It's over. The eight month coaching search, something I wouldn't wish on almost anybody, is finally over.

I said each week on the coaching tracker that coaching searches often result in somebody completely out of left field. And lo and behold, we get Bret Bielema, someone basically completely unexpected.

Arkansas just hired the man responsible for taking Wisconsin to three straight Rose Bowls (well, two, if you give credit to Ohio State's tatoo scandal and the Penn State demise-either way, impressive) and has a 68-24 overall record. He also defeated the Razorbacks in that miserable Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day 2007. The Badgers most recently hung 70 points on Nebraska in the Big 10 Championship Game.

Wisconsin has been a program based on a power running game (most recently with Montee Ball) with giant linemen such as recent first round draft picks Kevin Zeitler and Gabe Carimi.

We'll have more on Bielema's coaching and recruiting philosophies in the coming days.

In other news, Auburn hired Gus Malzahn.