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2 weeks on the job. Pitt's new football coach Mike Haywood is about to be fired.

http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/F ... 30024.html

Maybe he could get on a staff with Mike Price and the AD from UGA!

Here's hoping Pitt waits a few more days and tries to entice RichRod or Richt to the Burgh if they are fired.

espn insider
We wrote Sunday that Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who could receive his walking papers from the Wolverines this week, was a potential candidate to be the next head coach at Clemson and Maryland.

While Clemson remains a possibility (if the Tigers choose to part ways with Dabo Swinney), the Terrapins option is now off the table, with Connecticut coach Randy Edsall being hired by Maryland on Sunday. That does leave the Huskies with an opening, and Rodriguez could emerge as a candidate for that program as well.

However, the rumor gaining the most momentum is the possibility of Rodriguez landing at Pittsburgh, after the Panthers had to fire recently-hired Mike Haywood following his arrest last week. ESPN The Magazine's Ryan McGee first suggested the possibility of Rich Rod-to-Pitt back on December 13, and he made another compelling case for the Panthers to hire Rodriguez on Monday (see below).

- Jeff Dooley
"Rodriguez is an offensive-minded coach who would help the school shore itself up for the looming arrival of TCU's defense, a big factor in West Virginia's hiring of gunslinger head coach-in-waiting Dana Holgerson. Of course, hiring Mike Leach, who Maryland reportedly passed on because they wanted to go 'more conservative,' would accomplish that, too. But bringing in RichRod would accomplish something that signing Leach would not. It would instantly reawaken the Backyard Brawl, one of the nation's best regional rivalries and one that has lost a lot of luster nationally."

- Might get your wish Pudge. If this is turn ticks off WVU fanbase then I'm all for it too!

Like Michigan, Pitt is going to take some time to overhaul their pro-style scheme to fit Rich Rod's spread attack and 3-3-5 defense but unlike Michigan, Pitt's familiarity with him, will give him the leeway to do it.

Boy, would that stick in the craw of WVU fans.

I'd prefer Richt, but I'd settle for Rodriguez.

New rumors are that Mike Leach and Marvin Lewis are in the mix at Pitt.

Not a huge fan of Leach. I think he was a good fit for Lubbock because it was off the beaten track, but I'm not a big fan of PItt hiring a spread coach. I don't mind Rodriguez because he knows the Big East landscape, and has recruiting ties in the area.

I think Marvin Lewis would be a good fit. But the big question would be whether or not he can recruit the kind of talent on defense that could lead to long term success. But I do like the fact that he was an assistant in college for a decade before coming to the pros.

Scratch Lewis.

Crazy good passing offense (that doesn't run nearly enough) and equally crazy dude. Seriously, have you heard him talk at length? I think you're dead on with the off the beaten path comment. Maryland looked hard at him, but instead went with a safer Eadsell (sp?) from UConn.

I really think you'd be better of w/ RichRod for the reason you stated. Recruiting prob #1. #2 the spread comment you made, Pittsburgh ain't a spread O kinda town!

Where did Harris your former coach end up? Random thought, but really he had the program on the best track before he bolted. Used to be one of VT's toughest annual games in the BE along with Miami.

Harris left Pitt to coach Stanford, and they were terrible, 1-11 his 2nd year, and that's when they hired Harbaugh.

Since then he has been off the radar, and had to check his wikipedia page to see if he had been doing anything. He is apparently now the OC at California U. of Pennsylvania, a Division II school.

He got us to where we wanted to be which was to be a team that could win 8 games every year, and we did beat VT all 4 years I was at Pitt so he did have that going for him, but I think they had maxed out where they could be with him. And I like so many others bought into Wannstedt doing what it took to get the team from being a perennial 8-win team to a perennial 10-win team like WVU was in their final years with RichRod.

Pitt fans are merciless. And I don't think they would buy into a spread system in Pittsburgh, unless you were going to have immediate success, or least have strong local credibility. RichRod probably could get away with one 5-7 year before they really started to rip him. Leach, I don't think could away with that.

He's just too aloof, and in Lubbock, Texas which is like 8 hours away from any means of civilization you can get away with that, but in a semi-major city like PIttsburgh with its media and demanding fan base, that just seems like a very bad marriage, as bad as Petrino was in the NFL. Coupled with him wanting to bring the spread offense to a team that is very poorly adapted to the spread offense, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

And I'm not convinced RichRod would be a great fit in Pittsburgh. I think I just like it because it would stick it to WVU a bit. But they would probably have the last laugh when we're struggling to win 5 or 6 games and Holgorsen has them at 9-3 or whatever.

Probably true. If RR was smart, he would have stayed in Morganhole, those people would have built him a statue bigger than the stadium had he ever gotten a NC. Instead he seems like Harris at this point, jumped for greener grass and fell in the ocean.

No other intriguing candidates?

All the candidates they are talking about now, the guy from Penn State, Todd Graham, etc. don't really have an effect on me.

I'm curious to see who Pitt gets. Last time when we hired Wanny, it was clear they wanted a "Pittsburgh guy" since Walt Harris was from California and ran the WCO.

