Chryst to Wisconsin the Latest Move
So, the carousel of coaches stopped long enough to drop off Pitt’s head coach Paul Chryst in Badgerland, replacing short-time coach Gary Andersen who himself hopped off his horse in Corvallis to become head football coach of Oregon State. Chryst, a former Wisconsin offensive coordinator, was 19-19 in his three seasons at Pitt.
Back in the Barry Alvarez coaching days, Wisconsin was in stasis, but of late, the program has been anything but stable. Now, with Chryst, a Madison native, returning to the Cheesehead State, Barry hopes for some longer-term stability. But unlike the Michigan requirement that a “Michigan Man” be hired as head coach, there was no requirement that a “Wisconsin Man” be hired for the Badger job. Chryst was simply the first thought and the best choice of those who made the short list.
Butbutbut… Where Does That Leave Pitt?
Interestingly enough, a familiar name surfaced in connection with the Pitt head coaching job, a name known to any Nittany Lion fan: Tom Bradley. Bradley is presently on the staff at West Virginia, with some kind of inflated title like Senior Assistant Executive Coaching Assistant of the Universe. Yeah, because they already had (and still have) a defensive coordinator in Morgantown. Nevertheless, Bradley’s influence has tightened up the defense at WVU and he is well respected there and throughout the east.
Bradley’s brother lives in Pittsburgh and is the team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tom bought a house in Pittsburgh for his mom when his dad died back in 2002; his mom subsequently died, but Bradley kept the house and still sleeps there a couple of nights per week. Although Morgantown is a mere 65 miles away, one gets the feeling that Bradley, a Johnstown native, would love ta be back in da Burgh ‘n’at. Indications are that he has expressed interest in the job.
Other potential candidates are Moo U. OC Pat Narduzzi, the ubiquitously mentioned Greg Schiano, Detroit Lions DC Teryl Austin, a native of Sharon, PA, and Mario Cristobál, offensive line coach at Alabama, who was previously consider for the job when Chryst was hired.
Pelini to Youngstown State
Bo Pelini left Nebraska after having pissed off athletic director Shawn Eichorst. Yesterday, he was named head coach at Youngstown State. Although Eichorst claims that Pelini was fired because he “didn’t win the big games”, Pelini thinks that his continual friction with the athletic director played a bigger role in his firing. D’ya think?
After he was fired, Bo, not content to let sleeping dogs lie, lashed out at Eichorst during a farewell meeting with his players at a neutral site. An audio recording of Pelini’s expletive-laced tirade got out, and revealed that Pelini had no love lost for Eichorst. No kidding? Anyhow, the Nebraska administration responded in a guarded manner, finally admitting that “This behavior is not tolerated at the University of Nebraska and, among many other concerns, played a role in his dismissal.”
And Regarding Michigan, We Wait
ESPN is cranking out a rumor that San Francisco 49ers head coach Michigan Man Jim Harbaugh is at least considering the Michigan job. They and CBS claim that Michigan has made a six-year, $49 million offer to Harbaugh. The offer, if accepted, would make Harbaugh the highest paid college football coach, surpassing Alabama’s Nick Saban by more than $1.21 million. Top tier, man!
On the other hand, another source close to the process suggested that Harbaugh “could” wind up at Michigan, but it was “unlikely”.
In other words, nobody the fuck knows.
Michigan Man Les Miles, head coach at LSU, has flatly stated that he is not leaving the bayou.
Muschamp Lands in Auburn
Will Muschamp, who couldn’t find much offense in Gainesville, has been hired by Auburn as their defensive coordinator.
Share this:
Discover more from The Nittany Turkey
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Joe says
Interesting complexity about Pitt is they and their AD (Steve Pederson) mutually agreed to part ways at the same time Chryst was hired to take the Wisky job. So do they wait for a new AD to be hired or do they give current “interim” HC, Joe Rudolph the job. He has the official title of “Assistant Head Football Coach” & “Offensive Coordinator” so could be a likely choice. Whatever, Pitt needs to get cheeks in the seats at Heinz Field and wants to become a relevant football program again, but that’s going to require some big bucks and a renewed commitment to football and right now I just don’t see them having the firepower to attract the right person to take them to the promised land.
Narduzzi can pretty much pick where he wants to go and I don’t think it will be Pitt. And I think the Panther’s fans (what few there are) would explode if Bradley or Schianno were named HC. I like Tom Bradley, but never thought he was HC material.
So it will be interesting to see what the Penn State wannabes decide to do.
I’m thinking Harbaugh stays in the NFL. Yeah it’s big bucks and his alma mater, but he’s got to realize that they have around 8 commitments for the 2015 class and to get back to the level that Michigan is expecting is going to take at least 2 to 3 years and I don’t think Michigan wants to wait that long. He’ll stay in the NFL and go to Da Bears or Giants, because his brother has a Super Bowl Ring and he doesn’t.
Pelini and Tressel in the same place, you can’t make this shit up! Youngstown State has become the new “Land of Misfit Toys”!
The Nittany Turkey says
I should include ADs in the merry-go-round.
I share your head coaching trepidations about “Scrap” — he’s the quintessential blue-collar guy, but there are a lot of aspects of college head coaching jobs that require finesse that I think he lacks. Just getting along with the administration pussies is an art in itself.
Merry Christmas!
—TNT
Big Al says
Since Akron kicked Pitt’s ass this year, maybe they should hire Terry Bowden or Chuck Amato. Chuck would add a little color (remember those outfits he wore at NC State) and he’s a PA native too. Anyway, I hope their hire sucks since we have to play them 4 times this decade.
As for Pellini, I wouldn’t be surprised if Youngstown State wins the FCS championship within 3 years. Bo can coach even though he can’t get along with the c**ts in academic administration.
The Nittany Turkey says
Thing is, I don’t think “Bo knows” academic politics, so he’s bound to piss off someone in Youngstown, if not the entire state of Ohio at some point. If ever there was a guy whose Parcelles-like attitude belongs in the pros, it’s Bo. He just can’t get along with the academic pussies.
Merry Christmas!
—TNT