Pittsburgh you may lose your head coach

[Sharpieman]

Walt Harris, along with USC assistant Norm Chow are the top choices for the Stanford head coach.

[ScottVib]

Walt Harris, along with USC assistant Norm Chow are the top choices for the Stanford head coach.

Of course Pitt fans wanted him gone after the UConn game... it'll be interesting to see Panther fans reaction if he ended up going to Stanford.

[Eaglesfan27]

I really hope Walt Harris gets it.

[Swaggs]

He's leaving either way.

[duckman]

He's leaving either way.
Do you think he'll be forced out even after winning a BCS bid?

[VPI97]

Do you think he'll be forced out even after winning a BCS bid? Absolutely

[Swaggs]

Do you think he'll be forced out even after winning a BCS bid?

Harris is in the next-to-last year of his contract, which is brutal for recruiting, and the A.D. was not there when he was hired. He had asked for an extension earlier in the season, when Pitt was 2-2 and the Athletic Director more or less gave a "no comment."

He met again with the A.D. last week and no new extension was announced, so it seems like a case of both Harris and Pitt wanting to end the relationship. Most of the Pitt crowd seems to think the next coach will be Dave Wannestedt.

[Swaggs]

Headlines from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for tommorow's paper (w/ links):

How is Harris on verge of exit? (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/college/pitt/s_282505.html)

Harris appears to be Stanford's leading candidate (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/college/pitt/s_282499.html)

By the way, from reading that article, it looks like he has another two seasons on his contract after this one, so I was a little off on that.

[MrBug708]

I really hope Walt Harris gets it.

I hope Norm Chow gets it... :D

[Eaglesfan27]

Hehe.. I'm sure you do :)

[miami_fan]

Looks like Walt is the choice and Ty Willingham will get the Washington.

[duckman]

Thanks for the clarification, guys. I don't have a lot of knowledge of Big East programs, so the information was very helpful.

[Its Vanilla]

Pitt fans definately don't want Walt Harris around anymore. He may have brought the program back from the bottom of the NCAA, but it appears that he's taken them as far as he can. He makes some of the worst coaching calls I've ever seen. A few years ago, he couldn't decide on a quarterback, so he went with both John Turman and David Priestly, alternating each drive. Needless to say, it didn't work. After all the punts on 3rd down this year and the infamous "3rd and slide", I think he's done here. Then there's the fact that he can't recruit a decent offensive line.

[rexallllsc]

Pitt fans definately don't want Walt Harris around anymore. He may have brought the program back from the bottom of the NCAA, but it appears that he's taken them as far as he can. He makes some of the worst coaching calls I've ever seen. A few years ago, he couldn't decide on a quarterback, so he went with both John Turman and David Priestly, alternating each drive. Needless to say, it didn't work. After all the punts on 3rd down this year and the infamous "3rd and slide", I think he's done here. Then there's the fact that he can't recruit a decent offensive line.

Elaborate on all the 3rd down punts and the 3rd and slide for us out of the loop.

[ScottVib]

Elaborate on all the 3rd down punts and the 3rd and slide for us out of the loop.
With about 20 seconds left in the first half against UConn and the ball at about the UConn 10 yard line, Harris elected to have his QB take the snap go a few steps towards the middle of the field and slide to set up a field goal, rather then taking a shot at the endzone. It was one of the most bizzare strategy moves ever.

Pitt made the FG with 0:19 seconds left tying it at 10... only to have UConn come down the field quickly and kick a 49 yarder as time expired in the half to make it 13-10 UConn. UConn won the game 29-17. This was one week after Furman took the Panthers to overtime.

[duckman]

ESPN is reporting that Harris is heading to Stanford.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1944640


Harris hired over other finalist Chow

<HR width="100%" noShade SIZE=1>ESPN.com news services

STANFORD, Calif. -- Pittsburgh's Walt Harris was hired as Stanford's new football coach Sunday, giving the Cardinal the offensive-minded leader they sought to replace Buddy Teevens.


Stanford spokesman Gary Migdol said Harris accepted the job Sunday, and the school planned an official announcement for Monday.


"He's accepted and will be here tomorrow," Migdol said. "He's in Pittsburgh today."


Harris will meet with the Stanford coaching staff Tuesday. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple, former Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, and former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie are candidates to replace Harris, ESPN.com has learned.


Harris, 58, reportedly was meeting with his team Sunday and is expected to coach the Panthers (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) in the Fiesta Bowl against Utah on Jan. 1 before assuming his new job.


