Did Pitt hire Mike Haywood?

[KirkHerbstreit]

Way too early too tell what kind of coach the guy will be. Sounds like he is a no nonsense coach which can be good in some ways and bad in others. I can't see him selling many recruits on his 6:50am practices and strict dress code, etc. Wannstadt over exceeding expectations as a recruiter. I think Wannstadt somehow went into kids houses and sold Pitt as a top 15 type of program which it is nowhere near. He got commits without having to do it on the field. This guy, with his approach, is going to have to sell kids on results on the field approach because it sounds like he is going to be a real hardass. By the sounds of it, he sounds like a Tom Coughlin type coach which when you are winning it's great, but when you're losing the team quits on you.

Potentially, I think he has the chance to be a good hire. If I were Pitt, however, I'd have preferred to see a third year of results. If he did it again in the MAC this year, he would have been a no brainer higher for many schools, but for all everyone knows Miami could have gone 2-10 this year. He doesn't have a very Big Body of work as a head coach.

[The Ancient Enemy]

On the flip side though, if he goes 10-2 in the MAC in 2010, does he take a job in a non-Big East conference over Pitt?

I gotta disagree w/ you, Kirk, about Wannstedt's over achieving as a recruiter. This guy was a head NFL coach in two spots, was the DC for the Cowboys when they were winning Super Bowls. He was a Pitt alumni, a great human being who I would be honored to be my son's coach in college. It's not about Pitt's "not" being a Top 15 team, they WERE a top 15 team and SHOULD be a top 15 team. They lost games they should have won, and lost many games on national TV and in big games. If you think Pitt doesn't (and hasn't) had the roster to be an annual top 15-20 (or higher) team, I think you are mistaken. How you think he was overachieving, I am not sure. The guy has serious NFL clout.

Pitt has a lot to offer recruits. First of all, Pennsylvania is still a good recruiting bed. Nearby Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, and even Virginia are all great recruiting areas. Secondly, a lot of the families in PA are still blue collar family-oriented units, and the kids want to stay close to home for the most part. Thirdly, it IS a city atmosphere, and it IS an NFL stadium. Those are bigtime selling points.

Pitt could absolutely be a top 15 program, if not higher. Had they won some of those games the past few seasons, they would be. They are doing it in Boise w/ no tradition. Pitt has a lot of NFL tradition and has won a national championship.

[KirkHerbstreit]

You obviously have different feelings of what Pitt can be as a football program than I do. What I am saying is that I think Pitt is going to miss Wannstadt's Recruiting, because he loved the university so much and was a very good representative for Pitt. He was a very poor in game coach, but an excellant recruiter that Pitt will have a tough time replacing. I think you miss understood what I was saying. I probably worded it poorly, but I feel Pittsburgh overachieved recruiting due to Wanny. I think he sold Pittsburgh as a top 15 program and I strongly disagree with you that it can be. It can be in basketball for multiple reasons mostly due to a great basketball facility on campus and a Strong conference. I feel there is a lot of things missing at Pitt for football that won't be corrected any time soon. I think if you watch college football game on a regular basis you will see the difference between Pitt as a program and big time schools.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Pitt has, and has had, the roster to win the Big East. They have a lot of talent there. They had a coach who was a poor manager. I really honestly think this school can completely overtake the Big East.

Arent they building a campus stadium?

[KirkHerbstreit]

Having the roster to win the Big East and being a top 15 team on a regular basis are two entirely different things.

No they are not planning on building an on campus stadium. Hasn't even been any discussion regarding it

[Dirt Winston]

Pitt's talent is overrated. You can't blame 5 losses on the coach. At some point, these 'great' players need to step-up and make a play. They play soft, and that's not the coaches fault. Maybe this new guy can get more out of the players, who knows.

Watching BYU play yesterday makes me think Pitt should have gone hard after the Bronco.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Sorry, but yes there was definitely discussion of an on-campus stadium not long ago.

You're as bad as Titan w/your hate. This garbage roster has produced quite a few top draft picks recently and will have another in Baldwin.

If you watch college football games on a regular basis, you would know that Pitt has been in the driver's seat to win that conference many times and has beaten themselves in almost evey case. They need a guy who can change game plans and is not married to the one they practiced all week, especially when it is clearly not working.

Somehow you think Pitt is the anomaly and the only school in the nation who can never get into the top 15 regularly even when they win games. It can be done at Boise and TCU, without automatic bids, but it somehow cant be done at a school w/ tradition.

You can turn any school into a nationally recognized, relevant program by doing one simple thing: Winning the games you are supposed to win and winning half the games that are either toss ups or should be losses. Crazy how "winning" can get you more recruits and publicity.

Pitt needs a guy who can win those games, or at least more of them than Wannstedt did. I like Haywood, but who knows if he's the right guy. I like his chances.

[abpk2903]

Not as simple as you make it sound, TAE. Of course winning games makes your program better but for a team like Pitt they are in a tough spot. To you they may have tradition but their last season of relevance came over a decade before the players they are recruiting were born. If Haywood does have a couple successful seasons at the Ketchup bottle, I do not seeing him staying at Pitt.

[The Ancient Enemy]

My point is not just about Pitt, its about any school. You can win anywhere. Every school has the same number of scholarships. This is not HS football where Richland w/ 186 boys in the HS has to play in a conference w/ Forest Hills who has 300. Any program can get into the top 15 nowadays.

As for a coach leaving Pitt for a better job, all schools have to deal with this now. Even the elite schools have to contend w/ guys leaving for the NFL. Thats the nature of the game.

To say Pitt cant get to the top 15, especially in a conference w/ an auto bid, is ridiculous. They just need to win some of the games they should not have lost.

[KirkHerbstreit]

Surely if there was discussion of an on campus stadium there would be an article somewhere about it. Where's it at? I live in the area and have read the Pittsburgh paper daily since I can remember. Never once have I read an article regarding an on campus stadium, but if you show me otherwise I'll say I'm wrong.

Please show me where I said the Roster is garbage? I said Pitt does not have the talent necessary and hasn't to be a top 15 team on a regular basis. I have 30 years of proof. I agree that it does have the talent to have won the big east in certain years.

There is a huge difference between being a perrenial top 15 team and having a top 15 roster once in a while. You made it clear you think Pitt is a perrenial top 15 team. I disagree.

The difference between you and most others on this board is that most people are stating their opinions. You are stating your opinions as fact.