The War Room is targeted towards our premium customers. We ask that all information reported in the War Room MUST stay right here! That’s the way this deal works. When this information is repeated outside of the Between Fifth and Forbes forum it only cheapens the price of yours and every other die hard who have purchased premium services. The War Room is one of our more popular features...thank you all for keeping the information on this board.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Smizik, the local columnist
Post-Gazette writer Bob Smizik is a columnist not a reporter. This allows him the freedom to express his opinions. In his column last week he wrote, “The public perception is that Walt Harris will be fired at the end of the season, at the latest, is probably correct but not necessarily an absolute lock.” Based on our conversations with those close to the Pitt program that appears to be an accurate statement. It is still theoretically possible Coach Harris could end up with a new five-year contract. I am not positive what that would take but a New Year’s Day Bowl might do it (BCS or Gator Bowl).
Contracts and buyouts
We wrote last week that the Pitt administration had allowed the contract of Coach Harris to run down to the point where only three years remained. They were unwilling to buy him out last year but it was also clear signal to all that that they needed to see improvement before giving him a new agreement. The Panthers are still having trouble running the ball and protecting the passer. In addition the defense gives up yardage and often leaves the offense with poor field position. The two goal line stands against Temple were big efforts but twice the offense had to start on their own one-yard line and on other occasions inside their own twenty. These flaws plus the fact that the last half of the schedule is more difficult that the first half probably means that a New Year’s Day Bowl is out of reach but it in theory it is still possible.
A buyout would cost Pitt approximately two years of the head coach’s base pay. Many of our readers have thrown out the gross amount of the head coach’s contract but the buyout usually only involves the base pay. They would also have to buyout the contracts of assistant coaches, which often amounts to approximately one month’s pay per coach.
Collge is different than the Pro's
Many of our readers question why Coach Harris has not been replaced after each loss. Quite frankly this is college football not the NFL. That seldom happens early in the season and certainly not with coaches that have been to bowl games the last four years. Pitt is 26-11 in its last 37 games.
Occasionally you will see college coaches replaced in November. Steve Pederson did it last year at Nebraska with Coach Frank Solich when the Cornhuskers were blown out by Kansas State in November. Pitt did it near the end of the 1989 regular season when they replaced Mike Gottfried and then allowed Paul Hackett to coach the John Hancock Bowl. I am sure there have been other occasions. Often it results because tension builds between the head coach and athletic director as the end draws near.
It appears BYU is considering replacing their head coach in mid-stream. The Cougars are 2-4 but the overriding concern is about a gang rape involving football players that has this church school nervous. There was talk that BYU might look at Southern Cal assistant Norm Chow but Sports Illustrated indicated he would have to take a substantial pay cut to be the head coach at BYU. I have to admit I was surprised to read that one.
Coach Harris is separated but our understanding is his divorce is still not final. He certainly is a man with financial concerns. It is hard to see him walking away without a financial settlement on the table that has been approved by his attorney and/or agent.
One of the advantages of keeping a staff in place for as long as possible is that they continue to recruit. It often gives you your best chance for holding on to players that have already committed and perhaps to pick up one or two more prospects in the next several weeks.
So, who could be Pitt's new HC
Should Pitt decide to replace Coach Harris it is not out of the question that Pitt could retain an assistant or two so there would be some continuity in recruiting. Pitt did this in basketball many years ago when they retained assistant John Calipari when Paul Evans was hired. We are not sure who this would be but Coach Deal and Coach Partridge seem to have the most contacts with current prospects.
Most coaches around the country are under contract to another program. You really cannot hold formal talks until after the season is over.
Last week we indicated that Utah’s Urban Myers and Boise State’s Dan Hawkins figure to be very hot properties at the end of the year. Any school looking for a coach would certainly place a phone call to these two. In addition Navy Coach Paul Johnson sees his star rising rapidly. Coach Johnson was 62-10 in his last five years at Georgia Southern before taking over at Navy. He was Division 1AA Coach of the Year four years in a row. In only his second year at Navy last fall the Midshipmen were a very respectable 8-5. This year Navy is off to a 5-0 start, which is their best start since 1979. It is quite possible Navy could win 9 or 10 games this year and if they do his phone will be ringing from schools looking for a new coach.
Fans will need to open their wallets
Based on our conversations with our contacts it appears that Pitt is prepared to pay the going rate for a Division 1A head coach at the BCS level. However, it is hard to see them getting into a bidding war and simply stealing a coach based solely on money. The Pitt athletic program is losing money and the economic realities of the new Big East will temper any wild spending spree. I believe based on my research that they are willing to offer substantially more than they are currently paying but it still would be within the realm of reality.
