Earlier today, the University of Pittsburgh will announce Michael Haywood as the football programs 34th head coach. This comes 9 days after the forced resignation of Dave Wannestedt. Many supporters of the program were glad to see Wannestedt go, but then thoroughly disappointed in the hiring process of his replacement. So let’s take a look at what has gone on over the past week plus.
Many Pitt fans were excited about the program not settling for the underachieving that Wannestedt had done over the past three. Most fans also expected the university to make a sexy pick for their next hire to take Pitt to the proverbial “next level.” Michael Haywood is by no means is a sexy pick as the new head coach.
When Wannestedt was forced to resign, the rumors began of who could be the next head coach. We heard Chris Petersen from Boise State was the first person that Steve Pederson contacted. We heard names like Mike Leach tossed around. The way-to-optimistic Pitt fans saw Urban Meyer available as the next coach after he resigned at Florida. Well, none of these guys ended up being serious contenders. The guys that were considered serious candidates included Al Golden from Temple, who took the Miami head coaching position, and Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who chancellor Mark Nordenberg said no to. That left fans back at square one. However, that was not the case for Pederson and the staff at Pitt. Apparently, they had in fact offered Al Golden the position and he was the schools #1 choice, but he chose Miami instead. However, the school never did offer Holgorsen and reports are showing that the school never actually talked to him directly about the job. Nordenberg did not like his background and thought he was not a “Pitt guy” (whatever that is).
What we have found out is that Michael Haywood was interviewed multiple times during this process, so apparently he was one of the schools top targets from the beginning. And why wouldn’t he be? Haywood has a solid background. Haywood, in his first head-coaching job, went 1-11 in his first season. In season two, he in 9-4 and won the conference title. On that conference title team, 43 of the 65 men on the travel roster were freshmen or sophomores. The guy cleaned house, got the players he wanted and won, what’s not to like?
Haywood has a great coaching background too. Since 1995 he worked at three programs before getting the head-coaching job at Miami. In that time he won a national championship while at LSU working with Nick Saban. He also learned from Mack Brown at Texas and was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame with Charlie Weis. Nobody liked Charlie Weis at Notre Dame and they didn’t win much, but one thing that never lost them games was the offense, and that was run by Haywood.
Do I love the hire, no. Do I hate it though, certainly not. I like the fact that Haywood has head coaching experience. I like the fact that he has great recruiting connections. I like the fact that it is tough to find another coach in the business that has worked with him that doesn’t rave about his abilities. I get that he was not a sexy pick, but I’m willing to at least give the guy a chance. The last time Pitt fans were this upset that the school didn’t make a “sexy” hire was when the university hired a guy named Jamie Dixon, how’s that working out?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
PITT COACHING SEARCH
PITT COACHING SEARCH
Since the news came down on Tuesday that Dave Wannestedt would not return as the head football coach at Pitt, the question that everyone wanted answered was not, “why?” it was, "who can we get to replace him?" Well, I am hoping to shine some light on the subject today. Below I have listed the names of 20 potential candidates that have either been rumored or that I would like considered for the job. Some are long-shot chances and others are nightmare choices, but I will break them all down here.
(Listed alphabetically)
Teryl Austin - Austin, 45, is currently the defensive coordinator at Florida, which now also has a head-coaching opening. Austin played at Pitt from 84-87 and has some very strong ties to the area. He was a defensive coach at Michigan before working two stints in the NFL as a defensive backs coach before taking his current position at Florida. He has also been known as a very strong recruiter.
There is lots to like about Austin. He is a young coach. He has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area, being from Sharon, PA. He is a strong recruiter, and that always is important. He has coached at major programs and has many connections to the NFL. The negative is he is a defensive coach. College football has become a score first ask questions later league, and we just went through what a defensive minded coach brings. Another draw back, in my opinion, is that he is a Pitt guy. I love Pitt, and I loved coach Wannestedt’s love for Pitt, but the next coach’s main concern should be winning; not returning home to be the school’s football savior.
GRADE (1-10, 1 = I will start rooting for Penn State and WVU if this hire is made, 10 = Do you think this guy will be ready to go by the BBVA Compass Bowl game?): 6.5
Tom Bradley - Bradley has been the defensive coordinator at Penn State since 2000. He had widely been considered the next in line at Penn State after Joe Paterno retires, but that no longer seems to be the case. He is a relentless recruiter and has tons of connections throughout Western PA.
As much as his defenses have dominated at Penn State, it concerns me that he has dropped out of favor with the higher-ups at Penn State. If he isn’t good enough for Penn State, he isn’t good enough for Pitt.
GRADE: 5
Frank Cignetti - Cignetti, 45, is the current offensive coordinator for the Panthers. He helped develop Bill Stull from a very average QB, to the leader in the Big East in passing his senior season. He has lots of ties to the university and the Pittsburgh area, growing up in the area and starting his coaching career as a grad assistant at Pitt.
What worries me is the offense that we saw this year. Was that Wannestedt playing close to the vest, or was that Cignetti making those play calls? I would rather start over and not keep this coaching staff.
GRADE: 2.5
John Fox - Fox, 55, is currently the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, but looks to be done there after this season. Fox coached at Pitt in the late 80’s for 3 seasons under Mike Gottfried. Fox also coached for the Steelers in Chuck Noll’s final 3 seasons. His name was thrown around during the Pitt coaching search 6 years ago before the school hired Wannestedt.
We’ve been down this aisle already with Dave Wannestedt. John Fox was a good coordinator everywhere he coached. He was an above average head coach in the NFL, but nothing special. As I said, I don’t want an NFL guy to do a college job.
GRADE: 3
Greg Gattuso - Gattuso, 48, is the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at Pitt. He has done wonders for the defense at Pitt. He had been considered a great recruiter in the western PA area, but recently has burned some bridges. Gattuso played at Penn State and has head coaching experience at Duquesne.
I would love to see Gattuso stay on the staff at Pitt, but not running the staff. He has developed the defensive linemen at Pitt to dominate games and that position at Pitt has won Big East Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons under Gattuso. I worry that he is a defensive mind and Pitt needs someone that thinks offense. Hopefully, that person sees the value of Gattuso and keeps him at Pitt.
GRADE: 6
Al Golden - Golden, 41, is the head coach at Temple. He has completely turned the Owls around and made them relevant in the college football world. Golden has played and coached at Penn State and he now seems to be the hot coach whose name gets thrown around when talking about replacing Joe Paterno.
I don’t want a guy that is going to leave Pitt for Penn State, and I have no doubt that Golden would do that. I think he has the potential to be a great coach, but that is not enough for me to feel comfortable with him as the long-term fit at Pitt.
GRADE: 2
Russ Grimm - Grimm, 51, is the offensive line coach and assistant head coach for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. Grimm played at Pitt during the glory days of the program, from 1977-1980. He is and has always been a great ambassador to the university. He was a candidate for the Steelers head-coaching job after Bill Cowher retired.
A big concern that I have about Russ Grimm is that he has never coached college football. I feel that he is a lot like Dave Wannestedt without the background. I would worry that this would be a Foge Fazio type hire, one that could really set the program back in the end.
GRADE: 2.5
Dana Holgorsen - Holgorsen, 39, is the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. In his first year with the Cowboys, the offense led the nation in total offense. He is a disciple of Mike Leach and Hal Mumme. He is probably one of the hottest young assistant coaches in the nation right now.
Holgorsen has been rumored to have been contacted by Pitt yesterday regarding the opening, and I think this is a slam-dunk. Holgorsen would put points on the board and seats in the stadium. His offense is exciting, and Pitt certainly has the talent and skill players for him to be able to come in immediately and win. One downfall is that he is not widely known as a big-time recruiter, but when you run an offense like this, the system recruits for you.
GRADE: 9.5
Mike Leach - Leach, 49, is currently looking for work while sipping frosty beverages in his Key West home. Leach took a Texas Tech program from nothing to a national power, and that while competing against the likes of Texas, A&M and Oklahoma for the top talent in the area. In his 10 seasons at Tech, Leach never had a losing season. Leach never played football, but instead, studied the game. He went to BYU and studied the high-powered offensive that Lavell Edwards and Norm Chow ran there. He then went on to Pepperdine Law School where he earned a JD. He has graduated his players, while keeping them out of trouble as a coach.
People seem to be scared off by Mike Leach because he was accused of putting a player suffering from concussion-like syndromes into a storage shed. That may or may not have been the right thing to do, but maybe that is how they do it in Lubbock. Pitt has some of the best doctors in the country so the good news is they would be handling athletes with concussions, not the head coach. I don’t see much wrong with this hire, and I think it is just the type of hire Pitt needs to make.
