… as if to catch its breath.
A little too much?
Okay. Embattled AD Steve Pederson in a rare display of openness had a limited media conference call to talk about the coaching search among other things.
The university’s search process this time is different than the way they conducted the first search, which led the university to hire former Miami (Ohio) coach Michael Haywood — who was fired on Jan. 1st, a day after being arrested on charges of domestic battery.
“We have created a small team who will assist in the initial interview process,” Pederson said. “We are meeting potential candidates in a first round, then we will identify a smaller number of candidates from that poll who will brought to campus to participate in further interviews with a group that includes the chancellor [Mark Nordenberg].
“We want to move swiftly, but we have no timeline for completion of the process and we want to make sure we find the right person to lead this program but do so in a timely manner.”
The small group conducting the initial interviews includes Pederson, Executive Associate Athletic Director Donna Sanft and Executive Vice Chancellor Jerry Cochran.
Pederson said the fact that there will be a second round of interviews means that no candidate will be hired — or even offered the job — until the group of finalists are identified and have all had a chance to meet with and interview with Nordenberg.
If this is accurate, then by all accounts the first round concluded with interviews of Tom Bradley, Paul Chryst, Todd Graham, Teryl Austin, Mario Cristobal, and Sal Sunseri.
Most of us believe that the list will (or should be) be narrowed to Bradley, Chryst and Graham.
Back to the Pederson teleconference. He also made the concession to reality that Wannstedt was fired.
When asked if it was fair to say that the Dave Wannstedt, the man Haywood replaced, was fired because he didn’t win enough games, Pederson responded that “expectations are and should be for this program to compete at a championship level.”
It is the first time he has acknowledged publicly that the administration did indeed force Wannstedt to resign and that Wannstedt’s lack of winning Big East championships was a part of that decision.
Pederson said all of the candidates he has met with over the past month have been extremely receptive to the idea of having high expectations and all believe that Pitt can play at a much higher level than they’ve achieved in recent years.
Yeah, well any candidate that said. “No, I think Pitt is pretty much maxed out,” probably would kill the mood.
On the subject of fans, alum, and donors calling for his head, he chalked it up to being the point guy on making tough decisions. Uh-huh. Right.
He also defended the process that led to Haywood and the debacle.
Pederson enlisted the aid of a respected firm, Parker Executive Search, to help form a list of candidates, and also used a company, Kroll, Inc., that specializes in criminal backround checks.
“And that report came back clean, Pederson said.
“In addition to (Parker’s) detailed due diligence, we also made numerous calls for reference checking — LSU, Texas, Notre Dame and Miami, Ohio,” he said, listing Haywood’s previous coaching stops.
“Nothing remotely related to this type of incident surfaced in all of our checking. In fact, the reports came back extremely positive. … It’s hard to account for the unfortunate circumstances that occurred on New Year’s Eve. Now we’re moving forward with the search where due diligence will again be the highest priority.”
Not touching this.
So, it would seem that all is in a momentary pause. Yeah, right.
From a UConn beat writer, Tom Bradley’s trip to UConn for an interview was postponed. It was supposed to be Friday, but… — Oh crap. Not again.
Dustin Fox is a former Buckeye player. And a minor contributor/analyst for radio and TV here in the Cleveland-area. As for his sources…
And…
Yeah. I’m not buyin’ it either. Just bad craziness.
Then there is Todd Graham. Guess who it may or may not have been in Atlanta?
A report on Pantherlair.com says Pittsburgh Athletic Director Steve Pederson was in Atlanta Thursday to speak with Graham, who is on a recruiting trip.
NewsChannel 8 spoke with just about the closest source to Graham possible — his wife Penny, who tells us her husband is here in Tulsa and is having a dinner here tonight with boosters and staff to celebrate last month’s big bowl victory.
Might have a better idea as to what is happening with Graham before the weekend is out. He is scheduled to do an on-air interview with this station on Sunday night. If he cancels, then there might be something.
As always, try to take all info with the requisite gimlet eye. And if possible, a bit of surrealist comedy.
Anyway, once you discount Saturday as a date of meaning, there is no other reason to make this decision with haste. Once the bowl game is over, nobody but us will be talking about Pitt. The damage with all of the constituencies has been done and there is no near term fix to allay any or all of them. The recruits have abandoned ship and a hasty decision on the coach won’t make that any better in the short term either.
So, I, reluctantly to be sure, have come to terms with reality and agree with Smizik. They do need to take their time and make the right choice. I don’t see this dragging on for much longer and once the hire is made, the healing will begin. Meanwhile, I will come the this blog for updates as I have concluded Zeise’s hyperbole is bad for my health.
The more Steve Pederson talks, the more I despise him.
I am guessing that one of two things has happened:
1.) They know who their guy is (Bradley or otherwise) and they are delaying any announcement until after the bowl game while woeking out a contract.
2.) They are working out contracts with 4 or 5 coaches and will ultimately go with the lowest bidder in typical Pitt fashion. I wonder if Stevie got a performance bonus last year?
These are supposed to be highly intelligent people working for one of the best universities in the country and this is the way they conduct business?
I also think Pitt needs to interview Keeler. Guy is a winner.
But he didn’t and that’s why he’s got to go and be replaced by Tom Beckett, current Yale AD and past Pitt athlete and coach.
Its a nice thought that Bradley could go John Wayne and blast the hiring process but at the end of the day that lands him right back where he started and he loses some credibility. He is doing the right thing by keeping quiet and who knows what they’ve told him behind closed doors.
