Well, Pitt lowballed Harris to force him to leave:
Harris met last week with Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Long, but the school didn’t offer him an extension for more than the close to $600,000 he was earning. Pitt sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko campaigned for the school to keep him.
“I have accepted Walt Harris’ resignation from the University of Pittsburgh so that he can accept the same position at Stanford University,” Long said in a statement Sunday. “During his eight years at Pittsburgh, Coach Harris has done an exceptional job revitalizing our program both athletically and academically. We are grateful for those efforts and wish him the very best in his new position at Stanford.”
Hopefully the Pitt won’t try to insult our intelligence too much in the future and claim they wanted him to stay. I’m sure there will be attempts at revision down the road, but attempts to spin it that way now would be foolish. Here’s a timeline of key moments during Harris’ tenure.
Harris very openly admitted he wanted to stay at Pitt. The school chose otherwise. Bendel makes a very good point about Harris having taken the high road all season long.
Pitt coach Walt Harris gathered his players and assistants at the indoor practice facility on the South Side on Sunday and gave them emotion-tugging news:
He had accepted the coaching job at Stanford.
The 15-minute meeting ended with Harris walking out the doors and being greeted with a “congratulations,” from a bystander. Harris shook his head and said, “I don’t want congratulations.”
…
In yesterday’s meeting, Harris told the players and his assistants that he would have preferred to remain at Pitt, but he ran out of options when it became clear that he would not receive an extension of his contract, which runs through the 2006 season.
…
Harris also absorbed heavy criticism for some of his play-calling, including his “slide” call in a loss at Connecticut this season. Yet, he never reacted publicly to any of his critics, including talk-show callers, internet posters and columnists. He stayed the course and turned the season around, as Palko emerged as a bona fide star.
The press conference is at 6pm in California. The Pitt spin press conference is at 3pm.
The speculation is who gets the job next. Names are already being bandied about.
Regarding the coach search, read Smizik today. I agree with him. You know that doesn’t happen often. Not just the obvious — Pitt needs to get this right — but this part.
In replacing Harris, Pitt can not be hung up on hiring a coach who will be eager and willing to spend all of his career there. No college likes to think of its head coaching job as a stepping-stone, but, in fact, almost all jobs are just that. Some are stepping-stones to better college jobs, some to NFL jobs.
To hire a coach who wants to spend the rest of his career at Pitt could mean hiring a coach who’s not willing to reach for greatness.
A key to who Pitt hires will be how much it’s willing to pay. Salaries in excess of $1 million are not uncommon in college football. If Pitt wants someone with a proven track record, it will have to commit to such a salary. Finances should not be a concern. You get what you pay for. The right coach will bring in a lot more than he’s paid.
Pitt has had the advantage of knowing for a long time that in almost all certainty it would be seeking a new coach. Some of the exploratory work should have been done. It’s possible, in fact, Pitt already has its man.
I can only hope that the last bit is true. That the school has actually been preparing. Yet, I have serious doubts about that.
Regarding some of the names, I don’t have opinions on all, but I will list a few and what my impulse says:
Paul Rhoads: NO!!!!
Dave Wannstedt: Worth a shot, if Pitt coughs up the cash to pay him and the assistants he will need.
Russ Grimm: He seems to be looking, and considered mainly for the NFL.
Bo Pelini: I could live with it. He’s ambitious and driven.
Sal Sunseri: I just don’t know.
Bob Davie: Mixed feelings. Knows football, and a decent recruiter, but if you are talking about reaching the next level is he really the guy?
Tom Clements: Just because ND showed some interest in him, does not make him a hot commodity.
Tom Bradley: Plenty of irony. Not sure it would happen because of fears he could ultimately leave to take over PSU. Though the idea of it sparking some sort of modern day coaching feud (Woody-Bo; Knight-Krzyzewski) would be appealing.
Rick Neuheisel: Win, but at what price? Not a fan. My feelings can be found here.
Now, if it were me, I would like to take a hard look at some guys in the MAC. Jim Novak at Northern Illinois, Tom Amstutz at Toledo and Terry Hoeppner at Miami (Ohio) all should be considered.
We will be watching closely.