Pitt must find a way to increase the annual giving to Team Pittsburgh. They must find a way to double the $3.8 million raised last year. They not only are not competitive with most BCS schools and they are not totally competitive with a number of other schools in the new Big East. They have limited options right now with the lack of enthusiasm with the football program. The Pitt administration will have to leverage basketball to get the contribution rate up. Next year Pitt will be playing in what should be the best basketball conference in the country. There currently is a long waiting list for season tickets for basketball. I believe the list now has two or three thousand names on it with requests for approximately ten thousand seats. Those that want seats inside the “Pete” will have to be either contributors or students. Hopefully enthusiasm will eventually return to the football program and seating in Heinz Field can also be based solely on priority points.
West Coast offense is again offensive
The week Pitt played Nebraska I sat in on a press conference with Coach Bill Callahan. He went on in length to explain to reporters the myriad of variations in the West Coast offense. He then went into a short recruiting speech that proclaimed that any prospect that went to Nebraska would be taught EVERY variation of the West Coast offense. All I could think of at the time was here is another former NFL coach that has not figured out he is coaching at the college level. Nebraska got beat 70-10 this past Saturday. It was the worst defeat in school’s history. Former Husker Coach Frank Solich might be looking a little better to the Nebraska faithful these days. His staff guided the Cornhuskers to a 10-3 record and a bowl win last fall. Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson will not be having a good week.
In the NFL, free agency and the draft have resulted in a leveling effect in pro football. Most teams are competitive and you can go from last to first in a couple of years. Not nearly enough has been written about the scholarship limitations in college football. You are seeing more competitive games each year. You will see an occasional blow out. Football is an emotional game and from time to time the air simply goes out of a team that gets behind quickly. You need only to look at scores from this past weekend to see how many games were decided by ten points or less. Ohio State is only a couple of years away from a national championship. It has done a better job than virtually any other school in the country of “building a fence” around its state. However, the Buckeyes have struggled in each of their last four games. They have lost two in a row and it took a 55-yard field goal to beat Marshall. Some might call this leveling mediocrity but it does result in many more competitive games.
Jennings and Bokor
We spoke to Rashad Jennings late this past week. He is the big running back out of Lynchburg Christian Academy who failed to qualify this summer. He is still working with the NCAA Clearinghouse and he insists he will qualify and join the Panthers in January. Jennings told he Pantherlair that he has been lifting and running and now has his weight down from 265 to 248 pounds. It is possible that Jennings and Hopewell’s Craig Bokor could both join the Pitt program in January.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
From the Desk of Jim Snyder
Smizik, the local columnist
Post-Gazette writer Bob Smizik is a columnist not a reporter. This allows him the freedom to express his opinions. In his column last week he wrote, “The public perception is that Walt Harris will be fired at the end of the season, at the latest, is probably correct but not necessarily an absolute lock.” Based on our conversations with those close to the Pitt program that appears to be an accurate statement. It is still theoretically possible Coach Harris could end up with a new five-year contract. I am not positive what that would take but a New Year’s Day Bowl might do it (BCS or Gator Bowl).
Contracts and buyouts
We wrote last week that the Pitt administration had allowed the contract of Coach Harris to run down to the point where only three years remained. They were unwilling to buy him out last year but it was also clear signal to all that that they needed to see improvement before giving him a new agreement. The Panthers are still having trouble running the ball and protecting the passer. In addition the defense gives up yardage and often leaves the offense with poor field position. The two goal line stands against Temple were big efforts but twice the offense had to start on their own one-yard line and on other occasions inside their own twenty. These flaws plus the fact that the last half of the schedule is more difficult that the first half probably means that a New Year’s Day Bowl is out of reach but it in theory it is still possible.
A buyout would cost Pitt approximately two years of the head coach’s base pay. Many of our readers have thrown out the gross amount of the head coach’s contract but the buyout usually only involves the base pay. They would also have to buyout the contracts of assistant coaches, which often amounts to approximately one month’s pay per coach.
Collge is different than the Pro's
Many of our readers question why Coach Harris has not been replaced after each loss. Quite frankly this is college football not the NFL. That seldom happens early in the season and certainly not with coaches that have been to bowl games the last four years. Pitt is 26-11 in its last 37 games.
Occasionally you will see college coaches replaced in November. Steve Pederson did it last year at Nebraska with Coach Frank Solich when the Cornhuskers were blown out by Kansas State in November. Pitt did it near the end of the 1989 regular season when they replaced Mike Gottfried and then allowed Paul Hackett to coach the John Hancock Bowl. I am sure there have been other occasions. Often it results because tension builds between the head coach and athletic director as the end draws near.
It appears BYU is considering replacing their head coach in mid-stream. The Cougars are 2-4 but the overriding concern is about a gang rape involving football players that has this church school nervous. There was talk that BYU might look at Southern Cal assistant Norm Chow but Sports Illustrated indicated he would have to take a substantial pay cut to be the head coach at BYU. I have to admit I was surprised to read that one.
