I’m going to let go of the decision to promote House to defensive coordinator soon. I don’t like the decision, but I’m not going to spend the next six months angsting over it. And I sure won’t be rooting for it to fail. But it is only fair to try and articulate some more of why I find this a bad decision by Coach Paul Chryst. Not simply reducing it to House’s lack of experience, or whether Pitt was being cheap, or Chryst valued familiarity and comfort higher than experience and past performance.

When I broke down the connections of the staff to Chryst, I also took note of their overall experience. Particularly how there were several very experienced coaches and then very inexperienced coaches. And few somewhere in-between in experience.

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Over the weekend while rumors percolated that House was looking more and more likely to be promoted to the DC postion; I noted on twitter that it seemed to be the sort of move that feeds the perception that Coach Paul Chryst only wanted to hire/work with other coaches that he knew on a personal level.

That assumption was challenged. Actually, it was disputed with the claim that “several Pitt coaches” never worked with Chryst. So, I wanted to be fair. Maybe it was merely my own mistaken perception. Maybe the whole Wisconsin in Pittsburgh meme got carried too far and created a false reality. I figured it was time to review the coaching staff and find see what reality says.

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You’re doing it wrong, Pitt. You release bad news — or at least controversial news — on a Friday sometime around 5pm Eastern. Especially on a holiday weekend. You don’t do it on that Monday. And certainly not when there is a big basketball game slated for national TV and rather than have the Pitt fans fired up for the game, they are debating the long-awaited hire of a new defensive coordinator.

By now, almost everyone is aware, Pitt has promoted Matt House from secondary coach to the defensive coordinator position.

House, who will narrow his positional focus to the safeties this season, joined Chryst’s staff last year after working with the NFL’s St. Louis Rams (2009-11) and Carolina Panthers (2008). He previously held collegiate coaching posts at Michigan State, North Carolina, Gardner-Webb and Buffalo.

“I was very impressed by Matt’s work last year in the secondary,” Chryst said. “He has been a great fit for our program as a coach, recruiter and teacher of the game. His experiences and work ethic have more than prepared him for this opportunity to be a coordinator.”

It was a move that had been rumored for the past month in some form or another. House is not yet 35 and what makes this move subject to many questions is his paucity of experience. He started out at his alma mater, Michigan St., as a grad assistant for two years. Then it was two years as a “defensive assistant” at UNC. A year at Gardner-Webb. Then two years at Buffalo. Never beyond a position coach.

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Fine, I’ll indulge in this. If for no other reason than to provide a post that is actually on the topic. Damn, the fact that Pitt basketball is off until Saturday!

No puffs of smoke from the South Side indicating that any hirings have been made for the DC position.

There are names drifting about, but it is also clear that no one is really sure how serious either side is in the gig. Pitt and Coach Chryst really have a handle on leaks. Government agencies could learn a few things from this.

Keep in mind, these are just rumored names. Don’t treat them as facts. Try not to freak out on the speculation too much. Please?

Here are the names:

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I have to be honest. I haven’t thought or worried too much about the vacant defensive coordinator position. It isn’t that I don’t want to get it resolved. And obviously I want Coach Chryst to hire someone who is very good at his job (not to mention above average as a recruiter).

It is just that I really didn’t expect a new DC to be hired until after signing day. Most rumors and reports suggested/hinted/implied that Coach Chryst was going to be waiting until after this week to really move on the hire. So it seemed silly to wonder, angst and provide calorie-free updates when there really was no information or expectations.

Well, now we are reaching the point where a hire is going to be made and must be made. Coach Chryst has acknowledged as much during his signing day presser.

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I’ll keep this short. No really. Last year in the search for the next Pitt football coach it appeared to come down to Mario Cristobal or Paul Chryst. I was leaning more towards Cristobal because of how far he had brought FIU in just a few years plus his recruiting ties to Miami and actual head coach experience.

