University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema, who has lost two assistant coaches in the last week, no longer has to worry about offensive coordinator Paul Chryst going to Purdue.

Multiple sources indicated Chryst no longer is a candidate to replace Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller, with Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope emerging as the likely choice.

One source said Chryst pulled his name out of consideration, after being the top choice of Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke.

Burke's transition plan was to have the new coach on Tiller's staff in 2008, then take over the following year. Tiller needs two more wins to become Purdue's all-time winningest coach.

To make room for Chryst, one of the current members of Tiller's staff probably would have to be let go. That's something that bothered Chryst and is believed to have been a factor in his decision not to further pursue the job.

Burke thought enough of Chryst that he and his wife apparently met with Chryst and his wife, according to a source.

Hope is a former offensive line coach at Purdue under Tiller from 1997 to 2001 and spent the past five years at Eastern Kentucky, a Football Championship Subdivision school that finished 9-3 and ranked 13th in the final FCS poll in 2007.

UW defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz was fired by Bielema late last week, while offensive line coach Bob Palcic left on Monday to take the same job at UCLA.

Bielema was supposed to address the coaching changes Wednesday, but instead sent out a four-paragraph statement that acknowledged Palcic's departure and chided the media for their reporting in recent days.

"Part of having success as a football program is having good coaches," Bielema said in the statement. "Those coaches sometimes move on to positions with other programs or teams. I appreciate the work Bob did here at Wisconsin and I wish him and his wife, Theresa, well at UCLA.

"I know that the assistant coaches I hire may leave our program at some point and I have a plan in place when they do. That is the case with coach Palcic's position and when the time is appropriate and university policies allow, I will make that announcement."

Tight ends coach and run game coordinator Bob Bostad, who coached the offensive line at New Mexico from 1999 to 2005, is the likely choice to replace Palcic.

Bielema, who has not made himself available to the media to discuss the staff changes, made no mention of the firing of Hankwitz, who was the team's defensive coordinator the last two years. Co-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren likely will take over full control of the defense.

"Personnel decisions in our program are made when the time is appropriate," Bielema said in the statement. "They are not made in response to media speculation, anonymous sources, rumors or gossip — all of which has been in great supply in recent days."

In the statement, Bielema also confirmed junior cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu was leaving for the NFL.