I don't know who she might be interested in, but wasn't Lou Rosselli at OSU with Lyke before he went to Oklahoma?
Coach preference.
- Thread starter Dallas Burgher
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I don't know who she might be interested in, but wasn't Lou Rosselli at OSU with Lyke before he went to Oklahoma?
Rosselli was there during her time at TOSU, but he just got to OU last summer. Makes no sense that there was interest in him or he interviewed like some have said. He's only coached at two schools and spent considerable time at each. Tim Flynn is an excellent choice if its true he accepted job and will not disappoint the Pitt fans. He is a great coach and person.
I do but is he really getting the job. if he does I will be very happy.but I just don't trust the committee.
Yep. I find it hard to believe he'd leave OU after just one year - but that's just my opinion. Of course - he's got Gavin there with him too.
She tried but was unsuccessful, and therein began the problem. I believe the expression is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
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They hired a soccer coach who was considered one of the top 5 college coaches in his time at Wake Forest.....
I'm a big fan of Pat and he would have been great here, but he's not even he best coach in his own conference, let alone 2nd in the nation.
It seems to me that it is incredibly foolish to try and hire a guy that was hired at OU like a year ago. Really unlikely that he would walk away that quickly.
Also, he has no direct connection to Pitt and Pat is a Pitt graduate. I don't like how Pat was treated. Pitt always finds a way to mistreat its own people.
How is Rosselli a better coach than Santoro? He's never run a program before OU.
Finally, this really shows poor leadership by the AD. Once the mutual interest with Santoro, hit the media, you have to move very quickly. You can't let Pat twist in the wind or maybe not get an offer, because he's got to worry about his relationship at Lehigh. You can't make him wait, because then Lehigh could make a move.
Seems pretty clear Lyke had Pat handed to her on a silver platter and despite being on the job for a very short time, she found a way to screw it up.
I wanted Santoro or Flynn for the job--based on what I read about possible candidates. Both would do a great job. I feel Santoro had a leg up in ability to fundraise and recruit--but that's a guess on the fundraising side due to his Pitt connection, personal titles and buzz by people I think know a lot more than me on college wrestling.
If the AD swings and misses on Flynn, not good--unless the ultimate hire is clearly on his level. Hopefully this wraps very soon and the hire is one we can all support and be excited about.
It seems almost universal that people view this program as one that has wildly underperformed and can be a consistent top 10-15 program with regular All-Americans and some competing for individual titles. That view comes from both people connected to the program and outside. Hopefully that potential is reached quickly.
I definitely want to see a hire by Monday/Tuesday and it will hopefully be Flynn or another proven coach.
If the AD swings and misses on Flynn, not good--unless the ultimate hire is clearly on his level. Hopefully this wraps very soon and the hire is one we can all support and be excited about.
It seems almost universal that people view this program as one that has wildly underperformed and can be a consistent top 10-15 program with regular All-Americans and some competing for individual titles. That view comes from both people connected to the program and outside. Hopefully that potential is reached quickly.
I definitely want to see a hire by Monday/Tuesday and it will hopefully be Flynn or another proven coach.
I don't really disagree with anything you say. And she didn't find a way to screw it up - she got hired and was stained by the Pitt curse and screwed it ip. She's probably wondering - how did I do that? I'm confused - I usually make good decisions.....
pitt said they would have a national search for a coach. they never left the state of pa. what a joke.pitts admimistation continues to embarrass themelves.
How many states are considered hotbeds of wrestling? Did u want them to shake some trees in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Wyoming, Alabama, etc. Come on now.
Anytime that Pitt puts together a committee to hire a coach, this should be a red flag of the possibility of a bad decision. All too often, committees (not just at Pitt) fail to recognize that the best choice is usually the most obvious choice. As they say, "too many cooks spoil the soup."
Committees, like meetings, suck and are a waste of time.
I think committees are a convenient method to diffuse responsibility. So if things go bad, they can blame the decision on "the committee".
The committee worked perfectly. Produced 2 excellent candidates
check out the earlier posts in this thread. Pretty clear what the problem was here.
To me, this is such a major screw up because we had the best possible coach we could get lined up and we let it slip away trying to pursue someone who isn't better, doesn't have any connection to the school, and wasn't likely to come here anyway. It simply wasn't worth the risk of losing Santoro. This appears to have been all about the new AD trying to show off or make a splash and she face planted.
My bad. I read the prior posts and was hoping that I misinterpreted a few things. Unfortunately, I didn't. You guys confirmed what I was hoping didn't happen. 
Let's see if I can summarize what seems to have happened so far in the search for a new wrestling coach...... "bwh05" tell me if I'm wrong and clarify as needed please as I'm piecing this together mostly from your and a couple other insiders information (so maybe I'm wrong in my interpretation) .......
The search committee produced two very good candidates in Santoro and Flynn and set up interviews with both plus basically courtesy interviews with Kocher and Headlee.