GRADE: 9.5
Marvin Lewis - Lewis, 52, is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, but is likely to be fired at the end of the season. Lewis was born in western PA and has ties to both the Steelers and Pitt, coaching both teams in the early 90’s. Since leaving the Steelers he went on to be the defensive coordinator in Baltimore and Washington before being named the head coach in Cincinnati in 2003.
Lewis has not been in the college game since 1991 when he was at Pitt. This is a lot like John Fox. Why would Pitt want to hire an NFL guy that has failed at his most recent job and has not been in the college game over the last 20 years? Wouldn’t make much sense to me.
GRADE: 2.5
Tim Lewis - Lewis, 48, is currently coaching the secondary for the Atlanta Falcons. Lewis is a former Pitt player, from 1979-1982. He was the 11th pick in the 1983 draft and played for the Packers for 4 seasons before suffering a career ending neck injury. Lewis coached at Pitt for 2 seasons under the “Back to the Future” debacle under Johnny Majors. Lewis then went on to coach the Steelers.
As the defensive coordinator for the Steelers, he is responsible for cutting James Harrison three times. Do we really want someone that cannot recognize talent like that? He also has never been a head coach and been fired as a defensive coordinator every time he held the position. Not someone that is really blowing the doors off saying, “HIRE ME!”
GRADE: 2
Gus Malzahn - Malzahn, 45, is the offensive coordinator at Auburn. He has also held that position at Tulsa and Arkansas. He is known as an offensive guru and someone that really develops quarterbacks. He loves hurry-up offenses and rarely huddles. He has had success with talented players, but his recruiting ability is unknown.
The one thing that scares me about Malzahn is that he was coaching high school football in Arkansas the last time Pitt went through a coaching search. Malzahn basically got his first college job because his high school team was loaded, so before signing day, Arkansas offered him the OC position to bring his players with him. Now he has Cam Newton. I’m not so sure how difficult it is to look like an offensive genius when you have that guy playing QB.
GRADE: 7
Josh McDaniels - McDaniels, 34, was just fired by the Denver Broncos after losing 17 of the last 22 games. He is a Bill Belichek disciple and was considered a sure-fire, big-time head coach in the NFL and started 6-2 in his first 8 games. McDaniels is from Ohio, but does not have any direct connections to Pitt or the Pittsburgh area.
Pederson has loved hiring NFL guys in the past, and McDaniels looks like someone that he might like. McDaniels has never recruited and has never coached the college level. He is also a cheater. He was behind the “SpyGate” scandal the Patriots had and has just recently gone through it again with the Broncos this season.
GRADE: 1.5
Bronco Mendenhall - Mendenhall, 44, is the head coach at BYU. Mendenhall is one of the young head coaches that seem to pop-up on every coaching list. He is a defensive minded coach and has coached in college the past 20 years. He has had four 10+ win seasons in his six years at BYU. He has never coached east of the Mississippi, so his contacts, which are very important in the college game, would all be very far away.
I like the idea of hiring someone younger and I definitely want someone that is not a “Pitt guy,” so in that regard, Mendenhall seems like a great hire. I do worry about his ability to being able to cope with being the second most popular MENDENHALL in the city.
GRADE: 8
Chris Petersen - Petersen, 46, is the head coach at Boise State. He is by far the most popular candidate for every job opening in America. He has led Boise State to a 60-5 record since taking over. He was the mastermind behind the famous Fiesta Bowl game against Oklahoma, which featured a Hook And Ladder play to tie the game and a Statue of Liberty play to win it in overtime. Petersen is a great recruiter and has now started getting big-time talent to Boise. That is impressive. He also has ties to Pitt. His first coaching job was at Pitt in 1992 when he was the QB coach. Alex Van Pelt was the QB at the time, and he still holds the record for career passing yards at the school.
I can’t find anything wrong with this hire. Rumor has it that Pitt does plans to contact Petersen to gauge his interest in the position. Pitt has already named two different athletic complexes after him in preparations for this day. He is the go-to guy and, now that Florida seems set on either Dan Mullen or Charlie Strong (two former Meyer assistants), it opens Pitt up as the top job available so far this offseason.
GRADE: 10
Paul Rhoads - Rhoads, 43, is the head coach at Iowa State. Rhoads formerly was a defensive coordinator at Pitt before leaving Pitt to take the same position at Auburn. Rhoads was a finalist for the head-coaching job at Pitt when Walt Harris left for Stanford. Rhoades and Cavanaugh, the other finalist, both took positions as coordinators under Dave Wannestedt, who beat them both out for the position.
Rhoads has a record of 12-13 at Iowa State in two seasons. He left Pitt after a disappointing year and was never comfortable calling the defense after Dave Wannestedt came in with his defensive philosophies. He does obviously have ties to the university, but he played at Iowa State, so I am not sure he would want to leave even if he was offered the job at Pitt.
GRADE: 4
Mark Stoops - Stoops, 43, is the defensive coordinator at Florida State. Stoops has a strong family background in coaching. His brothers are both head coaches, Bob at Oklahoma and Mike at Arizona. Having coached at Miami and now Florida State, Stoops has lots of ties to high schools and recruiting in Florida, which is always nice. Like his brothers, Mark is also a defensive coach. Stoops was born and raised in Youngstown, OH so he is familiar with the area.
Stoops in an interesting candidate for the job due to his name. The Stoops family has been very success in the college coaching world. I like the fact that he does not have any direct ties to the university, but I worry about him being a defense first coach. His defenses have been good everywhere he has gone, but both of his brothers struggled finding good offenses to compliment their defenses, and that worries me a bit.
GRADE: 7
Kevin Sumlin - Sumlin, 46, is currently the head coach at Houston. He has worked in the college game his entire career, including some very prominent programs and offenses. Before taking over the reins at Houston, Sumlin had one of the most successful offenses in the country at Oklahoma. Since taking over at Houston, his teams are 23-16, including a 10-win season last year.
Sumlin is rumored to be a finalist for the vacancy at Miami, which looks like it could be filled by the end of this weekend. So he may never actually be in the running for the Pitt job if things go his way in Coral Gables. Sumlin would be the 1st African American head coach at Pitt in any major sport. His offenses have always been high-powered passing games, which have put up lots of points, but also may not fit in the cold northeast.
GRADE: 6.5
Sal Sunseri - Sunseri, 51, is the linebackers coach at Alabama. He is a Panther grad, and his son is the current quarterback at Pitt. He has coached at high-level programs including LSU and Michigan State under Nick Saban before going to the NFL to join John Fox’s staff in Carolina. Sunseri was the interim coach at Pitt for 1 game to end the 1992 season and that team lost to Hawaii. Although he has coached all different levels at all different places, Sunseri has never even been a coordinator, let alone a head coach.
There is nothing good about this hire. Sunseri was not even a finalist 6 years ago when he wanted the position. Another downfall to this hire would be that his son, Tino, would pretty much be handed the starting QB job the next two seasons, when Mark Myers (a redshirt freshman) should be the starter for the next 4 years.
GRADE: 1
Brent Venables - Venables, 39, has been the defensive coordinator for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma since 2004 and worked as the linebackers coach there for the five years prior to the promotion. Venables is a relentless recruiter and a great game planner on the defensive side of the ball.
One of the problems I have with Venables is that he is the defensive coordinator for a defensive minded coach, which always makes you wonder how much pull he really has with that defense. Another worry is that despite having a nice resume, he rarely has been getting looks for other openings. I am not normally one who changes my opinion based on what others think, but it says something when a guy continues to get overlooked for jobs that he is qualified for. One interesting thought is that if Bob Stoops takes the Florida job, I would imagine Venables would be a top candidate to replace Stoops at Oklahoma.
GRADE: 7.5
Well, there you have it. It took a little longer than I expected, but here is the complete list. As you can tell, I am looking for a younger, offensive coach with a college mindset of running up a score when he can. I would like a coach that takes a 21 point halftime lead and comes out of halftime with the mindset that he wants to make it 42, not that he wants to hold on and win by 14 or 21. I also want nothing to do with a Pitt guy. I want the best guy for the job, regardless of if he went to Pitt, drove through Pittsburgh at some point, or has no idea in which state Pittsburgh is located. I want a winner!
Since the news came down on Tuesday that Dave Wannestedt would not return as the head football coach at Pitt, the question that everyone wanted answered was not, “why?” it was, "who can we get to replace him?" Well, I am hoping to shine some light on the subject today. Below I have listed the names of 20 potential candidates that have either been rumored or that I would like considered for the job. Some are long-shot chances and others are nightmare choices, but I will break them all down here.
