Wolf Pack defensive coordinator Andy Buh slept on it Wednesday night. When he woke up, he decided it was time to move on.
Buh told Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault on Thursday morning he will, in fact, leave the Wolf Pack to become Wisconsin's linebackers coach.
The move came after the Wolf Pack made a late push to keep Buh coaching at his alma mater in the silver and blue.
"I hate to see Andy go because he did a nice job and was an accountable defensive coordinator for me," Ault said. "We did have some long, long extended talks, but in the end he thought this was the best move for him."
Although Nevada never offered Buh a "coaching in waiting tag," Ault said he discussed with the former Wolf Pack linebacker the potential to one day replace him as the program's head coach.
"We talked about the opportunities down the road when I get out of coaching," Ault said. "There's no doubt that I would like to see somebody from my staff take over after I retire. We broached that subject. It was something we talked about, but it wasn't anything concrete. That's actually something I talked about with my staff a year ago."
During his two years at Nevada, the 38-year-old Buh helped turn around a Wolf Pack defense that was one of the worst in the nation prior to his arrival.
Buh, who also has coached at Cal, Stanford and San Diego State, is considered one of the top young defensive coaches in the game. He also drew interest from Washington State as the Cougars' potential defensive coordinator earlier this month.
While the move from Wolf Pack defensive coordinator to Wisconsin linebackers coach might seem like a backwards step, it gets Buh to one of the top programs in the nation. He also will likely get a raise. According to the USA Today coaching salary database, Buh made $174,002 as Nevada's defensive coordinator last season. Dave Huxtable, who was Wisconsin's linebackers coach last season, made $190,000 and also received a $58,500 bonus in 2011.
"Let me tell you this about Andy Buh," Ault said. "He's not going to Wisconsin for the money. He's going there for professional advancement. He's a young guy. I don't like when I lose coaches, but Andy left with my blessing."
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Ault said Buh would stay with the Wolf Pack staff through prep signing day, which is Feb. 1. Ault also added that he wouldn't make any hires until after that Feb. 1 signing day. The focus now is on recruiting.
When he does hire a coordinator, Ault said he may look at his current staff. All four of the Wolf Pack defensive position coaches -- ends coach Ken Wilson, tackles coach Barry Sacks, secondary coach Mike Bradeson and cornerbacks coach James Ward -- have been Division I defensive coordinators. Ault said he'll meet with his staff after the recruiting period to see if he wants to hire within or go outside for the coordinator.
"That's the big question," Ault said. "I like our defensive coaches because they're very knowledgeable. I've got some interesting opportunities within our staff. I need a chance to think about it. This just happened."
Ault said one of the reasons to hire from within would be to maintain consistency. The Wolf Pack has had 14 defensive coordinators in Ault's 27 years as a head coach.
Nevada also has lost five assistant coaches in the past three seasons, including two this month. In addition to the loss of Buh, offensive line coach Cameron Norcross took a job at Fresno State last week.
While he admitted it was frustrating to lose assistants, Ault said it's a way of life for non-BCS teams. Ault said he could envision a scenario in which Buh returns to Nevada one day.
"Andy loves this place," Ault said. "He knows how I feel about him. He's Wolf Pack. He just has a little red on him now."
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