The AD wanted to get someone "better" and I think (just my opinion as I really am guessing on this part) likely called Ryan at Ohio State saying I need to hire a wrestling coach do you have any suggestions ? ..... Rosselli's name probably came up and our AD contacted him. Rosselli didn't decide anything prior to Pat being interviewed so Pat was not offered the job at his interview..... again our AD contacting Ryan and Rosselli are conjecture on my part and may be wrong but she apparently was trying to get someone "better" then the committee's candidates.
By not receiving an offer at the interview, Pat knew as he left the interview room that he was not the AD's 1st choice thus Pat went back to Lehigh and remained the coach there (in addition, the Lehigh wrestling community and AD showed there appreciation for Pat by upping their donations)..... we lost out on a potential great hire.
Rosselli then decides to stay at Oklahoma where he has only been for one year..... again, if he was the "better" candidate contacted.
Not sure if Flynn was offered or not (I suspect he was but I'm not sure as that would have been the AD's call of whether the AD thought we could do better then Flynn) .... in any event, Flynn decides to stay at Edinboro..... we lose out on another very good coach.
...... and the search goes on (hopefully we can still find someone that can elevate the program to national prominence .... this is the AD's first coaching hire, I hope it ends up well !).
bwh05, am I putting this together correctly ??
The search committee produced two very good candidates in Santoro and Flynn and set up interviews with both plus basically courtesy interviews with Kocher and Headlee.
The AD wanted to get someone "better" and I think (just my opinion as I really am guessing on this part) likely called Ryan at Ohio State saying I need to hire a wrestling coach do you have any suggestions ? ..... Rosselli's name probably came up and our AD contacted him. Rosselli didn't decide anything prior to Pat being interviewed so Pat was not offered the job at his interview..... again our AD contacting Ryan and Rosselli are conjecture on my part and may be wrong but she apparently was trying to get someone "better" then the committee's candidates.
By not receiving an offer at the interview, Pat knew as he left the interview room that he was not the AD's 1st choice thus Pat went back to Lehigh and remained the coach there (in addition, the Lehigh wrestling community and AD showed there appreciation for Pat by upping their donations)..... we lost out on a potential great hire.
Rosselli then decides to stay at Oklahoma where he has only been for one year..... again, if he was the "better" candidate contacted.
Not sure if Flynn was offered or not (I suspect he was but I'm not sure as that would have been the AD's call of whether the AD thought we could do better then Flynn) .... in any event, Flynn decides to stay at Edinboro..... we lose out on another very good coach.
...... and the search goes on (hopefully we can still find someone that can elevate the program to national prominence .... this is the AD's first coaching hire, I hope it ends up well !).
bwh05, am I putting this together correctly ??
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I'm trying to figure out if Santoro was pissed because he wasn't offered right at the interview, so he withdrew? Or was he told he wasn't being offered ever? Or was he just unhappy with the plans for the facilities?
I don't know for sure and am waiting for the insiders to respond but when he wasn't offered at the interview, Pat very likely knew he wasn't the AD's obvious 1st pick at that point in time and the AD's hesitation to offer him right away caused Pat to shy away.
I doubt Pat was told that he wasn't going to be offered ever as that would have been a colossal blunder by the AD.
No matter who the coach will be, the facilities have to be upgraded as they are outdated ..... unless we don't want to upgrade wrestling and then no top coach would come to Pitt.
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If you want to look at the Ohio State connection. I could see our AD talking with Ryan. Roselli just took the OK job, so I don't think he was ever a real candidate, but can see J Jaggers who is currently Ryan's top assistant at Ohio State. Honestly, I'd be thrilled to get him at Pitt. No inside info, but I would keep that name handy.
The claim by some insiders was that the AD was trying to get a better candidate then what the committee came up with (Santoro and Flynn) so I doubt that Jaggers was the one contacted and whoever was contacted (if someone was) must have ultimately decided against Pitt...... Jaggers to me would not be considered a better coach then Santoro as Jaggers has never been a head coach and Pat has been a very good head coach ..... in other words, at this point in time I would take Pat over Jaggers without hesitation.
Jaggers is an up and comer and may end up as a very good head coach (but is unproven at present). Our AD might have to consider him now if a better candidate can't be hired..... we missed on two very good candidates ..... again, hopefully we end up with a wrestling coach who can take us to national prominence whoever that coach may be and an administration and fans who also help us get there.
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No doubt, you want a proven head coach if you can get one and Flynn and Pat, would have been very good choices. I'm not in the loop with the process and am like everyone else, trying to figure out where we are going. Wether it's been botched or not, there are a couple of guys(not head coaches) who still could be solid hires. Cunningham,Hahn, and Jaggers come to mind as ready to take the next step.
If the explanations posted in this thread are accurate, it would be a damn shame to think that we "pitted" once again.
I agree, we still could get a coach who turns out to be really good and takes us to national prominence so we'll have to wait and see how it turns out ..... but whiffing on Pat Santoro in the way that some insiders have implied is extremely disappointing.
It's way too early to say. He came into a program that had trouble even winning a game, so no matter how good he is it's going to take a few years to turn the team into a good one. He's brought in a lot of recruits and recently got a commitment from a top 50 player, which may be a first in Pitt program history, but the real results are what happens on the field, so we will see.
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