(Listed alphabetically)
Teryl Austin - Austin, 45, is currently the defensive coordinator at Florida, which now also has a head-coaching opening. Austin played at Pitt from 84-87 and has some very strong ties to the area. He was a defensive coach at Michigan before working two stints in the NFL as a defensive backs coach before taking his current position at Florida. He has also been known as a very strong recruiter.
There is lots to like about Austin. He is a young coach. He has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area, being from Sharon, PA. He is a strong recruiter, and that always is important. He has coached at major programs and has many connections to the NFL. The negative is he is a defensive coach. College football has become a score first ask questions later league, and we just went through what a defensive minded coach brings. Another draw back, in my opinion, is that he is a Pitt guy. I love Pitt, and I loved coach Wannestedt’s love for Pitt, but the next coach’s main concern should be winning; not returning home to be the school’s football savior.
GRADE (1-10, 1 = I will start rooting for Penn State and WVU if this hire is made, 10 = Do you think this guy will be ready to go by the BBVA Compass Bowl game?): 6.5
Tom Bradley - Bradley has been the defensive coordinator at Penn State since 2000. He had widely been considered the next in line at Penn State after Joe Paterno retires, but that no longer seems to be the case. He is a relentless recruiter and has tons of connections throughout Western PA.
As much as his defenses have dominated at Penn State, it concerns me that he has dropped out of favor with the higher-ups at Penn State. If he isn’t good enough for Penn State, he isn’t good enough for Pitt.
GRADE: 5
Frank Cignetti - Cignetti, 45, is the current offensive coordinator for the Panthers. He helped develop Bill Stull from a very average QB, to the leader in the Big East in passing his senior season. He has lots of ties to the university and the Pittsburgh area, growing up in the area and starting his coaching career as a grad assistant at Pitt.
What worries me is the offense that we saw this year. Was that Wannestedt playing close to the vest, or was that Cignetti making those play calls? I would rather start over and not keep this coaching staff.
GRADE: 2.5
John Fox - Fox, 55, is currently the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, but looks to be done there after this season. Fox coached at Pitt in the late 80’s for 3 seasons under Mike Gottfried. Fox also coached for the Steelers in Chuck Noll’s final 3 seasons. His name was thrown around during the Pitt coaching search 6 years ago before the school hired Wannestedt.
We’ve been down this aisle already with Dave Wannestedt. John Fox was a good coordinator everywhere he coached. He was an above average head coach in the NFL, but nothing special. As I said, I don’t want an NFL guy to do a college job.
GRADE: 3
Greg Gattuso - Gattuso, 48, is the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at Pitt. He has done wonders for the defense at Pitt. He had been considered a great recruiter in the western PA area, but recently has burned some bridges. Gattuso played at Penn State and has head coaching experience at Duquesne.
I would love to see Gattuso stay on the staff at Pitt, but not running the staff. He has developed the defensive linemen at Pitt to dominate games and that position at Pitt has won Big East Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons under Gattuso. I worry that he is a defensive mind and Pitt needs someone that thinks offense. Hopefully, that person sees the value of Gattuso and keeps him at Pitt.
GRADE: 6
Al Golden - Golden, 41, is the head coach at Temple. He has completely turned the Owls around and made them relevant in the college football world. Golden has played and coached at Penn State and he now seems to be the hot coach whose name gets thrown around when talking about replacing Joe Paterno.
I don’t want a guy that is going to leave Pitt for Penn State, and I have no doubt that Golden would do that. I think he has the potential to be a great coach, but that is not enough for me to feel comfortable with him as the long-term fit at Pitt.
GRADE: 2
Russ Grimm - Grimm, 51, is the offensive line coach and assistant head coach for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. Grimm played at Pitt during the glory days of the program, from 1977-1980. He is and has always been a great ambassador to the university. He was a candidate for the Steelers head-coaching job after Bill Cowher retired.
A big concern that I have about Russ Grimm is that he has never coached college football. I feel that he is a lot like Dave Wannestedt without the background. I would worry that this would be a Foge Fazio type hire, one that could really set the program back in the end.
GRADE: 2.5
Dana Holgorsen - Holgorsen, 39, is the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. In his first year with the Cowboys, the offense led the nation in total offense. He is a disciple of Mike Leach and Hal Mumme. He is probably one of the hottest young assistant coaches in the nation right now.
Holgorsen has been rumored to have been contacted by Pitt yesterday regarding the opening, and I think this is a slam-dunk. Holgorsen would put points on the board and seats in the stadium. His offense is exciting, and Pitt certainly has the talent and skill players for him to be able to come in immediately and win. One downfall is that he is not widely known as a big-time recruiter, but when you run an offense like this, the system recruits for you.
GRADE: 9.5
Mike Leach - Leach, 49, is currently looking for work while sipping frosty beverages in his Key West home. Leach took a Texas Tech program from nothing to a national power, and that while competing against the likes of Texas, A&M and Oklahoma for the top talent in the area. In his 10 seasons at Tech, Leach never had a losing season. Leach never played football, but instead, studied the game. He went to BYU and studied the high-powered offensive that Lavell Edwards and Norm Chow ran there. He then went on to Pepperdine Law School where he earned a JD. He has graduated his players, while keeping them out of trouble as a coach.
People seem to be scared off by Mike Leach because he was accused of putting a player suffering from concussion-like syndromes into a storage shed. That may or may not have been the right thing to do, but maybe that is how they do it in Lubbock. Pitt has some of the best doctors in the country so the good news is they would be handling athletes with concussions, not the head coach. I don’t see much wrong with this hire, and I think it is just the type of hire Pitt needs to make.
GRADE: 9.5
Marvin Lewis - Lewis, 52, is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, but is likely to be fired at the end of the season. Lewis was born in western PA and has ties to both the Steelers and Pitt, coaching both teams in the early 90’s. Since leaving the Steelers he went on to be the defensive coordinator in Baltimore and Washington before being named the head coach in Cincinnati in 2003.
Lewis has not been in the college game since 1991 when he was at Pitt. This is a lot like John Fox. Why would Pitt want to hire an NFL guy that has failed at his most recent job and has not been in the college game over the last 20 years? Wouldn’t make much sense to me.
GRADE: 2.5
Tim Lewis - Lewis, 48, is currently coaching the secondary for the Atlanta Falcons. Lewis is a former Pitt player, from 1979-1982. He was the 11th pick in the 1983 draft and played for the Packers for 4 seasons before suffering a career ending neck injury. Lewis coached at Pitt for 2 seasons under the “Back to the Future” debacle under Johnny Majors. Lewis then went on to coach the Steelers.
As the defensive coordinator for the Steelers, he is responsible for cutting James Harrison three times. Do we really want someone that cannot recognize talent like that? He also has never been a head coach and been fired as a defensive coordinator every time he held the position. Not someone that is really blowing the doors off saying, “HIRE ME!”
GRADE: 2
Gus Malzahn - Malzahn, 45, is the offensive coordinator at Auburn. He has also held that position at Tulsa and Arkansas. He is known as an offensive guru and someone that really develops quarterbacks. He loves hurry-up offenses and rarely huddles. He has had success with talented players, but his recruiting ability is unknown.
The one thing that scares me about Malzahn is that he was coaching high school football in Arkansas the last time Pitt went through a coaching search. Malzahn basically got his first college job because his high school team was loaded, so before signing day, Arkansas offered him the OC position to bring his players with him. Now he has Cam Newton. I’m not so sure how difficult it is to look like an offensive genius when you have that guy playing QB.
GRADE: 7
Josh McDaniels - McDaniels, 34, was just fired by the Denver Broncos after losing 17 of the last 22 games. He is a Bill Belichek disciple and was considered a sure-fire, big-time head coach in the NFL and started 6-2 in his first 8 games. McDaniels is from Ohio, but does not have any direct connections to Pitt or the Pittsburgh area.
Pederson has loved hiring NFL guys in the past, and McDaniels looks like someone that he might like. McDaniels has never recruited and has never coached the college level. He is also a cheater. He was behind the “SpyGate” scandal the Patriots had and has just recently gone through it again with the Broncos this season.
GRADE: 1.5
Bronco Mendenhall - Mendenhall, 44, is the head coach at BYU. Mendenhall is one of the young head coaches that seem to pop-up on every coaching list. He is a defensive minded coach and has coached in college the past 20 years. He has had four 10+ win seasons in his six years at BYU. He has never coached east of the Mississippi, so his contacts, which are very important in the college game, would all be very far away.
