In light of Nebraska Athletic Director, Steve Pederson, firing Frank Solich as head coach of football; there is the usual speculation as to who will get the job. Harris’s name has been mentioned often. His main qualification seems to be that Pederson (when he was the Pitt AD) hired him at Pitt.
I’ll spare you any suspense: no, Walt isn’t going to Nebraska.
Solich was fired because recruiting was falling off, he was often being outcoached, and he couldn’t win the big conference games — Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas St.
Harris could definitely help on the recruiting, but even there the questions abound about Pitt’s lack of good linemen (offense and defense) that is the lifeblood of any successful program (and even more important to HuskerNation).
If the Panthers are going to become one of the elite teams in Division I-A, they will have to make a big improvement on both line. That means recruiting better linemen, something they have struggled to do in recent years.
There are four freshman from Ohio who redshirted this year who should provide some help on the offensive line, but there doesn’t appear to be many answers within the program for the defensive line.
Here’s a damning number — 2. That is the total number of linemen drafted from Pitt under Harris.
n short, the Panthers could not get it done in the trenches. And, when you look at past history, perhaps that shouldn’t be a shock. In his seven years, Harris has had just one offensive lineman drafted — Bryan Anderson in the seventh and final round this past April — and just on defensive lineman selected — end Bryan Knight in the fifth round in 2002.
As for the other two areas game coaching and big wins, well Harris hasn’t shown much to merit the Nebraska job at this point.
Harris is on the list because people need a list, and he’s an easy name to write down.
A lot of people think Bo Pelini will get the interim tag removed. In Lincoln, they are still trying to get a handle on Pederson.
I think Pelini is a solid candidate to replace Solich, but his lack of head-coaching experience could be an issue.
Also at issue is Pederson’s fondness for surprising people. He likes to wow folks with the unexpected.
His hiring of Northern Arizona’s Ben Howland as men’s basketball coach at Pittsburgh was a shock to many Panther fans, but it turned out to be a brilliant move.
Another of Pederson’s hires at Pittsburgh, football coach Walt Harris, has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Solich.
Don’t bank on that one, and whatever you do, don’t bet against Bo.
Nebraska still doesn’t know how good a hire Pederson was.