The big negative against him were the suggestions that he really wanted to stay in the Miami area. That at the least he was just using the interest as a way to improve his money from FIU. The fact that he would likely bolt at the first chance if the Miami job (his alma mater) came open.  It seemed to me that too many were using that as primarily in light of the nature and brevity of the Fraud Graham tenure. Especially in relation to Cristobal’s wife.

Well, fast forward a year and FIU inexplicably fired Cristobal after one down season (that included a lot of injuries). And the FIU firing makes less sense when you realize they replaced Cristobal with Ron Turner. About the only thing that explains the stupidity, is that FIU AD Pete Garcia is the same guy who thought hiring Isiah Thomas to be a college basketball coach was a good idea.

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I’ve been waiting to write something on PITT football until there was actually something to write about.  There still isn’t anything really but it’s time to get back into the pigskin mode as we’ve less than a week until the bowl game.  PITT vs Ole Miss – a match up made in heaven, maybe.

I’m not a big fan of bowl games like some people are.  I understand that it is a reward for having a non-losing season… which sounds like crap when you think about it.  Let’s be honest, 80% of the bowl mean nothing at all, and those are the ones PITT has found itself in for the last 30 years.  So it really isn’t a reward but a chance to extend the season by one game for TV money and to get the school’s fans and players one more weekend.

Not to begrudge the players any perks they can get.  These kids work extremely hard from April through January and deserve being pampered on what is actually a working vacation.

So usually I don’t get too excited about these bowl games.  My emphasis has always been on the regular season’s quality of play and won/loss record.  That may sound hypocritical because those two things lead directly to a bowl but IMO the meat of the football season are those 13 games, especially the conference ones.

However this season I find myself more nervous than usual going into the week before PITT’s bowl game.  Why?  Because I think for the first time in a long time the results of this game will have a stronger impact on the program than bowls have had in the past.

But specifically it is about recruiting and the impact of how a program is perceived has on recruiting.

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Well, my son is running a fever today. Which means I’m taking a sick day as well. (Hence the slew of posts.)

Today, Wisconsin officially hires Gary Andersen from Utah State. Wisconsin fans like the fact that Andersen was a candidate, and they seem very pleased with the hire. By most accounts, the hire was considered to be an excellent move.

A coach that won in a place that has been mostly a rent-a-win since its return to 1-A. He’s from the Urban Meyer coaching tree. He was the DC at Utah. It also seems to be a fiscally prudent hire, as Andersen’s salary is in the $1.8 – 2 million range.

Obviously for Pitt fans, the relief is that Wisconsin may have found a coach that can win. If Wisconsin wins, then they aren’t looking to replace him a few years down the road. Which means if Chryst succeeds like we hope and believe, he won’t be faced with the choice of going home.

There is one nagging fear.

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The defensive coordinator position is open. Dave Huxtable has moved on to take the DC spot at NC State.

How do I feel about that? Eh. I can’t say it is a huge loss. It would have been nice to have full coaching staff continuity for two seasons, but it beats changing head coaches once more.

Some of the obvious names being bandied about are Charlie Partridge (serving presently as DC at Wisconsin, but also spent a few years as a Pitt assistant), Todd Orlando (former UConn and FIU DC), along with the usual Pitt guys names like Teryl Austin and Sal Sunseri. Tom Bradley’s name has been mentioned — with tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek.

(Seriously. Tom Bradley will not be the next DC. He remains unhireable  as a college coach. His supporters and agent tried to float his name out there for the open Temple job and that sank quickly and quietly. No program is willing to take that chance. Please do not even try to make the case.)

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…What about recruiting?

Another recruiting weekend came and went. They took in a basketball game.

Pitt football coach Paul Chryst took in the game along with 13 recruits and got a standing ovation from the crowd when he was shown on the video board.

Here’s a list of about half of the attending recruits. Ooohhhh. Some offensive linemen. Need. Depth. Need. Talent.

Coach Chryst also spoke with the announcing crew during the game. Reaching tens of people not fans of Pitt on ESPN3.com. The interview was fine, notable for managing to go entirely without a single mention of Wisconsin.

Among those attending, Clairton WR Tyler Boyd — who just happened to cancel his official visit to West Virginia on the same weekend. Several in attendance like Scott Orndoff have already committed.

