Maybe you don’t need alumni coaching your school to make a rivalry game better. The Holgorsen-Graham feud appears to have people already fired up for next November. Well, at least on the WV side, they are ready to ignite couches post-haste.
The resurrected claims by Holgorsen from his days as Houston OC accusing Graham’s Tulsa teams of faking injuries/cramps to slow Houston’s offense has West Virginia columnists cackling with glee. To say nothing of the number of former West Virginia coaches now on Graham’s staff.
First, Graham is hiring Calvin Magee, Rich Rodriguez’s former right-hand man and offensive coordinator both at WVU for seven years and for the last few at Michigan. Magee initially endeared himself to Mountaineer fans for sticking around to call plays for the early 2008 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma. He stuck around for the game after Rodriguez bolted. He did not, however, endear himself to the WVU administration when he and agent Mike Brown claimed he was not considered a possible replacement for Rodriguez because he is black.
Also, former Mountaineer assistant, fan favorite and Van native Tony Gibson is joining Graham in the Steel City.
The best is coming from the former Hoopie players seeing their position coaches now at Pitt.
The overwhelming response from these past players was to wish their former coaches well, while also acknowledging the awkwardness that will come with seeing a person they knew as a Mountaineer on the opposite sideline when Pittsburgh visits Morgantown in the fall.
But…
Larry Williams, who played his senior night in the infamous 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl back in 2007, was not quite ready for the news when he first heard it.
“I’m shocked,” said Williams. “This is one of those feelings like excuse me, what’d you just say? I just feel disappointed in a way. I understand everybody needs a job, but why Pitt? Out of all the schools you could have gone to, why are you going to go to the rivalry school? Why are you going to go to the program that we’ve grown through the years to actually hate? It just kind of hurts hearing it.”
Who said Pitt needed to hire DickRod to add gas to the couches.
any psu warm cuddlies with hiring bradley were 1/100th of the joy i get from watching these wvu folks cringe at the thought of facing their old offense
Based on what I heard from Coach Todd yesterday I would assume that he will be an in their face kind of guy!
Its gonna be great!
I thought he was already gone but guess not
The Brawl will unfortunately still be a nooner…
Thanks to Coach Gibson.
There is also a player from Farrell whom Michigan was recruiting who is committed to Syracuse.
Would not be suprised if he gets contacted by Pitt. The boys are working the phones..
look for Cardale Jones from Cleveland to give Pitt a look now. He has been quoted as saying that the offensive system at Mich was much like what he ran in HS.
Looks like the Staff is settling on Jan 28th as their big sales pitch day for visits.
Hell… just send them a tape of the press conference they will sign on any dotted line.
Hopefully he can pull it together on the defensive side of the ball.
There is no chance this class will be the best recruiting class…
But here is why he is so smart…it get fans excited…even if his class isn’t much to speak of it gets people fired up.
I expect you will hear 4 and 5 star names that his team will be talking to by Ziese and other outlets.
Will land any of them…probably not, but you know what?
He aimed high and people will be excited about the attempt and less about the success…basically they will give him a mulligan if his class ain’t the top notch class he set out to get from his PC yesterday.
That my friends is what I call very sharp…
DaveD
DaveD
Has also been offered by a number of other programs like Arizona and SMU as well as Minnesota.
Coach must be sitting in the Admissions office calling kids
all this in one day.
I expect to check the recruiting boards tomorrow and see a number of developments.
Urgency.. Excitement.
Louisiana??? New recruiting grounds for Pitt?
What a change..Sounds super keep em coming
Exactly my point…people are not gonna hold him to that standard…and truth be told it was great bravado.
Something he knew that was needed for an ailing program/fanbase.
Hey I supported Bradley, but this guy impressed me.
He is very well polished and knows how to work a press conference and fanbase.
And I don’t mean that in a negative way…I meant he is good.
DaveD
Also like that Ray Graham and Saddler were excited about the new coach. Saddler in particular has to be pumped, because IMHO he was underutilized in Cig’s offense.