I like the idea of hiring someone younger and I definitely want someone that is not a “Pitt guy,” so in that regard, Mendenhall seems like a great hire. I do worry about his ability to being able to cope with being the second most popular MENDENHALL in the city.
GRADE: 8
Chris Petersen - Petersen, 46, is the head coach at Boise State. He is by far the most popular candidate for every job opening in America. He has led Boise State to a 60-5 record since taking over. He was the mastermind behind the famous Fiesta Bowl game against Oklahoma, which featured a Hook And Ladder play to tie the game and a Statue of Liberty play to win it in overtime. Petersen is a great recruiter and has now started getting big-time talent to Boise. That is impressive. He also has ties to Pitt. His first coaching job was at Pitt in 1992 when he was the QB coach. Alex Van Pelt was the QB at the time, and he still holds the record for career passing yards at the school.
I can’t find anything wrong with this hire. Rumor has it that Pitt does plans to contact Petersen to gauge his interest in the position. Pitt has already named two different athletic complexes after him in preparations for this day. He is the go-to guy and, now that Florida seems set on either Dan Mullen or Charlie Strong (two former Meyer assistants), it opens Pitt up as the top job available so far this offseason.
GRADE: 10
Paul Rhoads - Rhoads, 43, is the head coach at Iowa State. Rhoads formerly was a defensive coordinator at Pitt before leaving Pitt to take the same position at Auburn. Rhoads was a finalist for the head-coaching job at Pitt when Walt Harris left for Stanford. Rhoades and Cavanaugh, the other finalist, both took positions as coordinators under Dave Wannestedt, who beat them both out for the position.
Rhoads has a record of 12-13 at Iowa State in two seasons. He left Pitt after a disappointing year and was never comfortable calling the defense after Dave Wannestedt came in with his defensive philosophies. He does obviously have ties to the university, but he played at Iowa State, so I am not sure he would want to leave even if he was offered the job at Pitt.
GRADE: 4
Mark Stoops - Stoops, 43, is the defensive coordinator at Florida State. Stoops has a strong family background in coaching. His brothers are both head coaches, Bob at Oklahoma and Mike at Arizona. Having coached at Miami and now Florida State, Stoops has lots of ties to high schools and recruiting in Florida, which is always nice. Like his brothers, Mark is also a defensive coach. Stoops was born and raised in Youngstown, OH so he is familiar with the area.
Stoops in an interesting candidate for the job due to his name. The Stoops family has been very success in the college coaching world. I like the fact that he does not have any direct ties to the university, but I worry about him being a defense first coach. His defenses have been good everywhere he has gone, but both of his brothers struggled finding good offenses to compliment their defenses, and that worries me a bit.
GRADE: 7
Kevin Sumlin - Sumlin, 46, is currently the head coach at Houston. He has worked in the college game his entire career, including some very prominent programs and offenses. Before taking over the reins at Houston, Sumlin had one of the most successful offenses in the country at Oklahoma. Since taking over at Houston, his teams are 23-16, including a 10-win season last year.
Sumlin is rumored to be a finalist for the vacancy at Miami, which looks like it could be filled by the end of this weekend. So he may never actually be in the running for the Pitt job if things go his way in Coral Gables. Sumlin would be the 1st African American head coach at Pitt in any major sport. His offenses have always been high-powered passing games, which have put up lots of points, but also may not fit in the cold northeast.
GRADE: 6.5
Sal Sunseri - Sunseri, 51, is the linebackers coach at Alabama. He is a Panther grad, and his son is the current quarterback at Pitt. He has coached at high-level programs including LSU and Michigan State under Nick Saban before going to the NFL to join John Fox’s staff in Carolina. Sunseri was the interim coach at Pitt for 1 game to end the 1992 season and that team lost to Hawaii. Although he has coached all different levels at all different places, Sunseri has never even been a coordinator, let alone a head coach.
There is nothing good about this hire. Sunseri was not even a finalist 6 years ago when he wanted the position. Another downfall to this hire would be that his son, Tino, would pretty much be handed the starting QB job the next two seasons, when Mark Myers (a redshirt freshman) should be the starter for the next 4 years.
GRADE: 1
Brent Venables - Venables, 39, has been the defensive coordinator for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma since 2004 and worked as the linebackers coach there for the five years prior to the promotion. Venables is a relentless recruiter and a great game planner on the defensive side of the ball.
One of the problems I have with Venables is that he is the defensive coordinator for a defensive minded coach, which always makes you wonder how much pull he really has with that defense. Another worry is that despite having a nice resume, he rarely has been getting looks for other openings. I am not normally one who changes my opinion based on what others think, but it says something when a guy continues to get overlooked for jobs that he is qualified for. One interesting thought is that if Bob Stoops takes the Florida job, I would imagine Venables would be a top candidate to replace Stoops at Oklahoma.
GRADE: 7.5
Well, there you have it. It took a little longer than I expected, but here is the complete list. As you can tell, I am looking for a younger, offensive coach with a college mindset of running up a score when he can. I would like a coach that takes a 21 point halftime lead and comes out of halftime with the mindset that he wants to make it 42, not that he wants to hold on and win by 14 or 21. I also want nothing to do with a Pitt guy. I want the best guy for the job, regardless of if he went to Pitt, drove through Pittsburgh at some point, or has no idea in which state Pittsburgh is located. I want a winner!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
DAVE WANNESTEDT RESIGNS
I had another Rant in mind for today, but due to the Wannestedt Era ending at Pitt, this takes priority.
First let me say that yes, I am glad that the University of Pittsburgh will no longer be coached by Dave Wannestedt. However, let me quickly follow that up by pointing out that Dave Wannestedt has been a great ambassador for the Pitt program over the last 6 years. Unfortunately, that does not get you very far though if you do not win games too.
I did not think that the university had enough guts to ask Wannestedt for his resignation. I am thrilled at how this worked out, for both parties. Coach Wannestedt has never been anything but a class act while at Pitt and representing the Panthers. That is why I was glad to see that Pitt offered Wanny a cushy job in the athletic department if he resigned as head coach. As much as Wanny wanted to win at Pitt, the last thing he would want to do is hurt the program by staying when a changed needed to be made. The school decided it was time and gave Wannestedt a chance to go out with his pride still intact, and he did.
As of right now, I would give the university an “A” for how they have handled things so far, but that is only half of it. Now the school needs to go out and find a guy that will win at Pitt. No more NFL guys. No more Pitt guys. Just go find a winner. So far they have handled this process flawlessly, but they need to finish. It is easy to get rid of a coach, the tough part is replacing him with someone better. This is the university’s new challenge.
Check back later in the week for a rundown of my wish list of Pitt coaches.
First let me say that yes, I am glad that the University of Pittsburgh will no longer be coached by Dave Wannestedt. However, let me quickly follow that up by pointing out that Dave Wannestedt has been a great ambassador for the Pitt program over the last 6 years. Unfortunately, that does not get you very far though if you do not win games too.
I did not think that the university had enough guts to ask Wannestedt for his resignation. I am thrilled at how this worked out, for both parties. Coach Wannestedt has never been anything but a class act while at Pitt and representing the Panthers. That is why I was glad to see that Pitt offered Wanny a cushy job in the athletic department if he resigned as head coach. As much as Wanny wanted to win at Pitt, the last thing he would want to do is hurt the program by staying when a changed needed to be made. The school decided it was time and gave Wannestedt a chance to go out with his pride still intact, and he did.
As of right now, I would give the university an “A” for how they have handled things so far, but that is only half of it. Now the school needs to go out and find a guy that will win at Pitt. No more NFL guys. No more Pitt guys. Just go find a winner. So far they have handled this process flawlessly, but they need to finish. It is easy to get rid of a coach, the tough part is replacing him with someone better. This is the university’s new challenge.
Check back later in the week for a rundown of my wish list of Pitt coaches.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
RANDOM RANT
PITT FOOTBALL
I have supported Pitt football head coach Dave Wannestedt since they hired him. I supported him after being shellacked in his debut to Notre Dame at home. I supported him after the 3-0 debacle in the Sun Bowl. I supported him last year in all 3 of Pitt’s losses when they blew late 4th quarter leads. I supported him this year after I drove 3 hours to watch his team get embarrassed on national television to a very average Miami team.
I no longer support him. He has to go.
