With the recent shakeup with the Pitt football program, Pitt chancellor Patrick Gallagher and interim athletic director Dr. Randy Juhl have some work to do to fill the vacant positions of AD and football coach.
All signs point to the football coach coming first.
While it is true that Pitt needs to get a football coach in place before some of the top candidates are off the board, it is also a less than ideal situation for potential hires.
You would have to think that here would be a bit of hesitance on behalf of some candidates accepting the Pitt job without an AD in place. Not many coaches want to jump into a situation not knowing who their boss will be.
The AD and the football coach have to have a good working relationship, something missing from the Pitt program at times. There’s also the fact that most AD’s are going to want to have their head coach in place. Would the incoming AD want to make another coaching change at the first time of trouble?
That’s not necessarily the ideal situation for a coach to jump into.
But Pitt isn’t an ideal situation right now and the search must go on.
The good news is that a football coach is expected to be in place shortly.
The search for a new coach will be conducted by a four-person committee, led by executive vice chancellor Jerry Cochran. The other three members will be Gallagher, Juhl and longtime athletics administrator Donna Sanft.
Cochran and Sanft have been involved in previous football coaching searches.
No names have been confirmed, but sources say at least two people- Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi and Marshall head coach Doc Holliday- will likely be among those interviewed. Narduzzi reportedly interviewed on Friday, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
It’s worth noting that former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano, who has been linked to the Pitt job for a week now, likely won’t be a candidate. Former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley also likely will not be a candidate.
It’s also been speculated that Pitt is looking for a coach with prior head coaching experience and one who will run a pro-style offense, which makes you wonder if Narduzzi has much of a chance at landing the job.
I would expect in the next couple of weeks that more confirmed candidates be made known.
Photo Credit: Michigan State Today
