Who knows. According a report from the San Jose Mercury News Harris will get the Stanford job:
Pittsburgh’s Walt Harris interviewed for the Stanford coaching position Friday and could be offered the job by the end of the weekend, a source close to Harris said. Stanford officials would only confirm that Harris interviewed.
Harris and USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow are the finalists. Chow interviewed on campus Wednesday.
Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland will spend the weekend evaluating Harris and Chow with school officials and putting together a compensation package for the preferred candidate. The Cardinal would like to have a coach in place by early next week, if possible.
The only things that appears certain are that the choice will either be Chow or Harris. And that Stanford will make it’s decision this weekend.
This has been a joke in my view regarding Pitt’s handling of this whole thing. It seems to be about the school trying to get Harris to buy out the remaining years on his contract or just quit rather than pay him off. The report for the last week are that Harris has wanted to stay. This is all on Pitt. Sorry. I know it’s a lot of coin, but in the loopy world of college athletics, boosters and money, it is not that much.
It also doesn’t make me feel good about who they will hire when they finally push or get Harris to jump. If the school is trying to cut corners with buying out Harris — and doing so helps make the recruiting going on right now that much harder — what assurances will there be that Pitt won’t look to go cheap on the next coach and the coaching staff. Because they have to avoid looking stupid? Too late.
Is this part of the “extraordinary leadership” of Chancellor Nordenberg that got him his latest pay boost — to $415,000 — that places him at the top of all administrators at a public university in pay and in the top-8 overall?
Pitt did get a commit from a local offensive lineman. Who chose the instability of Pitt over the chaos of Indiana.
Bachman said he is committed to Pitt, regardless of coach Walt Harris’s future at the school.
“I don’t think Walt Harris is going to be there,” Bachman said. “But whether he’s there or not, I am committed more to a football program and I am going to Pitt no matter what happens. If coach Harris is there — and I don’t think he will be — then great. If not, Pitt is the kind of university that they can get a great coach. Either way, in my eyes, it’s a winning situation.”
At least with Pitt, he can feel more confident about getting to a bowl.
Speaking of bowls. Pitt still isn’t selling out its supply of tickets for the Fiesta. The coaching issue can’t be helping, but that is no excuse.