There is no reason that Pitt should have ZERO BCS bowl appearances since Dave Wannestedt has taken over. If you recall he took over for a guy that had just taken the Panthers to their lone BCS bowl game in Walt Harris, who took Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004. Pitt has lead recruiting rankings in 3 of the 6 recruiting classes that Wannestedt has put together. They finished in the top half of the conference in the other 3 seasons. Yet, with all that talent, he has gone to just 2 bowl appearances in 5 seasons. He has lost to teams like, Navy, Ohio University and Bowling Green. He has gone 2-4 against Rutgers. He has simply not lived up to expectations.
Nobody likes a coaching change. Dave Wannestedt is a great front man for the university and the Pitt football team. However, he is not getting it done on the field on a weekly basis. It is time for the university to create a new position in the athletic department, something like Assistant Athletic Director to the Football Program, and go out and hire a big name coach that can take the Panthers to the Promised Land.
The guy to do this? Chris Petersen, the front man for the Boise State Broncos. I know it sounds unrealistic, but hear me out.
Chris Petersen is just the type of guy that Pitt fans want. A younger coach, check. Petersen is just 46 years old and has been a head coach for the last five years. An offensive minded coach, check. Petersen is the guy that calls the play for that high-speed, high-paced Boise offense that ranks 4th in the nation in yards per game and 2nd in points per game. A big name guy, check, is there a bigger name out there when it comes to young and up-and-coming college coaches?
Is he a long shot? Yes, but he is exactly the guy that Pitt needs to go after if they want to be a legit football program. If you do not want to be a legit football program, which is fine, we will take out Top 5 basketball program, just tell the fan base so we can cancel our season tickets and find something else to do on Saturdays next fall.
THE REALLY BIG EAST
Texas Christian University announced today that they would be joining the Big East conference in all sports in 2012.
Let me repeat that, Texas Christian University announced today that they will be joining the Big East conference in all sports in 2012.
They were not referring to the Texas Big East, the actual Big East conference. The same conference that began in 1979, when Syracuse was the school furthest to the west and Georgetown was the southern most school.
Someone please explain to me how this works? Yes, I understand that TCU certainly strengthens the Big East football conference, but how does it help the rest of the conference? How long before the schools complain about the cost of sending the women’s tennis team to Dallas for their annual match? And tell me what this does for the basketball conference. The conference that is widely regarded as the best conference in the country year in and year out, how does adding TCU help there? How is adding a team that has already lost to Rider and UMASS this season going to help the strength of the basketball conference? The Horned Frogs went 5-11 last year in the Mountain West Conference last year, how do you think they will do when they are playing Villanova and Syracuse week in and week out? TCU has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 1997. Yeah that is great for the basketball conference. South Florida and DePaul are jumping for joy that they will have a team to beat.
I understand that the Big East wants to add teams for football, by why TCU? Don’t give me the old, “they need them to save face for their automatic BCS bid.” That is complete BS. Look at this write up by Chadd Cripe, from the Idaho Statesman about how the BCS will determine the future automatic bid teams. As you can see, the Big East is safe. Actually, the ACC is behind the Big East in both of the top key rankings and the Big Ten trails the Big East in one of them too. So, as I mentioned, the Big East is safe with their BCS bid, so why add TCU?
If I were the commissioner of the Big East, which I am available for the job if they are looking to improve the conference, I would add Villanova and Navy. It is not difficult to see how these two fit in and help the conference. Villanova is already in the Big East for every other sport and they are continuously a top 1-AA team and could make the leap rather easily. As for Navy they fit because they are an independent in football right now. That means that they have another conference already for all other sports. They compete in the Patriot League for all other sports, which fits them perfectly. By joining the Big East in football, it would still give them enough open weeks to play their rivalries games each year like Army, Air Force and Notre Dame as well as tie them into some bigger and better bowls. They also have a nation wide fan base obviously, which would only help the other Big East teams.
TCU has no place in the Big East. This move will be the beginning of the end of the Big East conference. A 17-team conference does not work. Does the conference go to 18? It is already too big, why are they adding schools. Does this mean they are going to drop some of the basketball only schools that make no sense (hello Marquette and DePaul, I mean you!)
As I said, TCU has no place in the Big East, but don’t worry the Big East won’t be around very long anymore after this.
This may just be the best thing about TCU. And honestly, ever since Miami left for the ACC, hot cheerleaders is something that has been missing in the Big East.
I have supported Pitt football head coach Dave Wannestedt since they hired him. I supported him after being shellacked in his debut to Notre Dame at home. I supported him after the 3-0 debacle in the Sun Bowl. I supported him last year in all 3 of Pitt’s losses when they blew late 4th quarter leads. I supported him this year after I drove 3 hours to watch his team get embarrassed on national television to a very average Miami team.
I no longer support him. He has to go.
There is no reason that Pitt should have ZERO BCS bowl appearances since Dave Wannestedt has taken over. If you recall he took over for a guy that had just taken the Panthers to their lone BCS bowl game in Walt Harris, who took Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004. Pitt has lead recruiting rankings in 3 of the 6 recruiting classes that Wannestedt has put together. They finished in the top half of the conference in the other 3 seasons. Yet, with all that talent, he has gone to just 2 bowl appearances in 5 seasons. He has lost to teams like, Navy, Ohio University and Bowling Green. He has gone 2-4 against Rutgers. He has simply not lived up to expectations.
Nobody likes a coaching change. Dave Wannestedt is a great front man for the university and the Pitt football team. However, he is not getting it done on the field on a weekly basis. It is time for the university to create a new position in the athletic department, something like Assistant Athletic Director to the Football Program, and go out and hire a big name coach that can take the Panthers to the Promised Land.
The guy to do this? Chris Petersen, the front man for the Boise State Broncos. I know it sounds unrealistic, but hear me out.
Chris Petersen is just the type of guy that Pitt fans want. A younger coach, check. Petersen is just 46 years old and has been a head coach for the last five years. An offensive minded coach, check. Petersen is the guy that calls the play for that high-speed, high-paced Boise offense that ranks 4th in the nation in yards per game and 2nd in points per game. A big name guy, check, is there a bigger name out there when it comes to young and up-and-coming college coaches?
Is he a long shot? Yes, but he is exactly the guy that Pitt needs to go after if they want to be a legit football program. If you do not want to be a legit football program, which is fine, we will take out Top 5 basketball program, just tell the fan base so we can cancel our season tickets and find something else to do on Saturdays next fall.
THE REALLY BIG EAST
Texas Christian University announced today that they would be joining the Big East conference in all sports in 2012.
Let me repeat that, Texas Christian University announced today that they will be joining the Big East conference in all sports in 2012.
They were not referring to the Texas Big East, the actual Big East conference. The same conference that began in 1979, when Syracuse was the school furthest to the west and Georgetown was the southern most school.
Someone please explain to me how this works? Yes, I understand that TCU certainly strengthens the Big East football conference, but how does it help the rest of the conference? How long before the schools complain about the cost of sending the women’s tennis team to Dallas for their annual match? And tell me what this does for the basketball conference. The conference that is widely regarded as the best conference in the country year in and year out, how does adding TCU help there? How is adding a team that has already lost to Rider and UMASS this season going to help the strength of the basketball conference? The Horned Frogs went 5-11 last year in the Mountain West Conference last year, how do you think they will do when they are playing Villanova and Syracuse week in and week out? TCU has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 1997. Yeah that is great for the basketball conference. South Florida and DePaul are jumping for joy that they will have a team to beat.
I understand that the Big East wants to add teams for football, by why TCU? Don’t give me the old, “they need them to save face for their automatic BCS bid.” That is complete BS. Look at this write up by Chadd Cripe, from the Idaho Statesman about how the BCS will determine the future automatic bid teams. As you can see, the Big East is safe. Actually, the ACC is behind the Big East in both of the top key rankings and the Big Ten trails the Big East in one of them too. So, as I mentioned, the Big East is safe with their BCS bid, so why add TCU?
If I were the commissioner of the Big East, which I am available for the job if they are looking to improve the conference, I would add Villanova and Navy. It is not difficult to see how these two fit in and help the conference. Villanova is already in the Big East for every other sport and they are continuously a top 1-AA team and could make the leap rather easily. As for Navy they fit because they are an independent in football right now. That means that they have another conference already for all other sports. They compete in the Patriot League for all other sports, which fits them perfectly. By joining the Big East in football, it would still give them enough open weeks to play their rivalries games each year like Army, Air Force and Notre Dame as well as tie them into some bigger and better bowls. They also have a nation wide fan base obviously, which would only help the other Big East teams.
TCU has no place in the Big East. This move will be the beginning of the end of the Big East conference. A 17-team conference does not work. Does the conference go to 18? It is already too big, why are they adding schools. Does this mean they are going to drop some of the basketball only schools that make no sense (hello Marquette and DePaul, I mean you!)