Harris interviewed on campus Friday, two days after Southern California offensive coordinator Norm Chow visited to interview. Athletic director Ted Leland offered Harris the job Saturday, then met with university president John Hennessey and provost John Etchemendy as a formality in the hiring process.


Leland said he wouldn't spend a fortune on his football coach. Harris met last week with Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Long, but the school didn't offer him an extension for more than the close to $600,000 he was earning. Pitt sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko campaigned for the school to keep him.


Leland went with the coach he knows -- he hired Harris to be head coach at Pacific in 1989.


Leland searched for a coach with a strong offensive background after Stanford struggled to score during Teevens' tenure. The Cardinal went 4-7 the past two seasons, losing their last five games this year. They were 0-13 down the stretch the past three seasons leading to Teevens' firing last month.


Harris, Pitt's eighth-year coach, has plenty of connections to the Bay Area. He grew up in South San Francisco and attended college at Pacific in Stockton, where he also began his college coaching career directing the secondary.


He coached the linebackers at California from 1974-77 and made stops at Air Force, Michigan State, Illinois and Tennessee before taking over at Pacific for three seasons. The school eventually dropped the program.


Harris was Ohio State's quarterbacks coach in 1995-96 before going to Pitt.


Chow has directed the top-ranked Trojans' offense for four years.


The 58-year-old Chow hasn't been a head coach since 1970-72 at Waialua High in Hawaii. Chow, who is of Chinese descent, has talked about wanting to be the first Asian-American to be head coach at a major college.


Information from The Associated Press was used in this report

[wbatl1]

Way to make me think Something was wrong with Cowher.

[sterlingice]

That's what I was wondering, too. I thought Bill Cowher was about the safest coach in the world so maybe he was having health problems or something.

SI

[Z²+]

Elaborate on all the 3rd down punts .

As for this one, Walt has some type of strange fetish with the 3rd down quick kick. Several times a year, Walt will line the QB up in the shotgun on a 3rd and long and quick kick. He did this twice vs. Nebraska this year, with neither punt traveling more than 20 yards.

If Stanford is smart, they will FORCE Walt to hire an offensive coordinator. Walt has been the offensive coordinator/play caller for the past few years, and maybe people think he has failed miserably. He may be an offensive minded and creative, but he coudl quite possibly be the worst game day coach I've ever seen. Burning timeouts at the worst times, sending plays in late and getting delay penalties, sending the wrong personnel onto the field, and many questionable play calls.

People say that it's tough to lose a coach after a BCS game. Pitt won this season despite Harris, not because of him. Tyler Palko, an outstanding special teams unit, and tons of heart is why the Panthers are in the Fiesta Bowl, not Walt Harris. I've been waiting for the administration to get rid of him for years. I had to enroll in grad school, but I stuck around long enough to finally see it :)

Lots of rumored replacements. I'm not overly excited about Wanstadt. I hope they open it up and get some national interest. A name that intrigues me is Bob Davie. We shall see what happens.

[MacroGuru]

Well,

I hope BYU ponies up some dough now to get Chow...I doubt it, but they might.

He has changed his mind and is now listening.

[MrBug708]

If BYU wants a shot at Chow, they'd better be on their knees and pleading for forgiveness for not giving hima chance before

[MacroGuru]

If BYU wants a shot at Chow, they'd better be on their knees and pleading for forgiveness for not giving hima chance before
Im with you on that one.

However, the administration that screwed him over is no longer here. And the boosters ponied up about 1 million and told the admin to use it to hire Chow.

Also, I have to give props out to one of my Best Friends. Kalani Sitake was just named the U of U's RB's coach.

I might have to switch allegiance here soon as Whittingham is assembling a team of coaches that are friends of mine (Roderick is there as well).

[Sharpieman]

Well now I feel a little uncertain about the decision Stanford made in hiring Harris. Hopefully he turns the program around. Rumor has it that Stanford AD Ted Leland is a bigger football fan than he is a basketball fan and he wants to put more money and effort into the football program now that Monte is coaching the Oakland Warriors.

[MrBug708]

I dont think Stanford is trying to win a NC as much as they want to be competitive and not the bottom rung of the PAC-10

[Sharpieman]

I dont think Stanford is trying to win a NC as much as they want to be competitive and not the bottom rung of the PAC-10
I bet, but if the rumors are true then maybe they would like to challenge for the Pac-10 title each year instead of target the 3rd or 4th spot.

[Sharpieman]

Oh and also beat Cal every year.