Now? I have no clue. Our AD blows. He left for Nebraska and was the guy that decided that Bill Callahan was a good fit in Nebraska, and this weekend we'll probably get killed by Kentucky and then he'll hire somebody. I don't want to admit it's one big clusterfudge, but it seems that is the case.

LOL, yeah sorta seems like that. I know VT picked up a CB recruit that decommited to you all within the last 2 weeks or so. Supposed to be a really good DB prospect fwiw.

Man, at this point you all should give Bud Foster a look. If he could find an OC to bring with him that would at least kinda guarantee you you'd have better D. I'd be curious who he could conjure up as an OC. His problem has always been people speculate how well he'd do running an entire program, but I'm not sure I see what they see there. Otherwise he hasn't been a great recruiter (and I really don't know why with his fire for football??), and is prob seen as rough around the edges. He gets looks ea offseason, but is smart enough to wait on the right job. Vandy tried recently and he turned them down, figuring it would be better to stay put until something of a good enough opp to come by. In the mean time beamer might leave, and he could step in as HC. Thats what the VT fan base wants, and pretty much the entire base. Whether he's there when that occurs, who knows. But seems at this pt you guys could do way worse.

Well, I heard that Foster was on Pitt's short list back in December before they hired Haywood. Don't know if that was official or rumor.

Hasn't Foster turned down a bunch of jobs though over the years? I had always assumed that he was content to remain in Blacksburg and be a possible successor to Beamer rather than branch out.

If Pitt went after a fiery defensive guy, I think we'd be much better going for Paul Rhoads, who was our DC during the Walt Harris years, was stepped over when we hired Wanny and is now doing some nice things at Iowa State. Or Jim Leavitt for that matter, the ex-USF head coach who got fired last year for punching a player or more accurately for trying to cover it up?? That obviously won't happen given the black eye the school now sports for hiring Haywood...

I don't know what's going to happen though. I have the feeling whoever is hired is going to be our Kragthorpe, the guy Louisville hired to replace Petrino, and the program stunk for 3 years before they got Charlie Strong and apparently are back on the rise.

It's getting to the point where I really don't care. With us losing Baldwin and Lewis, next year's team is going to be pretty mediocre anyway.

http://hamptonroads.com/blogs/kyle-tucker

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other news outlets are citing anonymous sources that say Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster has interviewed for Pitt’s head-coaching vacancy (along with Penn State assistant Tom Bradley and Tulsa’s Todd Graham).

I’ve left messages with Foster’s agent and on Foster’s cell phone – and have reached out to various other sources close to the situation – but have not immediately heard back. I’ll keep you posted if/when I do. (UPDATE: Before I could even post this, one assistant coach who works under Foster texted to say he’s heard nothing about Foster interviewing for the Pitt job.)

I did reach Hokies athletic director Jim Weaver by phone just a few minutes ago. He’s watching the Pittsburgh-Kentucky bowl game right now, coincidentally. But he said my call was the first he’s heard of Foster’s supposed interview.

“I have absolutely no knowledge of that whatsoever,” Weaver said. “I’ve not heard anything. And to be honest with you, I don’t think I would get the call for permission to talk. I would normally only get those calls for head coaches.”

Asked if Tech would try to counter with a sweeter deal for Foster if Pitt does offer its head-coaching job, Weaver said, “I think it goes without saying that we would like Coach Foster to be here as long as he wants to be here. But I’m not sure there’s a counter-offer that would compete with the job of a head coach. And furthermore, if he has a chance to get a head job in a BCS conference, that’s pretty strong.”

Foster has for several years now said he craves a head-coaching gig in a BCS conference. He’s said he wouldn’t leave Tech for a small-school job or to be somebody else’s coordinator. He even pulled himself out of the mix for Vanderbilt’s recent head-coaching job because he said he thought he had a better job as the Hokies’ coordinator.

And Tech has sweetened his deal over and over and over to keep him happy in Blacksburg. The latest upping of the ante came last year, when the Hokies agreed to pay Foster essentially an $800,000 bonus if he stays through the 2014 season. That’s in addition to his $402,000 annual salary.

So what else can Tech do to keep Foster? Probably not much. Asked if the Hokies would consider throwing together a coach-in-waiting deal for Foster – a guarantee that he’d be the head coach after Beamer retires – if Pitt made an offer, Weaver said:

“Probably not because Coach Beamer and I and Dr. Steger (university president) don’t like the coach-in-waiting concept. And to be honest, I think Coach Beamer’s planning to be here for a while. So that concept at this juncture would be inappropriate.”

So now, Tech fans, you just have to wait. And keep holding your breath.

The one positive for hiring Foster is one hopes that Pitt can now make in roads into the Hampton Roads area and start recruiting some of those athletes on defense that Tech has had on lock down for years.

Saw on VT msg board you all just got Graham from Tulsa fwiw. Glad to keep Foster, its Australian for bad ass defense . Seriously, he's an uber-cog at VT, sorry he didn't get the gig, but damn glad we should have him another year. VT D will be back to freak nasty next year imho.