As I said, TCU has no place in the Big East, but don’t worry the Big East won’t be around very long anymore after this.
This may just be the best thing about TCU. And honestly, ever since Miami left for the ACC, hot cheerleaders is something that has been missing in the Big East.
Monday, November 15, 2010
RANDOM RANT
RANDOM RANTING
It’s been a while since my last Rant, so here are some thoughts regarding the sporting world, quarterbacks in it, and certain 4-letter stations that report it.
BRETT FAVRE
This one has been boiling for a while, since he came back for this “final” season. Brett Favre has played in something like 700 straight games, which is an NFL record. All the hype a few weeks back was that if he missed a game with his broken ankle, the streak would be snapped. Okay, let’s dissect that last thought.
First, this action by Favre trying/wanting to play illustrates his career in a nutshell. He wanted to keep his personal record in tact and was willing to do so, despite what was best for his team’s chance to win. He already held the record. He was not chasing it. I could possibly understand his desire to play if he was closing in on the record, but he is not. He is more than 100 games ahead of the next closest player on the active games streak. Eventually, this record will be snapped. Eventually, Favre will ACTUALLY retire and no longer play. I cannot wait for that date! Oh yeah, he played with a BROKEN ANKLE!
And we wonder why the Vikings are currently sitting at 3-6 in a year they were expected to compete for the NFC title. They are playing a 40+ year old QB with 2 broken bones in his ankle, and he is all but running the team because the pathetic coach doesn’t have the guts to stand-up to him. I am starting to think that Favre decided to play for Minnesota as one last move as a true Packer. He knew he could no longer play at the NFL level, so rather than retiring, he went to the Vikings to destroy the only real threat the Packers had in the NFC North. That is the only reasonable explanation.
Brett, please do us all a favor, and leave. Go back to Mississippi. Play football in your Wranglers. Go do whatever you want. Just quit trying to play in the NFL. I know that the people in Bristol will be upset when you finally do that because the will have to find REAL programming, but everyone else who enjoys sports will be grateful. You are ruining what was, at one point, a great career.
CAM NEWTON
Okay. Let’s move on to the next overblown QB story. Reports over the past few weeks are basically saying that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s dad, Cecil, told Mississippi State that it would cost anywhere between $100K to $180K for his son to play in Starkville. Frankly, I think that is being generous, I would want more if I were going to put my son on that shitty team. But seriously, what is wrong with his dad saying this? Why is this an issue? Why is this news?
Cam Newton plays at Auburn. He does not play at Mississippi State. There are not currently, nor have there been, any reports/rumors that he accepted any money to go to Auburn. Until that happens, this is not a story!
This would be like anyone else getting a job offer to do the job you currently do in Baghdad. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty sure my response would be something like, “You’d have to pay me between $100K and $180K for me to go there.”
THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES
First, I must say that not only did I not get the managerial job with the Pirates, but they did not even contact me for an interview. I am very upset and disappointed by this.
The Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their new manager. He is the 6th manager for the organization since they decided to stop trying to win. It is an absolutely terrible hire, which makes it perfect for Neil Huntington, Frank Coonley and Bob Nutting. In an odd managing circle, Clint Hurdle takes over a position once held by Jim Tracy. In 2 seasons with the Bucs, Tracy went 135-189. He is now the current manager of the Colorado Rockies, a spot he took over from Clint Hurdle. He has since gone 157-121 in nearly 2 full seasons in Denver. In 2009, Tracy went 74-42 after replacing Hurdle, who had that same team at 18-28. Just basic math tells me Hurdle was 10 games under .500 and Tracey was 32 games above .500 with the same exact players. That is a 42 game difference. At that rate, we should expect the Pirates to win a total of 51 games over the next 2 seasons. So, the Pirates are basically hiring a guy who is a much worse manager than Jim Tracy; the same Jim Tracy who was fired after 2 seasons in Pittsburgh. Hmm, interesting!
The hire that I wanted (other than me) was Bobby Valentine. This guy must be black-balled by Major League teams. He is the only guy since Davey Johnson to win with the Mets. After getting canned there, he went overseas and won in Japan. He led the Chiba Lotte Mariners to their first pennant in 31 years and first Japan Series Title since 1974. That is about the same drought the Pirates have been in. Seems like a perfect fit for me. Yet he doesn’t even get an interview?
As a Pittsburgh sports fan, this weekend has been difficult for me. Pitt looked embarrassing on Thursday night, opening the door for what will be the typical Panther collapse that their fans are oh-so-familiar with. The Pirates have just committed to losing for another 5 years, minimum. And the Steelers were completely exposed by the Patriots. At least we have Pitt hoops!
It’s been a while since my last Rant, so here are some thoughts regarding the sporting world, quarterbacks in it, and certain 4-letter stations that report it.
BRETT FAVRE
This one has been boiling for a while, since he came back for this “final” season. Brett Favre has played in something like 700 straight games, which is an NFL record. All the hype a few weeks back was that if he missed a game with his broken ankle, the streak would be snapped. Okay, let’s dissect that last thought.
First, this action by Favre trying/wanting to play illustrates his career in a nutshell. He wanted to keep his personal record in tact and was willing to do so, despite what was best for his team’s chance to win. He already held the record. He was not chasing it. I could possibly understand his desire to play if he was closing in on the record, but he is not. He is more than 100 games ahead of the next closest player on the active games streak. Eventually, this record will be snapped. Eventually, Favre will ACTUALLY retire and no longer play. I cannot wait for that date! Oh yeah, he played with a BROKEN ANKLE!
And we wonder why the Vikings are currently sitting at 3-6 in a year they were expected to compete for the NFC title. They are playing a 40+ year old QB with 2 broken bones in his ankle, and he is all but running the team because the pathetic coach doesn’t have the guts to stand-up to him. I am starting to think that Favre decided to play for Minnesota as one last move as a true Packer. He knew he could no longer play at the NFL level, so rather than retiring, he went to the Vikings to destroy the only real threat the Packers had in the NFC North. That is the only reasonable explanation.
Brett, please do us all a favor, and leave. Go back to Mississippi. Play football in your Wranglers. Go do whatever you want. Just quit trying to play in the NFL. I know that the people in Bristol will be upset when you finally do that because the will have to find REAL programming, but everyone else who enjoys sports will be grateful. You are ruining what was, at one point, a great career.
CAM NEWTON
Okay. Let’s move on to the next overblown QB story. Reports over the past few weeks are basically saying that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s dad, Cecil, told Mississippi State that it would cost anywhere between $100K to $180K for his son to play in Starkville. Frankly, I think that is being generous, I would want more if I were going to put my son on that shitty team. But seriously, what is wrong with his dad saying this? Why is this an issue? Why is this news?
Cam Newton plays at Auburn. He does not play at Mississippi State. There are not currently, nor have there been, any reports/rumors that he accepted any money to go to Auburn. Until that happens, this is not a story!
This would be like anyone else getting a job offer to do the job you currently do in Baghdad. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty sure my response would be something like, “You’d have to pay me between $100K and $180K for me to go there.”
THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES
First, I must say that not only did I not get the managerial job with the Pirates, but they did not even contact me for an interview. I am very upset and disappointed by this.
The Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their new manager. He is the 6th manager for the organization since they decided to stop trying to win. It is an absolutely terrible hire, which makes it perfect for Neil Huntington, Frank Coonley and Bob Nutting. In an odd managing circle, Clint Hurdle takes over a position once held by Jim Tracy. In 2 seasons with the Bucs, Tracy went 135-189. He is now the current manager of the Colorado Rockies, a spot he took over from Clint Hurdle. He has since gone 157-121 in nearly 2 full seasons in Denver. In 2009, Tracy went 74-42 after replacing Hurdle, who had that same team at 18-28. Just basic math tells me Hurdle was 10 games under .500 and Tracey was 32 games above .500 with the same exact players. That is a 42 game difference. At that rate, we should expect the Pirates to win a total of 51 games over the next 2 seasons. So, the Pirates are basically hiring a guy who is a much worse manager than Jim Tracy; the same Jim Tracy who was fired after 2 seasons in Pittsburgh. Hmm, interesting!
The hire that I wanted (other than me) was Bobby Valentine. This guy must be black-balled by Major League teams. He is the only guy since Davey Johnson to win with the Mets. After getting canned there, he went overseas and won in Japan. He led the Chiba Lotte Mariners to their first pennant in 31 years and first Japan Series Title since 1974. That is about the same drought the Pirates have been in. Seems like a perfect fit for me. Yet he doesn’t even get an interview?
