Pitt Can Salvage Current Embarrassment

By now, everyone knows the story of what has happened to the Pitt football program over the last few weeks. Pitt forced the resignation of Dave Wannstedt after the second most successful three-year stretch in school history, proceeded to allow Wannstedt the choice to coach in the bowl game, hired a new coach in Mike Haywood in what they made seem like a top secret search, this new coach had only been a head coach for two seasons at a MAC school where he had a losing record, the new coach then proceeded to get arrested on domestic abuse charges after both he and Athletic Director Steve Pederson spoke of character and discipline at Haywood’s introductory news conference, the new coach was subsequently fired and all-the-while the former coach had yet to make up his mind on coaching in Pitt’s bowl game. On top of all that, two assistant coaches, including the team’s offensive coordinator, left for new jobs at a conference rival in Rutgers and the once very promising recruiting class of 19 players has dwindled to 6 commitments, at best. Needless to say, there are a lot of red faces over in Oakland right now.

Despite the black eye that the Pitt administrators, namely Pederson and Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, have suffered, all is not completely lost by this bizarre and unfortunate sequence of events. Quite frankly, what has happened to Haywood could be the best thing that could have happened to the program. Haywood’s dismissal gives the administration the time and the reason to use every resource possible to conduct an exhaustive search for the next head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh, something that has become more and more evident did not occur in the hiring of Haywood.

Both the handling of Wannstedt’s departure and the hiring (and dismissal) of Mike Haywood will be forgotten if Pitt is able to hire the right coach this time around. Many probably remember the hiring and subsequent firing of George O’Leary at Notre Dame nearly ten years ago for lying on his resume. Many also probably remember how quickly the story was forgotten about when Ty Willingham came in and won his first eight games as coach of the Irish on his way to a ten win season and a Gator Bowl appearance. Sure, the Willingham era did not finish the way the Note Dame faithful had hoped but his hiring quickly put an end to the embarrassment the school suffered in the wake of the O’Leary fiasco.

Pitt is in a similar circumstance now where they can alleviate the embarrassment of these events by hiring the right coach for the job. I don’t pretend to know if that coach is Kevin Sumlin, Tommy Bradley, Mike Leach, or some other coach out there we have yet to hear about and really nobody can know without knowing the individuals themselves and going through the correct process. What I do know is that Pitt can salvage this terrible sequence of events by hiring the right man for the job. That pressure falls once again on Pederson and Nordenberg and here’s hoping that they get it right this time. After all, that’s the only thing that can make right of the current situation.