in parts of five seasons with the Vikings, including a trip to the 2009 NFC Championship where they lost in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl-winning Saints. Prior to his tenure in Minnesota, Childress served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for seven seasons in Philadelphia (1999-2005), where he helped develop Donovan McNabb into a Pro Bowl quarterback. Childress was fired after a 3-7 start in 2010, and worked in broadcasting for a year before accepting the Browns job before last season.
Though his coaching resume' is not without its highlights, Childress is probably best known for his public rifts with Brett Favre in Minnesota and Terrell Owens in Philadelphia.
Also speculated to be among the potential candidates at Wisconsin is current Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was a starting QB at Wisconsin under Alvarez (with Childress as his position coach) in 1993 and 1994. Bevell went on to work for Childress as offensive coordinator with the Vikings from 2006-10.