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I’m only now home and with some time to sit down and post on what is old news: Pitt will have the same coach from the regular season coach the team in Birmingham. Something that is actually unique for the program.

The buzz last night and at the start of the morning was that it looked like Chryst wasn’t leaving Pitt. The message he and his assistants were getting out to the 2013 recruits was much more forceful than it would be if he was even torn on the idea. By comparison, Louisville Coach Charlie Strong told his players that he was deciding about what was best for his family before deciding to stay with the Cards.

Still, it was his alma mater. It was his home state. There are a lot of reasons he could change his mind. And, frankly, until there was something more tangible, the possibility he could decide to go back to Madison would be hanging over everything.

Enter Wisconsin AD and interim HC Barry Alvarez in a press conference today.

Question: Barry, you know how popular Paul Chryst is around here, and his name is going to be out there until proven otherwise. Is he a viable option to be the next head coach here?

Alvarez: I asked some very good friends of mine to help Paul get that job. I think Paul has already come out and said that he’s committed to Pitt. I think he should be committed to Pitt. I wouldn’t think it would be right for him to leave after one year. I wouldn’t feel right, and I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to hire him back after I asked someone to do me a favor and help him get that job.

So Paul’s going to stay at Pitt.

And there was much rejoicing.

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We know Pitt fans weren’t the only ones stunned and spooked by Fraud Graham’s run to Tempe last December. The Pitt administration also did not like it. So, one way to slow the chances of a quick exit: a sizable buyout.

Via Greg Giannotti of 93.7 The Fan:

If Wisconsin wants to buyout the contract I’m told it would cost them 6 million dollars – the same for every other school.

— Gregg Giannotti (@937Giannotti) December 5, 2012

That’s a sizable number if true. It also is totally believable that it would be that high in the wake of 2011, but we don’t know for sure. A buyout that shrinks each year is not uncommon. The question is whether it really starts at that number.

Wisconsin obviously has money. More than Pitt in terms of access to funds. Yet, that might be a bit too much to swallow. Plus it is unlikely that Wisconsin would be offering Chryst so much more money than Pitt that Chryst would be paying the buyout from his own pocket.

One more piece of the intrigue.

In times like this, people choose different ways to cope. Some fly into rage. Others anguish and self-pity. Others find refuge in sarcasm, cynicism and bitterness. There’s always drugs and alcohol. Still others find refuge in detaching themselves from the emotions and treating it like watching an ant farm. Some combination is always recommended.

I’m opting for the drunken robot.

It is unlikely anything will be resolved tonight or even tomorrow. It is likely this will take several days to play itself out.

As such, it is important to take a look at some of the key players in how this drama will play out, and the forces at work.

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Coach Paul Chryst via the Pitt website:

“I understand the speculation surrounding my name given today’s developments. I am committed to the Pitt football program and the University of Pittsburgh. I am focusing all my time and energy on our team’s bowl game preparation and recruiting a great group of young men to join our program and this outstanding university. We are working hard every day to re-establish this program and I am excited about the future of Pitt football.”

So that is positive. Good to see Chryst and the Pitt Athletic Department realize that they had to say something.

That said, plenty of wiggle room and I won’t be exhaling completely until Wisconsin hires someone else.

So,  my daughter wasn’t feeling well. Hanging out in the doctor’s waiting room after school. Checking the twitter feed. Amused at all the rumors of Mike Gundy possibly going to Arkansas rumors. Making jokes about Todd Graham and the SEC open coaching positions.

All was well until it turned out that Arkansas had managed to snag Bret Bielema from Wisconsin. Suddenly the bleep got real.

If there was one job every Pitt fan knew Paul Chryst would be likely to leave Pitt, it would be Wisconsin. His alma mater. He grew up there. His family really is from there and still lives there. He still has a great relationship with the Wisconsin athletic director. Honestly it would be the one job I could understand him leaving Pitt to take that would be mostly without much rancor from myself and most Pitt fans.

I– I just didn’t think the possibility would be after only one year.

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