Dan Mullen to Pitt.....

[KirkHerbstreit]

Good grief are Pitt fans really this delusional to think this even have a .0002% chance of happening. Chris Peak and Sam Werner just tweeted it has no chance of happening. I would be willing to bet the reason this happened was Pitt Administration was cringing regarding the excitement of Pitt's fanbase and they knew the fanbase would have a letdown when the actual hire is announced.

I think Pitt will get a fairly decent coach and will be better off without Chryst, but if you think they are getting Dan Mullen you don't have a firm grasp on the reality of what Pitt is (outside of the bubble of Pittsburgh).

Pitt has a lot of obstactles in attracting a coach. Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, but having your campus, football facilities, and field spread out all over it is not ideal. Driving in and out of the city is not ideal at specific times is not ideal. The money Pitt is willing to pay is not ideal. It's a good place to get your feet wet and move on. I think the last few coaching results have proved that.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Pitt people didn't start the rumor, multiple national writers did.

[Crimson's Ghost]

The rumors were based on his wife being from Pittsburgh and that he maxed out at MSU.

I think it was always a longshot. Pitt just needs to increase spending plain and simple. Heinz Field won't be a barrier if you have good teams. Pitt can be as good as they want to be. Nordy and Pederson weren't a good combination.

[KirkHerbstreit]

The rumors were more than likely started by his agent to get Dan a raise or get Michigan to move forward.

Pitt cannot be as good as it wants to be. They have limitations...almost all City schools do right now. USC is the exception. Southern California is easy to recruit to. Miami used to be, but even they have troubles fielding a decent team. I'm not saying Pitt can't have a fluky year where they go 11-1 or 10-2, because we have seen other teams unexpectedly do it. They just can't do it consistently.

Pitt has not had less than 3 losses in a season for 30+ years. Probably longer than your lifetime and long before Nordenberg and Pederson were at Pitt.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Nordenberg was there for over half of those 30 years.

Pitt has good facilities, nice campus, good academics, unique opportunities being in a city. If they want to spend money on a coach, they can be a consistent player in the ACC. If they continue to halfass their coaching hires and pay towards the bottom of the power five well sure, they'll stay a 6-6 program. From my understanding the next coach will be given a more competitive budget and some upgrades to the Southside facility. It seems Patrick Gallagher sees some use in trying to field a better product of football.

Pitt is paying Pederson a 7 figure buyout, something that Pitt never would have done before. That's a good sign.

[southpaw]

Im glad Peterson is finally history should never have took him back.

I think it time for Pitt to plan for building a new stadium in Oakland. If Pitt is serious about its football program a stadium has to be the #1 priority. Playing at Heinz just doesn't cut. Zero atmosphere. And what happens in 10 years when Heinz field is obsolete?

[KirkHerbstreit]

What about the other 15 years. Here are some facts about Pitt's program since 1950.

1950-1975 109 wins 138 losses 9 ties
1976-1983 79 wins 15 losses 2 ties
1984-current 180 wins 181 losses 5 ties

It is rumored that between 1976-1983 there was a group called the Golden Panthers who were paying players to come to Pitt. That would explain the vast difference in records between those periods. So you can blame Norderberg and Pederson, but the bottom line is the Pitt you seen this year, last year, and the past 30+ years is the norm for Pitt not what happened between 1976-1983

[Crimson's Ghost]

There is no room in Oakland for a stadium.

[Crimson's Ghost]

I'm not worried about the past 30 years I'm worried about the last 5 and the next 30 years.

[KirkHerbstreit]

You should be