I do agree though that he should interview at Uconn, if nothing else force Pitt to make a decision or gain some leverage in negotiating.
If he does not do this and the process goes awry for him, Pitt will float some semi negative things out to the media about Bradley that will not be favorable for him. He should strike first so that if it does go awry, he can spin it favorably for himself. Again, any guy that is a leader will take this approach.
Not only are we losing recruits but we are starting to lose current players.
One other thing Shell will have to deal with more next year is recruiting pressure. He has scholarship offers from schools across the country and doubts whether he will make a decision before the start of his senior season.
“Right now, my top five would probably be Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, Alabama and Oregon,” Shell said.
Not all that long ago Shell listed Pitt among his favorites and not Penn State.
He said he now has Penn State on his list of top schools mainly because of the relationship he has developed with Penn State assistant Tom Bradley.
The coaching change at Pitt has affected Shell’s thinking some, but he added: “They’re still one of my schools just because it’s at home. I still have to figure out some things and talk to the new coach there. I’ll see what my relationship is with him.”
Just sayin’.
Pitt is really CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The admiistration wants a first class program and refuses to pay first class wages to a coach and the staff.
LOL
I’m all for taking some time and getting the right coach. (who I think seems to be Bradley) The embarrassment will be short lived from everyone except for ourselves and WVU.
We used to be the laughing stock of NCAA Football. We are now the laughing stock of the entire sports world!
link to blogs.sites.post-gazette.com
What is up with Lewis wanting to jump to the NFL without first learning who is coach (and offensive scheme) might be? That has Wanny written all over it (including the Hynosky thing). So let me get this straight. Wanny…
1) Delays the announcement that he will not coach in the bowl for 3 weeks
2) call a press conversation to tell the world (or at least a handful of reporters) that HE said no to PITT
3) Has serveral underclassman (not just rising seniors but sophomores) leaving early from PITT
Wannstedt is a class act for sure.
In any case, as anxious as I am to see this thing come to an end, my gut is telling me that a final decision may be closer than Pederson let on yesterday.
BTW, this process isn’t making Pitt a laughing stock, it was the dealings of the previous month. If they had followed this process the last time…
I certainly understand what you are saying, but I would advise a son or friend to get out as much as I love Pitt. I’ve been a huge fan since 76 and it they don’t go Bradley or Austin I’m done (my wife doesn’t believe it). Pederson is a cancer, cut it out.
FU Pederson
Laughing stock of the sports world? The Pittsburgh Pirates are on Line 1, sir. They’d like a word.
That picture of him on the PG website holding up the Haywood jersey with a huge smile is a classic. By the way, Haywood has the same facial expression as in his mugshot. Pederson could hire Bear Bryant from the dead and he can still never live down that haywood picture.
1. Regarding the player departures, it’s no different than the rrcruits leaving. This had to be expected to some degree, and this sort of thing happens with any program making a coaching change. As much as it sucks, a new coach isn’t going to be for everyone.
2. Most of us were saying at the beginning of the season that Lewis was likely to leave after this year, so I’m not entirely surprised there, outside of the fact that he didn’t wait until this new coach was named. Then again, Pinkston’s gone and maybe he thinks the O-line won’t be as good even if he suited a new offense. Nevertheless, I still can’t say I blame him given what happened to Romeus this year.
3. Hynoski only had one year left, and given his ability to run, catch the ball out of the backfield and block, he probably projects as one of the better FBs in this draft class, let alone next year’s. There are a number of teams in the NFL that still make use of a FB, but for the most part, these guys tend to have a ceiling as far as when they’ll be drafted (see recent higher-profile examples like Owen Schmitt, Jacob Hester, Peyton Hillis, etc.). About the best they can typically expect to go is the 4th/5th round. Chances are that’s not going to change from Hynoski if he comes back. Hate to see him leave as he’s one of my favorite players on the team and is said to be one of the leaders in the locker room, but I can’t blame him as well.
4. I tend to agree with what Bowling Green Panther and Wally said above. We all wanted Pitt to take their time the first time around and get the right guy; now they can’t move quickly enough. We all wanted them to leave no stone unturned the first time around; now we want them to move as quickly as possible on a short list.
It doesn’t bother me that it’s taken a few days for them to get to this point, or that they’re checking under a bunch of different rocks. The key element to this hire is that it’s the right one. Time is of the essence here, but they’re doing now exactly what many of us said they needed to do the first time, and even after the Haywood news broke just a week ago.
Despite reports of guys like Roman and Cristobal out there, they’ve already established a heirarchy and have this down to a couple of guys. The fact that they’ve already cut Chryst out of the running seems to say as much. Given how late we’re hearing about Cristobal and Roman, they don’t seem to be in a hurry to get either of them here before Sunday.
Reading between the lines and considering the upcoming calender, my guess is that is down to Bradley and Graham, and they’re in the final stages of this thing. Bradley has reportedly put off a visit to UConn until Sunday to allow Pitt more time; it’s clear what he wants. Graham has reportedly gotten or will get the 2nd interview. No one knows if Cristobal has even interviewed, and Roman isn’t scheduled to come in for his 1st until Sunday, an appointment that can easily be cancelled if Pitt makes a decision on Bradley or Graham.
We know very little about where this actually stands and even less about the actual processes or discussions involved, but based off what media types can confirm about who they’ve talked to when, chances are this will not drag out much further than this weekend, Monday at the latest.
His defense was 5th in the FBS and offense was first
Additionally the Blue Hens beat Navy in 2007. That was the year Navy beat us at home.