Coach Harris is separated but our understanding is his divorce is still not final. He certainly is a man with financial concerns. It is hard to see him walking away without a financial settlement on the table that has been approved by his attorney and/or agent.
One of the advantages of keeping a staff in place for as long as possible is that they continue to recruit. It often gives you your best chance for holding on to players that have already committed and perhaps to pick up one or two more prospects in the next several weeks.
So, who could be Pitt's new HC
Should Pitt decide to replace Coach Harris it is not out of the question that Pitt could retain an assistant or two so there would be some continuity in recruiting. Pitt did this in basketball many years ago when they retained assistant John Calipari when Paul Evans was hired. We are not sure who this would be but Coach Deal and Coach Partridge seem to have the most contacts with current prospects.
Most coaches around the country are under contract to another program. You really cannot hold formal talks until after the season is over.
Last week we indicated that Utah’s Urban Myers and Boise State’s Dan Hawkins figure to be very hot properties at the end of the year. Any school looking for a coach would certainly place a phone call to these two. In addition Navy Coach Paul Johnson sees his star rising rapidly. Coach Johnson was 62-10 in his last five years at Georgia Southern before taking over at Navy. He was Division 1AA Coach of the Year four years in a row. In only his second year at Navy last fall the Midshipmen were a very respectable 8-5. This year Navy is off to a 5-0 start, which is their best start since 1979. It is quite possible Navy could win 9 or 10 games this year and if they do his phone will be ringing from schools looking for a new coach.
Fans will need to open their wallets
Based on our conversations with our contacts it appears that Pitt is prepared to pay the going rate for a Division 1A head coach at the BCS level. However, it is hard to see them getting into a bidding war and simply stealing a coach based solely on money. The Pitt athletic program is losing money and the economic realities of the new Big East will temper any wild spending spree. I believe based on my research that they are willing to offer substantially more than they are currently paying but it still would be within the realm of reality.
Pitt must find a way to increase the annual giving to Team Pittsburgh. They must find a way to double the $3.8 million raised last year. They not only are not competitive with most BCS schools and they are not totally competitive with a number of other schools in the new Big East. They have limited options right now with the lack of enthusiasm with the football program. The Pitt administration will have to leverage basketball to get the contribution rate up. Next year Pitt will be playing in what should be the best basketball conference in the country. There currently is a long waiting list for season tickets for basketball. I believe the list now has two or three thousand names on it with requests for approximately ten thousand seats. Those that want seats inside the “Pete” will have to be either contributors or students. Hopefully enthusiasm will eventually return to the football program and seating in Heinz Field can also be based solely on priority points.
West Coast offense is again offensive
The week Pitt played Nebraska I sat in on a press conference with Coach Bill Callahan. He went on in length to explain to reporters the myriad of variations in the West Coast offense. He then went into a short recruiting speech that proclaimed that any prospect that went to Nebraska would be taught EVERY variation of the West Coast offense. All I could think of at the time was here is another former NFL coach that has not figured out he is coaching at the college level. Nebraska got beat 70-10 this past Saturday. It was the worst defeat in school’s history. Former Husker Coach Frank Solich might be looking a little better to the Nebraska faithful these days. His staff guided the Cornhuskers to a 10-3 record and a bowl win last fall. Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson will not be having a good week.
In the NFL, free agency and the draft have resulted in a leveling effect in pro football. Most teams are competitive and you can go from last to first in a couple of years. Not nearly enough has been written about the scholarship limitations in college football. You are seeing more competitive games each year. You will see an occasional blow out. Football is an emotional game and from time to time the air simply goes out of a team that gets behind quickly. You need only to look at scores from this past weekend to see how many games were decided by ten points or less. Ohio State is only a couple of years away from a national championship. It has done a better job than virtually any other school in the country of “building a fence” around its state. However, the Buckeyes have struggled in each of their last four games. They have lost two in a row and it took a 55-yard field goal to beat Marshall. Some might call this leveling mediocrity but it does result in many more competitive games.
Jennings and Bokor
We spoke to Rashad Jennings late this past week. He is the big running back out of Lynchburg Christian Academy who failed to qualify this summer. He is still working with the NCAA Clearinghouse and he insists he will qualify and join the Panthers in January. Jennings told he Pantherlair that he has been lifting and running and now has his weight down from 265 to 248 pounds. It is possible that Jennings and Hopewell’s Craig Bokor could both join the Pitt program in January.
Note to Pantherlair.com Fans: The staff at Pantherlair.com works diligently to bring you the best information on University of Pittsburgh football and basketball recruiting (in addition to game coverage). Thousands of Panther fans visit our site on a daily basis. We have received a tremendous amount of e-mail thanking us for our efforts. If you like our site, please feel free to tell other fans about it. “Spread the word” and let’s add to our online family of Panther fans.
