I think, unless the Badgers strike gold with the next hire... many will look back fondly on Bret's years here and will regret not embracing the success he achieved. Bemoan the Rose Bowl loses all you want, but few teams would have provided the game to Oregon that the Badgers did. TCU simply out coached Bret and Chryst in terms of the chess match of TCU's Defense vs Wisconsin's Offense. They used speed to chase down the outside runs.. but neither Chryst nor Bret adjusted. But that was a single game and they realized they had an issue at QB and resolved it last year. They also netted a QB out of CA moving forward.
Sure he made time management mistakes and might have spoken out of turn at times.. but the guy brought passion and drive to the program.
I am disappointed he chose to leave, especially in this context, but it isn't like he was beloved back a good portion of the fan base. He made a choice and didn't screw around doing it.