As a Pittsburgh sports fan, this weekend has been difficult for me. Pitt looked embarrassing on Thursday night, opening the door for what will be the typical Panther collapse that their fans are oh-so-familiar with. The Pirates have just committed to losing for another 5 years, minimum. And the Steelers were completely exposed by the Patriots. At least we have Pitt hoops!
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Pirates Need A New Manager, Why Not Me?
October 4, 2010
Frank Coonelly
Pirates Team President
115 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
I am interested in the open managerial position with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As you can see from my enclosed resume, the invaluable experience I have had both coaching Brookline Little League and working a job that had me at nearly every home game has prepared me well for this position of managing the Pirates.
I am energetic, hard-working, and extremely knowledgeable of sports, something that most Pirate employees don‘t seem to be. My work background has supplied me with an understanding of the game of baseball. I also read Managing Baseball for Dummies, so I am well ahead of the game compared to your recent hires for this job. While coaching Brookline Little League, I have been a part of 7 championship teams, and I fully expect them to put a bust of me at the field entrance due to my success. Seeing how the Pirates love building statues to honor people, I thought this would be a plus for me. While watching over the past 3 seasons, I learned so much from watching every home game the team has played since I started. You know the old saying, “mistakes aren’t bad if you can learn from them.” Well, I’ve seen plenty of mistakes in the games I’ve seen and learned from all of them.
I have the skills, determination, knowledge, and natural instinct to be successful as the next manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I love baseball and there is nothing more that I would like to be a part of than turning this joke of a franchise around and making it a winner. I look forward to speaking with you about the opportunities involved in this job.
Sincerely,
Kevin Reitmeyer
Enclosures
RESUME
OBJECTIVE
To bring winning baseball back to the team and city that I love.
EXPERIENCE
AS A PLAYER:
1992 Knight of Columbus - Brookline Little League
Starting 2nd baseman and reserve centerfielder.
AS A COACH:
1998 - 2007 5 Championships - Brookline Little League
1st base coach and hitting instructor for Steve Poremski Plumbing (1998 - 2001)
Won 3 championships in 4 seasons and runner-up the 4th season.
2 straight undefeated seasons, the only time that has ever happened in 60 years of BLLA. (98-99)
Coached the BLLA All-Stars to the District Finals for the first time in 20 years.
3rd base coach and pitching coach from 2002 - 2007
Won back-to-back titles in 2006-2007 with 2 different teams.
AS A MANAGER:
2003 - 2005 Minor League Manager, 1 championship
Manager and 3rd base coach
Took over as interim Manager mid-way through the 2003 season. Led a winless team in 2003 to the championship series in 2004 before losing in the 3rd game of a best of 3 series.
2005 Champions, sweeping the Championship series.
OFF THE FIELD:
2008 - 2010 Worked in the stadium allowing me to watch every home game
My Responsiblities including paying close attention to the fine details of each and every game. I believe this experience has given me a better understanding of what not to do on the field and how to handle the players and deal with the umpires.
EDUCATION:
SELF TAUGHT
* I have learned the ins and outs of the game of baseball from my father, who at young age took me to games at 3 Rivers Stadium and taught me tendencies and strategy involved with the game.
* I have also watched baseball and studied the great managers of the game, like Jim Leyland who the Pirates let go.
* I watch the game on TV as well, listening to some of the best minds in the game dissect each and every play, including Bob Costas, Bob Uecker and other baseball announcing greats.
* I also watch Pirate baseball, almost religiously, despite how incredibly painful it is to sit through. By doing that, I feel that I have learned what NOT to do.
COACHING STYLE:
MIXED BRED STYLE
* I feel that my style is considered to be more of a small ball coach, which would work well in Pittsburgh since there is nobody on the roster that will hit more than 30 HR’s, minus Pedro.
* I like to use plate patience, good speed on the bases and the ability to advance runners to manufacture runs. This may be tough considering it does not seem that the current players on the 40 man roster have any of these capabilities.
* I like to trust my pitchers and let them fight through their struggles instead of keeping them on a strict pitch count and pulling them on the first sign of difficulties, and thereby wearing down the bullpen.
Frank Coonelly
Pirates Team President
115 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
I am interested in the open managerial position with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As you can see from my enclosed resume, the invaluable experience I have had both coaching Brookline Little League and working a job that had me at nearly every home game has prepared me well for this position of managing the Pirates.
I am energetic, hard-working, and extremely knowledgeable of sports, something that most Pirate employees don‘t seem to be. My work background has supplied me with an understanding of the game of baseball. I also read Managing Baseball for Dummies, so I am well ahead of the game compared to your recent hires for this job. While coaching Brookline Little League, I have been a part of 7 championship teams, and I fully expect them to put a bust of me at the field entrance due to my success. Seeing how the Pirates love building statues to honor people, I thought this would be a plus for me. While watching over the past 3 seasons, I learned so much from watching every home game the team has played since I started. You know the old saying, “mistakes aren’t bad if you can learn from them.” Well, I’ve seen plenty of mistakes in the games I’ve seen and learned from all of them.
I have the skills, determination, knowledge, and natural instinct to be successful as the next manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I love baseball and there is nothing more that I would like to be a part of than turning this joke of a franchise around and making it a winner. I look forward to speaking with you about the opportunities involved in this job.
Sincerely,
Kevin Reitmeyer
Enclosures
RESUME
OBJECTIVE
To bring winning baseball back to the team and city that I love.
EXPERIENCE
AS A PLAYER:
1992 Knight of Columbus - Brookline Little League
Starting 2nd baseman and reserve centerfielder.
AS A COACH:
1998 - 2007 5 Championships - Brookline Little League
1st base coach and hitting instructor for Steve Poremski Plumbing (1998 - 2001)
Won 3 championships in 4 seasons and runner-up the 4th season.
2 straight undefeated seasons, the only time that has ever happened in 60 years of BLLA. (98-99)
Coached the BLLA All-Stars to the District Finals for the first time in 20 years.
3rd base coach and pitching coach from 2002 - 2007
Won back-to-back titles in 2006-2007 with 2 different teams.
AS A MANAGER:
2003 - 2005 Minor League Manager, 1 championship
Manager and 3rd base coach
Took over as interim Manager mid-way through the 2003 season. Led a winless team in 2003 to the championship series in 2004 before losing in the 3rd game of a best of 3 series.
2005 Champions, sweeping the Championship series.
OFF THE FIELD:
2008 - 2010 Worked in the stadium allowing me to watch every home game
My Responsiblities including paying close attention to the fine details of each and every game. I believe this experience has given me a better understanding of what not to do on the field and how to handle the players and deal with the umpires.
EDUCATION:
SELF TAUGHT
* I have learned the ins and outs of the game of baseball from my father, who at young age took me to games at 3 Rivers Stadium and taught me tendencies and strategy involved with the game.
* I have also watched baseball and studied the great managers of the game, like Jim Leyland who the Pirates let go.
* I watch the game on TV as well, listening to some of the best minds in the game dissect each and every play, including Bob Costas, Bob Uecker and other baseball announcing greats.
* I also watch Pirate baseball, almost religiously, despite how incredibly painful it is to sit through. By doing that, I feel that I have learned what NOT to do.
COACHING STYLE:
MIXED BRED STYLE
* I feel that my style is considered to be more of a small ball coach, which would work well in Pittsburgh since there is nobody on the roster that will hit more than 30 HR’s, minus Pedro.
* I like to use plate patience, good speed on the bases and the ability to advance runners to manufacture runs. This may be tough considering it does not seem that the current players on the 40 man roster have any of these capabilities.
* I like to trust my pitchers and let them fight through their struggles instead of keeping them on a strict pitch count and pulling them on the first sign of difficulties, and thereby wearing down the bullpen.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
October is Upon Us
What a great sports weekend! What a great sports month! I love October, not quite as much as March, but close. October brings us Major League Baseball playoffs, conference play gets into full swing in college football and the NFL has made it to the second quarter of the season. This weekend is a great example and just a small sample of what this month has to offer. Oh, by the way, this year we get the Ryder Cup too!
Yesterday started the month; it also started the last weekend of the MLB regular season. Today kicks off the first of five football weekends in the month of October. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly this weekend has to offer to sports fans everywhere.
