Pitt Coach Walt Harris and a full contingent of assistants were out recruiting this week. Looks like they were spending most of the time out of the area. This year, they don’t seem to have much of a choice but to look outside of the Pittsburgh area. The issues with coaches in the area have been well documented, and the fact that Harris’ up-in-the-air job status has most of the local coaches advising their kids to keep their options open (at best). Still the article mentions a couple local kids that seem to still like Pitt. And the last couple of paragraphs are filled with more optimism than I would have expected.
Upper St. Clair safety Sean Lee said there is a lot to like about Pitt, no matter who is coaching the Panthers. Lee also has offers from Penn State, Georgia Tech and Iowa, among others.
“They’re scrutinized non-stop, but those kids probably don’t see that,” Lee said of the Panthers. “You always look for a stable coaching situation – it doesn’t help them – but Pitt has a strong tradition, great facilities, it’s committed to winning and has a lot of young talent. Walt Harris got it to where it’s going to be a solid program from now on.”
The coach of Pitt’s most recent recruit, wide receiver Oderick Turner of Teaneck, N.J., was well aware that Harris is on the hot seat but fully confident that Pitt will continue its success.
“The biggest selling point is if Walt Harris isn’t the coach, the University of Pittsburgh won’t get just anybody to coach,” Teaneck coach Dennis Heck said. “Anybody they bring in will be a quality guy.”
We certainly hope so.
The Paul Zeise Q&A is not quite as interesting as some past ones, but the first 2 questions and their answers are worth reading:
Q: Isn’t it better to stay with coach Walt Harris then to switch coaches and end up with another “Majors” debacle?
ZEISE: Depends on what you are looking for. I have always said that Pitt could do a whole lot worse than Walt Harris and that the program is not nearly in as bad shape as some of you make it out to be. By the same token, at some point you need to start beating ranked teams and winning the conference and Pitt hasn’t done a great job at either under Harris. If you believe there is another level for Pitt to go to, well, then maybe a change is called for. But you are correct, there is a risk. You could end up with another Paul Hackett. But with no risk, there is no reward. You can maintain the status quo, have a solid program that goes to December bowls and be happy or take a shot at something bigger. And who is to say Harris can’t get this program to another level? Perhaps he can. These are all fair questions that need to be answered. Fortunately, I don’t have to be the one to answer them, the administration does. This is a tough call in some ways.
Q: With the softness of the schedule, isn’t it fair to say Walt Harris will be judged on the Nebraska, Boston College, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Syracuse results?
ZEISE: I think he’ll ultimately be judged on the West Virginia game. You can’t lose two in a row (2002 and this year) in front of sold out home crowds to your biggest rival. Also, given how weak the schedule is, if Pitt doesn’t win that game, what have they proven? That they can beat bad teams? We already knew that. The WVU game is worth millions of dollars for a lot of reasons and that is what the season will ultimately be judged.
That is interesting to me since I think most of us had already written off the WVU game. Given their inconsistency, though, Pitt better at least make it a battle. Dare I say, a brawl. Still the WVU game is at the end of the month, and there is a game on Saturday up in Syracuse.
A game that suddenly has a lot of importance for both sides. Syracuse, with its win over UConn yesterday, is now 4-4. With 3 games remaining — including one against Temple — it has a decent shot at reaching a bowl and perhaps saving Paul Pasqualoni’s job. Syracuse ends the season with a big grudge game against BC in Boston.
The team that loses this game, likely will be losing their head coach as well. While not nationally important (except that it would still keep Pitt in play to win the BE), this game is a big one. Some coaching chips could definitely shift.
Other Things — ACC
So, did John Bunting at UNC save his job with a huge win over Miami (heh). I think he may have. That was huge, and if so, the coaching carousel actually slows down a bit.
The Bowden (Terry? Tommy? George?) at Clemson scored a big win over NC St. I caught a little of the game, and have to nominate Clemson’s unis for the Oregon Award, Lee.
Jarring. That’s all I can say about them. When did they add those ugly bluish tops. I thought Clemson had the simple orange and white scheme.
