Nick Herbig is having a hard time getting over the firing of former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst.

Chryst was fired after Wisconsin’s 34-10 loss to Illinois in Week 5. The loss sent Wisconsin to a 2-3 regular season record through 5 weeks. In his 8th season as the team’s head coach, Wisconsin decided to part ways with Chryst.

Luckily for defensive players like Herbig, Wisconsin tapped defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The players are familiar with Leonhard and he has been with Chryst’s program since 2016.

Even with Leonhard running the program for the remainder of the season, Herbig discussed what it was like losing Chryst:

“Coach Chryst has been my head coach since I stepped foot on this campus. He’s a mentor, he’s one of my best friends, he’s a guy I look up to,” Herbig said. “I know all the guys in the locker room miss him, all the coaches miss him.”

It was difficult for the program to see Chryst leave in the middle of the season. Herbig explained why team still loves Chryst:

“He has been a mentor for coach Leonhard as well. Coach Leonhard is taking over, reiterating that we’re still playing for coach Chryst. It is still his team. We’re still his guys. He still loves us. We still love him.”

In the 1st game without Chryst, Wisconsin will look to beat Northwestern.