A Defining Moment for Pitt Football

I’ve spent most of New Years day relaxing, watching sports, and trying to get a handle on what has transpired with the University of Pittsburgh’s football program over the last 24 hours. Admittedly, I am stunned. I'm fairly sure I am not alone in that sentiment.

My respected sources (aka, Emily) first caught word of the Mike Haywood arrest story around 11pm Chicago time on New Year’s Eve. Not long after I noted that Bob Smizik was all over the story in his blog. The story has been a non stop source of conversation throughout the Pittsburgh sports blogosphere since it broke.

Twenty four hours later (as I write this), Haywood is out of jail and out of job. Pitt is once again looking for a new football coach and trying to overcome a potentially crippling moment for a floundering program.

The Haywood situation is an embarrassing moment for the University of Pittsburgh on a national scale. It’s an unfortunate and unexpected set back that leaves everybody involved ripe for criticism. It’s the type of moment that could do unfathomable long-term damage to the football program. But it does not have to be.

What Pitt does in the next two weeks will ultimately define this incident, not what happened this weekend. The University acted swiftly and definitively by firing Haywood today, for better or for worse. They need to continue to do so by spending the next two weeks seeking and finding a candidate to build the program around. They need to understand that this absolutely can be salvaged.

Keep in mind that Notre Dame survived the George O’Leary fiasco. The program fell on hard times but those issues had nothing to do with their rapid decision to cut ties with O’Leary after his bizarre fake resume incident. Truthfully, their failure was in hiring the wrong man to replace O’Leary.

Pitt can survive this and move forward. They can acknowledge that this hire went wrong and devote all of their resources to finding the right man. A coach with the 'A' list credibility to build a program who is willing to work at Pitt. I don’t pretend to know who that candidate is but I know they don’t have to go far to find the model. Panther football needs to find their Jamie Dixon.

Pitt is in a difficult spot because the top shelf candidates are not coming. Rest assured, Urban Meyer is not coming out of retirement to coach at Pitt. Every coach Pitt has ever hired has been either an unknown or somebody from a lower tier program.

They need to find somebody who fits the Dixon profile; a young coach who commands discipline and accountability but can also build a program as a head coach. They need to find somebody excited enough about this job to not use it as a stepping stone. That’s a very difficult line to walk which is why such candidates are not easy to find. Keep in mind that many people were not happy with the Dixon hire.

Let me step back and make two important points here.

First, I’m a little disappointed that Haywood did not get some due process in this matter. My beliefs are exactly the same as they were when the first Ben Roethlisberger accusations were reported. The media and fans have some obligation to wait for the relevant facts to come through before they condemn the accused. It’s entirely possible that this incident will ultimately not play out as initially reported; just as was the case with Big Ben.

That said, I understand why Pitt moved so quickly to fire Haywood. There was a critical need to act quickly and decisively in order to get beyond this. As for Haywood, if you are going to be a high profile public figure, you have to be beyond reproach, especially if you have not had time to establish credibility with your new employer and alumni. If this incident happened after three years and 25+ wins, Pitt might have given Haywood greater benefit of the doubt.

I specifically made the point with Big Ben that he was an NFL QB, not a teacher or priest. Quite frankly, Haywood’s job does require a higher standard. He is consider a teacher; a man who is responsible for molding young men. Such charges are a greater impediment for a man in his position than an NFL QB.

Haywood simply does not have enough football cachet to overcome something as serious as a domestic assault charge. In a court of law, he deserves every presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In the end, that presumption survives only to the court house walls. If he’s found not guilty his life will go on; just not as the football coach at Pitt.

Second, the idea that this incident somehow invalidates the Dave Wannstedt firing is absolutely absurd. I’ve heard numerous fans already suggest that Pitt should lick its wounds and beg Wanny to come back. Their argument is that he’s a solid guy who produced 7 or 8 wins a year and that’s not so terrible. This is a losers lament. There is no reason Pitt can not win 10 games and compete for Big East championships.

Pitt made the absolutely correct decision to fire Wanny. The program took a step back under his leadership and continually failed in big games. The program went backwards for three years after his arrival and he nver delivered a BCS Bowl bid, in spite of coaching in an awful conference. His team looked desperately out matched and out coached in every big game. And whatever minor progress occurred in 2008 and 2009 was wiped out with a horrifically embarrassing 2010 season.

As I noted last month, Wanny continued to demonstrate the same faults and deficiencies he showed in Chicago 15 years ago. You can not keep a coach who shows no growth over two decades simply because the new hire did not go as you hoped. Pitt’s mistake was not getting rid of Wanny; it was hiring the wrong replacement. And let’s be honest, they may have simply been a victim of nearly inconceivable circumstances.

Which brings us to the critical question; what does Pitt do now.

The University must devote all of its available resources to finding the best possible candidate. They can not settle for one of their coordinators or the first coach who will take a job. They can not settle for an alumnus with no head coaching experience like Russ Grimm. Pitt needs to find someone who brings immediate credibility to the program. They need to find their Jamie Dixon.

It was important to find the right person to replace Wannstedt. It is absolutely essential that they find the right person to replace Haywood. Keep in mind, Haywood was brought in to rescues the program from poor on the field performance. The new coach must do that and rescue them from this debacle.

One name that has been thrown around is Tom Bradley. I have infinite respect for Bradley’s work at Penn State. I think you could argue that he’s been the defacto head coach without the title for the last three years. He is a smart and dedicated football man and a great recruiter. He would certainly bring credibility. Still, I’m not sure he’s the right choice and not just because I do not want to lose him in Happy Valley.

The fact is Bradley has no head coaching experience. Hiring coordinators for big time college head coaching jobs is always risky because they do not have the overall experience of building a program. I think Pitt needs to find a young and energetic coach (50 or younger) who has been successful at building a program. That’s what needed to happen from the beginning. The program needs an infusion of life after the Wannstedt era.

Do I think Bradley can stabilize the situation and lend some credibility in a crisis situation? Absolutely. Do I think he can take Pitt to the next level that Wanny could not? Frankly I’m not sure. I would rather take a risk with a younger candidate who has shown they can build a program. Admittedly this is inconsistent with the Dixon comparison but football programs are frankly more difficult to run than basketball. And Dixon inherited a good situation. The new football coach inherits a mess on and off the field.

That said, I’m fairly sure I will not be on the search committee. Its up to Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson (assuming status quo), to find the right man. In the end, it’s not the Haywood failure that will define them here; it’s what they do now. If they panic on Frank Cignetti or heaven forbid Rich Rodriguez (and yes I’m being presumptuous there), I think the program will start a long hard fall.

Saturday was an awful day for the University of Pittsburgh. Sunday was the first day in repairing the damage. What happens next may define Pitt football of the foreseeable future.