The Ryder Cup
24 of the best golfers in the world playing against each other for 3 straight days. Golf, a game normally played by individuals, being played in a team format. It brings out some of the best shot-makers in the world doing just that. What is more exciting when watching golf than to see guys take dead aim at the stick and playing ultra aggressive? That is what you get at the Ryder Cup. You get the best players in the world making some huge risk/reward shots because if they miss, they have a teammate for once who can make the shot if they miss. Unfortunately, since the Cup this year is being played in Wales, you need to be awake at 3am (as I am right now as I type this) to watch when it starts.
College Football
5 games featuring top 25 teams playing each other.
The headliner? Alabama v Florida. The winner of this game the past 2 years went on to win the national championship. Also today, another top 10 showdown, Stanford @ Oregon. This is a game that could let a PAC-10 jump right into the thick of the national championship debate. How about the Red River Rivalry? When was the last time this game was the 3rd biggest game of the weekend? Texas-Oklahoma, the stadium split down the middle at the 50, one half red, the other burnt orange.
The last two match-ups are Big Ten match-ups. Michigan State hosting Wisconsin and Penn State @ Iowa. Now we all know that there is almost no such thing as a big time Big Ten match-up, but they are all in the top 25 and both games are somewhat intriguing. In the Michigan State-Wisconsin game, we get to find out which Big Ten team will be undefeated and overrated all the way into November. The loser will still be ranked because, well, they play in the Big Ten, and there is a clause in the rankings that says at least 5 Big Ten teams must be ranked at all times. In the Penn State-Iowa game, you get to watch the Fighting JoePa’s lose to Iowa again. What’s not to love about that? Penn State is 1-7 vs Iowa in their last 8 games, and who could forget that barnburner in 2004 which the Hawkeyes won 6-4?
NFL
Week 4 of the season and the schedule is loaded with great match-ups. Despite it being the first week of bye weeks with 4 teams not playing, there is no shortage of marquee games on the slate. Maybe the best game of the week will also be the first one completed. At 1:00, the 3-0 Steelers take on the 2-1 Ravens for control of the AFC North. Anyone who has seen these teams play in the past knows that there is no love lost between these teams. From Joey Porter going onto the Ravens bus calling out Ray Lewis after a game, to the Ravens bitching and whining about the referees in the Santonio goal line touchdown catch. This game has become the biggest and best rivalry in the league. This will be a slugfest, with two hard-nosed and rugged defenses. First team to blink loses. And that is only the first game!
At 4:00, you have the battle for the brotherly love. Vick vs McNabb. Will they boo McNabb or not? Will Vick beating McNabb in Philly Sunday crush the legacy Donovan had in the city? If McNabb and the Skins pull the upset, will Andy Reid suddenly be on the hot seat? This game, although probably not a great game, does have many great storylines attached to it. I personally want McNabb to stick it to the Eagles with a 400+ yard, 4 TD game. Do I think that will happen? Hell no! McNabb has as many offensive weapons in Washington as Obama has fulfilled promises; ZERO!
To cap off the weekend, we head to South Beach Monday night for the Pats and the Fins. This doesn’t seem like much of a showdown, but in recent years, the Dolphins have been a huge pain in the side of Tom Brady and Co. With the Jets already beating both teams, this game could be huge in a fight to catch New York. Despite the Patriots being the most successful team this past decade and the Dolphins being the epitome of average, the Patriots have won exactly ONE more game than the Dolphins in this series since 2000.
MLB
By the time the Monday Night game concludes, we will know exactly who is playing in this season's Major League Baseball playoffs. Coming into the last weekend of play, there are still 2 open spots to be claimed: The NL West and NL Wild Card. The west will be won in San Francisco this weekend or in San Diego on Monday. Those two teams play today and tomorrow in San Fran, with the Giants needing just one win to clinch the west. If the Padres were to sweep the series, the two teams would head about 400 miles south to play on Monday in a winner-take-all one-game playoff. The loser does have a chance of making the playoffs the wild card team if the Braves can’t beat the Phillies ONE TIME this weekend. In the AL, the Yankees and Rays are battling for the AL East crown. However whichever team loses will be the wild card team from the AL. Also this last weekend, the Twins are in discussion for home field advantage. Currently the Yankees have a slight lead over both the Rays and Twins in that regard.
There you have it - a great weekend schedule, leading to a great month of sports! Enjoy! I know I will!
Yesterday started the month; it also started the last weekend of the MLB regular season. Today kicks off the first of five football weekends in the month of October. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly this weekend has to offer to sports fans everywhere.
The Ryder Cup
24 of the best golfers in the world playing against each other for 3 straight days. Golf, a game normally played by individuals, being played in a team format. It brings out some of the best shot-makers in the world doing just that. What is more exciting when watching golf than to see guys take dead aim at the stick and playing ultra aggressive? That is what you get at the Ryder Cup. You get the best players in the world making some huge risk/reward shots because if they miss, they have a teammate for once who can make the shot if they miss. Unfortunately, since the Cup this year is being played in Wales, you need to be awake at 3am (as I am right now as I type this) to watch when it starts.
College Football
5 games featuring top 25 teams playing each other.
The headliner? Alabama v Florida. The winner of this game the past 2 years went on to win the national championship. Also today, another top 10 showdown, Stanford @ Oregon. This is a game that could let a PAC-10 jump right into the thick of the national championship debate. How about the Red River Rivalry? When was the last time this game was the 3rd biggest game of the weekend? Texas-Oklahoma, the stadium split down the middle at the 50, one half red, the other burnt orange.
The last two match-ups are Big Ten match-ups. Michigan State hosting Wisconsin and Penn State @ Iowa. Now we all know that there is almost no such thing as a big time Big Ten match-up, but they are all in the top 25 and both games are somewhat intriguing. In the Michigan State-Wisconsin game, we get to find out which Big Ten team will be undefeated and overrated all the way into November. The loser will still be ranked because, well, they play in the Big Ten, and there is a clause in the rankings that says at least 5 Big Ten teams must be ranked at all times. In the Penn State-Iowa game, you get to watch the Fighting JoePa’s lose to Iowa again. What’s not to love about that? Penn State is 1-7 vs Iowa in their last 8 games, and who could forget that barnburner in 2004 which the Hawkeyes won 6-4?
NFL
Week 4 of the season and the schedule is loaded with great match-ups. Despite it being the first week of bye weeks with 4 teams not playing, there is no shortage of marquee games on the slate. Maybe the best game of the week will also be the first one completed. At 1:00, the 3-0 Steelers take on the 2-1 Ravens for control of the AFC North. Anyone who has seen these teams play in the past knows that there is no love lost between these teams. From Joey Porter going onto the Ravens bus calling out Ray Lewis after a game, to the Ravens bitching and whining about the referees in the Santonio goal line touchdown catch. This game has become the biggest and best rivalry in the league. This will be a slugfest, with two hard-nosed and rugged defenses. First team to blink loses. And that is only the first game!
At 4:00, you have the battle for the brotherly love. Vick vs McNabb. Will they boo McNabb or not? Will Vick beating McNabb in Philly Sunday crush the legacy Donovan had in the city? If McNabb and the Skins pull the upset, will Andy Reid suddenly be on the hot seat? This game, although probably not a great game, does have many great storylines attached to it. I personally want McNabb to stick it to the Eagles with a 400+ yard, 4 TD game. Do I think that will happen? Hell no! McNabb has as many offensive weapons in Washington as Obama has fulfilled promises; ZERO!
To cap off the weekend, we head to South Beach Monday night for the Pats and the Fins. This doesn’t seem like much of a showdown, but in recent years, the Dolphins have been a huge pain in the side of Tom Brady and Co. With the Jets already beating both teams, this game could be huge in a fight to catch New York. Despite the Patriots being the most successful team this past decade and the Dolphins being the epitome of average, the Patriots have won exactly ONE more game than the Dolphins in this series since 2000.
MLB
By the time the Monday Night game concludes, we will know exactly who is playing in this season's Major League Baseball playoffs. Coming into the last weekend of play, there are still 2 open spots to be claimed: The NL West and NL Wild Card. The west will be won in San Francisco this weekend or in San Diego on Monday. Those two teams play today and tomorrow in San Fran, with the Giants needing just one win to clinch the west. If the Padres were to sweep the series, the two teams would head about 400 miles south to play on Monday in a winner-take-all one-game playoff. The loser does have a chance of making the playoffs the wild card team if the Braves can’t beat the Phillies ONE TIME this weekend. In the AL, the Yankees and Rays are battling for the AL East crown. However whichever team loses will be the wild card team from the AL. Also this last weekend, the Twins are in discussion for home field advantage. Currently the Yankees have a slight lead over both the Rays and Twins in that regard.
There you have it - a great weekend schedule, leading to a great month of sports! Enjoy! I know I will!
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