ESPN already has 2011 preseason poll for next fall. TCU already getting no respect. 18th. WVU came in at 25.
come on magee!!!!
In the off season, the teams switched affiliation. The Bears were now a Flyers farm team, and the Philly club a Caps farm team. Which meant, for the new season, all those players the Hershey fans hated the year before were now Hershey Bears, and vice versa.
This reminds me of that.
id take anybody over him
Saw the Desimon Green thing as well … coupled with Patton these are encouraging signs.
When Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier was ruled ineligible for the Gator Bowl, his future with the program became questionable. Those concerns will only increase with a report in the Michigan Daily that Forcier did not enroll in classes for the Winter 2011 semester.
During the press conference to introduce new coach Brady Hoke, athletic director Dave Brandon confirmed that Forcier was not currently with the program.
Forcier had dealt with rumors that he might transfer to another school all season long, after not playing in Michigan’s season opener versus Connecticut. That followed a tumultous offseason in which he rankled coaches and teammates by not showing up for workouts and neglecting academics.
I heard those words come out of Graham’s mouth yestereday, but someone wiser than me asked “best recruiting class….of? Ever? In the Big East? etc. etc. I applaud the Coach for being upbeat but I’ve got to think the man meant that this was going to be the best recruiting class that they can get under the unfavorable circumstances. Its the only way that I could parse it and still believe that he is as sane as he appears.
I never withdrew my support from Wanny, but I’ll never forget what I percieved to be the emotion expressed by Dave when the camera focused on him during the UCONN game after the UCONN kickoff return went all the way. It is hard to tell what another man has going on in his head, but he just seemed to have all of the belief taken out of him that the team could win that night, and the game was not even close to over. It is way too early to predict what is going to happen next season, but Graham inspired me, so hopefully he can inspire the kids, the donors, and the fan base. If I didn’t live 1400 miles away, I’d be buying season tickets
HAIL TO PITT!
Where can I find this letter?
Dear Panthers Fan,
It is an honor and privilege to be your football coach at the University of Pittsburgh!
As I write this, I am not even 24 hours into my new job. But I wanted to reach out to you – the driving spirit behind the Panthers – to introduce myself and express my excitement in joining this outstanding university.
As I entered our practice facility yesterday, I was immediately struck by the awesome tradition that is Pitt football. It is a tradition of commitment and honor — and championships. Before I was a football coach I was a football fan, so it was a powerful moment for me to stand in front of the glass-encased lockers of John Majors and Mike Ditka, two men I’ve long admired for how they played and how they coached.
As Pitt’s new head coach, I am very aware of Pitt’s tremendous legacy. It is my promise that we will honor Pitt’s great tradition and work to build upon it. I believe there isn’t a football program in the country that has more potential for future greatness than the University of Pittsburgh.
I wanted to share with you our goals for Pitt football. They are, in order:
1. Produce men of character and integrity. If we don’t achieve this goal, then we can never reach our other aspirations.
2. Graduate every single one of our players. I want every young man who comes under our watch to earn their degree from this prestigious university.
3. Win the Big East Championship. It is our goal to bring home the Big East title on an annual basis.
4. Win a BCS Bowl. When competing on college football’s biggest stage we want to shine.
5. Win the national championship. We know this to be the standard for Pitt and Pittsburgh!
Nothing great is accomplished in this life without teamwork. Our players and coaches need you – the Pitt Family – to help us achieve our lofty goals. I know you share our championship vision and we look forward to working with you to make those championship moments, on and off the field, a reality.
Tuesday’s press conference was an incredibly memorable moment for my family and me. But as soon as it was done, I immediately went to the film room to begin analyzing top recruiting prospects for this class. The quest for greatness begins today.
Again, I’m honored to be your head coach. Thank you for your support and “Hail to Pitt!”
Sincerely,
Todd Graham
Head Football Coach
University of Pittsburgh
Penn who?????