I’ve had a week to let the fiasco that was the Continental Tire Bowl work its way out of my system. I’m no longer thinking that wholesale changes need to be made to the Pitt coaching staff — there’s a lot I agree with in this Mike Pirusta column, but I disagree with his conclusion — though Harris and the Pitt coaches need to take a hard look at their in-game coaching and adjustments.
Walt Harris has been at Pitt since the 1997 season. I’d say after this year, it’s a safe bet that Walt won’t be lured away within the next couple of years. That’s fine, because he should have about 2 more years to make some more corrections and see how much further he can take Pitt football.*
As is oft repeated, he came here when it was seriously debated about dropping the program to Division II. Harris with AD Pedersen, the new facilities and much support from the administration helped to bring the program back. 1998 to 2000 saw the true rebuilding as the team started working its way out of the Rutgers and Temple district. The program took a step backwards when Harris tried to implement the spread offense on a team that was built for the pro set; and seemingly not aware that it usually takes a full year before a team actually functions effectively in the spread (see, West Virginia in 2001 versus 2002). Harris learned, though, and has not tried to reimplement the spread. 2002 saw the team make real progress and led to real expectations for Pitt.
This year, clearly, the team took a step backwards. This was a down year in the Big East (as evidenced by the bowl performances), and Pitt had the position talent to compete. (Actually, and excuse the digression, this was a down year in college football. I mean, this was parity hell. Is it any wonder the MAC looked so good this year? There proved to be no truly unbeatable teams. This has been a rather bland year for college football.) What no one realized was that the offensive line was so weak, and the defense was no where near what it had been. This exposed a real weakness for Harris — failing to recruit and develop linemen. No one noticed until this year, because Pitt had so many other areas to develop, and the expectations weren’t there. This year it bit them on the ass. Pitt didn’t come close to matching anybody’s expectations. But for Virginia Tech, Pitt would have been the most disappointing team in the Big East.
Harris prizes his reputation as an “offensive genius.” Sadly, for him, you can’t be much of a genius if the line doesn’t give you a chance to execute the plays; if your quarterback is running for his life and has no chance to look downfield; if the line can’t give any penetration or open a hole for the running game.
Harris now knows he can’t scheme and work around weak line play. He needs to make improvements there. He needs to make it a vital recruiting area and have very strong coaching and teaching for the position.
The plain fact is that Pitt can’t make another change right now. In 2003, the school lost its AD and basketball coach. Not to mention the whole ACC raid on the Big East crap. The AD and b-ball coaching searches were completely botched and embarrassing to watch. There has been enough turmoil that some relative calm would be recommended. Besides, new AD Jeff Long, probably doesn’t have the juice or the stones to fire Harris right now — especially with what appears to be a very, very good recruiting class coming.
* I reserve the right to change my mind on this come the 2004 season if I see no changes in the team’s approach to line play, tackling, and game adjustments.
