Let’s face it, this goes on all season anyways, but this past weekend with Ron Zook actually being declared a lame duck by his AD and Penn State’s baseball game with Iowa, speculation about coaching changes is the topic. So there are a couple of articles discussing where coaching changes might take place. From SI.com:

It may seem strange that the Panthers, at 5-2, would appear so high on this list. But the Pittsburgh media, still stuck in the Dan Marino/Tony Dorsett era, have been calling for coach Walt Harris‘ head since last year’s disappointing 7-5 finish and shifted into high gear when the Panthers struggled to open this season. Harris’ agent, Bob LaMonte, even called out the school for its handling of his client, never the sign of a happy future together. Ironically, Harris’ team could still win the Big East and secure a BCS berth. Anything much less, though, and he could be a goner. The first name on everyone’s tongue will be Pitt alumn Dave Wannstedt, whose days with the Miami Dolphins appear numbered, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be interested. The program has tradition and wonderful new facilities but faces an uphill climb returning to national respectability while playing in the depleted Big East.

This meme that Walt is being driven out by the media is starting to get silly. That may seem strange coming from me since I have been commenting about certain columnists who have been going after him since the start of training camp (Smizik and Cook). The fact is that the Pitt fans turned on Walt after UConn and “slide right.” That was it. Even some of the staunchest supporters had to say, “Okay. Fine, time to go, Walt.” Follow that up with being forced to come from behind to beat Temple. It wasn’t the media that caused Harris to be forced to stop taking calls on his radio show because they couldn’t take the chance even with a screener. Even after last season, no sports writer actually called for Harris’ head. I think one or two “asked questions” about Harris and the team’s direction, but no one was calling for his firing.

Then this standard from Sportsline:

Walt Harris’ agent Bob LaMonte called out the administration a couple of weeks ago saying his client was being hung out to dry.

“If they’re going to fire him,” LaMonte was quoted as saying. “They should have fired him before the season.”

The problem, if it is one, is Harris is teetering between a Big East title and the BCS bowl that goes with it and another Insight Bowl. An Insight might get Harris fired. If Pittsburgh wins the Big East, Harris ought to demand a raise and extension. He makes $600,000 per year through 2006.

Swing game date: Nov. 13 at Notre Dame. Harris has to win this one to set up the Nov. 25 clash with West Virginia.

Of course, Pitt actually needs to beat Syracuse on Nov. 6 first. Something I find silly to take for granted considering Pitt under Harris has only won once at the Carrier Dome. Actually, what makes this article curious is the rumor it gives when discussing the pending opening at Illinois, “Oklahoma offensive coordinator Chuck Long, Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris and Boise State’s Dan Hawkins have been mentioned.” I don’t know what to say to that.

Supplemented with some coaches comments from Big East Media Day. Yesterday evening Pitt finally released its own press release on Taft and Krauser being pre-season 1st team all-Big East and Pitt being picked for 3rd in the Big East. The 1990-91 season was the last time Pitt had 2 players on the 1st team with Brian Shorter and Jason Matthews. While Coach Jamie Dixon and senior players Chevon Troutman, Yuri Demetrius and Mark McCarroll were at media day for Pitt, they weren’t quoted much in today’s stories. That means we can expect some more stories from the papers in the next couple of days.

Instead, the stories used comments from other coaches about how good Pitt is:

“They deserve it,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who returns all five starters from his Sweet 16 team of a year ago. “They’ve proven themselves over the course of time.”
…
“They just keep getting better,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, whose team was picked to finish fourth. “The thing about Pittsburgh is, they lose these guys who have been around forever, then they replenish with guys who you feel like have been around forever. They’ve really built things up there, and they deserve to be right up there with the best.”

“Every year, we’re talking about Pittsburgh now, aren’t we?” Boeheim said.

I like the comment from Mike Brey. It does describe to a fair degree how Pitt has been able to let their roster slowly change each year, while still feeling a strong sense of continuity and connection — that you have been watching the same guys for years.

Of course, Brey also considers West Virginia to be the “sleeper” team in the Big East this year so… No, they are decent, it’s just that the top half of the Big East is so good that it will be hard to crack.

This year, the Big East will be competing with the ACC for the reputation as the toughest conference. The ACC, as always, has the pre-season hype. Syracuse Coach, Jim Boeheim, thinks the Big East could be at its best, and with the plethora of big men in the conference there is reason to believe it is more than blowing smoke.

Coach Dixon, like me, was surprised that Troutman wasn’t named to the 2nd team.

The issue of 2005-06 couldn’t help but be raised despite the attempts to focus on this season. UConn coach Jim Calhoun is pushing to split the Big East back to 2 divisions to create more home-and-home games and rivalries, but it doesn’t seem likely he will get his wish. The Big East tried that, as did conferences like C-USA, but found that imbalances occurred and it hurt the conferences in getting teams into the NCAA Tournament.

Calhoun has also admitted that he is using next year as a part of the recruiting strategy:

Tranghese might not want to talk about the future of the league, but his coaches already are thinking ahead to what it’s going to be like. And they’re not shy in telling prospective recruits about the next era of Big East basketball.

“I started using it on the recruiting trail this year,” Calhoun said. “I tell them when you come here, you’ll be joining the best basketball conference ever put together. Next year, it will get even better.”

I know the incoming teams have been using it as a selling point, and I have to imagine all the coaches have.

Everyone can’t help but talk about next year right now. It is part of the pre-season filler, and will be a side story in all Big East games this year when the announcers start running out of things to talk about over the action. Once the season starts, though, I look forward to it fading to the background for a while.