In 1989, both Barry Alvarez and John Palermo were coaches under Lou Holtz at Notre Dame with Alvarez the defensive coordinator, and Palermo the defensive line coach. Both left South Bend after losing in the Orange Bowl to pursue head coaching jobs. Though Alvarez took over a 2-9 Wisconsin club, Palermo had the harder challenge. He inherited an 0-11 Austin Peay State club, and at the end of Palermo's first season the Governors were exactly where they were when he started, at 0-11.
Palermo was swooped up by Alvarez, taking over as the UW outside linebacker coach. Now, as assistant head coach and defensive line coach, Palermo will join Alvarez in stepping out of the Madison spotlight at the end of the season.
'I've had a lot invested in this program the last 15 years,' Palermo said. 'I often said when Barry stepped down, I probably will too.'
Palermo, whose entire 2004 defensive line was drafted in the 2005 NFL draft, does not know what is in store for him following this season.
'I've had some people here in Wisconsin that have offered me a job, and I'll look into those things and see if they fit me. Or if the right coaching opportunity comes up,' Palermo said. 'I'm trying to just sit back and see how things play out.'
What Palermo does know is that his concentration is still on the season at hand right now. He has two games left with the team he has spent most of his coaching career with, and he wants to make the best of them.
'I'm more interested right now in coaching the kids and making sure we beat Hawaii and making sure we go to a good bowl game and win,' Palermo said. 'That's really what I'm focused on, to tell you the truth, more than anything else right now.'
The decision by Palermo coincides with the graduation of his son, Jason, an offensive lineman for the Badgers, at the end of the school year. Still, Palermo insists that Jason's commencement has little to do with his choice to step down.
'I don't think it really had any affect on it. It just seemed like a good time,' Palermo said.
But the thrill of being close to his family has been terrific for Palermo.
'To have your kids go to the same school for a number of years,' Palermo said. 'My daughter [Jessica] is off at Oshkosh. My son's graduating from here. I don't know that a man can ask for more than that.'
To Palermo, one of the most important things about coaching was his players. He was able to coach successful players like consensus All-American Erasmus James, the 2002 12th overall draft pick Wendell Bryant and UW's career sack leader Tarek Saleh.
Palermo broke the news to his players following the disappointing 20-10 loss to Iowa. He waited until then to assure that he would take nothing away from the departure of Alvarez and the celebration of his career.
'I didn't want to say anything until after Saturday's game, because Saturday belonged to coach Alvarez and the seniors,' Palermo said. 'After the game, I just told the kids, I said, 'Guys, I don't think I'm going to come back next year.''
His players, still glazed over after the upsetting defeat, were unable to offer much of a reaction to his departure.
'It didn't seem like they were emotional at the time, off a hard loss, it was tough on all of us,' Palermo said. 'But since then, I've gotten emails from parents saying it was tough, it was emotional for them. I'm sure they had to sit back and reflect on things.'
In terms of recruiting, Palermo has been integral for the team, being one of the main recruiters on the east coast. Prior to his 2005 campaign with the Badgers, already contemplating stepping down, Palermo did not think it best to include himself in the recruiting process.
'I wasn't sure I'd be coming back next year,' Palermo said. 'And because of that, I wasn't going to get involved in recruiting heavily. Because your name is the only thing that you have, and I didn't want to tarnish that back east.'
Tarnishing his name in Wisconsin would be very hard to do. Over the past 15 years, Palermo has earned the respect of his players, his fellow coaches and the fans. For the coach, though, he said that sometimes you just know when to call it quits.
'Sometimes,' he said, 'it's just time to go.'
