Jon Budmayr leaving Wisconsin to become Colorado State’s offensive coordinator

Jon Budmayr has spent 10 of the past 12 football seasons working closely with Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst, either as a player or assistant coach.

Budmayr, a 2009 Marian Central graduate, went to Wisconsin as a quarterback and connected with Chryst, then the Badgers offensive coordinator, right away.

When Chryst took Pittsburgh’s head coaching job, he brought Budmayr for one season as a graduate assistant. When Chryst returned to Wisconsin as head coach, Budmayr came back with him.

Now, Budmayr is leaving Madison to move up the coaching ranks. After serving as Wisconsin’s quarterbacks coach for three seasons, Budmayr will be Colorado State’s offensive coordinator. Footballscoop.com reported the news first.

Budmayr will join Rams coach Steve Addazio’s staff, replacing Joey Lynch, who accepted the offensive coordinator position at Vanderbilt.

Dirk Stanger was Marian Central’s offensive coordinator when Budmayr was the Hurricanes quarterback. Budmayr started as a freshman and helped Marian to the 2006 Class 5A state championship game and the 2007 semifinals.

The hiring had not formally been announced by Colorado State as of Thursday afternoon. A call to Budmayr was not immediately returned.

“It’s a great opportunity. I’m excited to see him as an offensive coordinator, calling plays,” said Stanger, now the offensive coordinator at Crystal Lake Central. “It’s something he’s always wanted to do. It was a tough decision because he’s so close to Paul, but change is not a bad thing. I think (Budmayr) hit it off with (Addazio) very well.”

The connection was deep with Budmayr and Chryst, who played with Marian graduate Andy Hartlieb in the 1980s at Wisconsin. Chryst was in Hartlieb’s wedding, and Budmayr is married to Hartlieb’s daughter, Kaitlyn. They had their first child, a daughter (Sienna) last year.

Budmayr thrived his sophomore and junior seasons in high school, but suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter of his senior season (2008). With him running the offense, the Hurricanes would have been a threat to win the Class 5A state title.

Budmayr’s playing career at Wisconsin was derailed with more injuries, but he used that as a jumpstart to his coaching career, working two seasons as a student assistant coach. When Budmayr returned from Pitt with Chryst, he worked one season as a graduate assistant and two as an offensive quality control assistant, then took over as quarterbacks coach.

“Jon’s had a lot of inquiries, some from NFL teams to work with quarterbacks, and other opportunities,” Stanger said. “This isn’t the first time, so it must have been a good opportunity.”