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Monday, 13 December 2010 16:41

Written by Paul Zeise

* Interesting developments in the carousel of coaching.......According to a very good source - and believe me, sources are always very sketchy but this one has never steered me wrong -- Dana Holgorsen will not be the next head coach of Pitt.

That's all I can write about it now, I'll have more later and I can say it with confidence - Holgorsen is not going to be the head coach at Pitt, pass it on to all who care.

Now that I have a few more minutes, let me say this --- these stories change from day to day to day to day so don't jump off a bridge about it because there are a lot of very good coaches out there and the most important thing is finding the right fit.

There is no hurry, you'd rather get the right guy than the wrong guy and from what I understand Holgorsen was lot less serious of a candidate than maybe it first seemed. He appears to be on the wish list of several other schools.

And know this, there are a lot of reasons why certain guys are not a good fit and others are - you just never know and from everything we've been told about Holgorsen, I didn't know how he would fit here.

Al Golden, made perfect sense, from the standpoint of, he is a lot more along the lines of what they are looking for in their coach - in personality, in experience, in the way he carries himself, in the fact that he wears a tie to work every day and is a clean cut, family guy - all of those non-coaching areas that are so important to this University.

Holgorsen is obviously going to find a spot and I think he'll be a good head coach, but it will have to be a spot that is the right fit.

Comments (24)

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written by cfcboc, December 13, 2010 - 04:50 PM

Oh no... would this be Big East as in West Va, like some commenters have been "leaking" in the various blogs??

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written by Joe D, December 13, 2010 - 04:54 PM

I said that this morning... and again this afternoon.

The focus has turned to Hayward of Miami of Ohio. I heard of the WVU story with Holgorsen. Doubtful.

He would be better off staying at Ok. State... or perhaps Florida or Texas.

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written by Joe D, December 13, 2010 - 04:55 PM

Please have Pitt consider Stoops... he is my #1.

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written by bobbymo1, December 13, 2010 - 05:04 PM

this is very disappointing. Pitt already missed on Golden, now Holgeron. The talent pool may still be deep, but when u miss on ur number 1 and 2, that speaks volumes that somethings wrong.

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written by Joe D, December 13, 2010 - 05:10 PM

Pitt wanted more long term... and Holgorsen wouldn't give it.
Holgerson lives in at hotel at Ok. State.
Holgerson still owns a home in Houston.
Holgerson has 3 kids and presumably divorced. Don't know where the kids live.
Pederson must have turned off Holgerson... and Luck and Holgerson have ties from Houston.
Pitt wants a family guy... yes, Golden type... but I was not a Golden fan.
Stoops... Stoops... Stoops.

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written by jlawrence, December 13, 2010 - 05:10 PM

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that Pitt missed on anything at this point. Sometimes you don't miss... sometimes you meet the candidate and while you liked them on paper, up close and personal its clear that they are not what you want.

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written by Cheetah, December 13, 2010 - 05:24 PM

Golden only made sense to you because he is from Temple. He is the same as Wannstedt but not as good. May as well have kept Wannstedt after this cluster of a search.

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written by Ylrebo, December 13, 2010 - 05:25 PM

I might believe Holgorsen wasn't a serious candidate if Peterson didn't do this before. The right fit is going to be someone who has no business coaching a D I program either by incompetence or age...oh and cheap. He'll be a great guy that loses with class...why did we fire Wannestadt again? And if by some miracle we do get a good coach, the PR from this will be hard to live down for at least two seasons (i.e. recruiting classes). S.O.P. Same old Pitt.

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written by Tony77019, December 13, 2010 - 05:29 PM

Paul:
Pitt can spin this anyway they want but the fact is they lost two very good candidates. Sorry, but Pederson is looking quite incompetent at this point. And Is Pitt ever going to make a decision about who's coaching the team at the BBVA bowl? Pitt's looking stupid on that one too.

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written by Joe D, December 13, 2010 - 05:35 PM

Agree with Tony77019...
Pederson looks incompetent in doing the search!!!
Lost 2 good candidates... albeit I'm a Stoops fan.
Who wants to come to Pitt after this debacal... they would be the 3rd candidate!!!

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written by Louder_Is_Best, December 13, 2010 - 05:56 PM

One thing that I'm more convinced of with each passing day: Steve Pederson and Mark Nordenburg are incompetent.

Florida's coach retires, they go out and get their guy immediately. Miami fires its coach, they go out and get their guy.

Pitt fires its coach....and they bumble around like clowns, identifying targets then backing off for absurd reasons like "he doesn't wear a tie" or some nonsense.

This has disaster written all over it.

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written by pwmcdupitt, December 13, 2010 - 06:05 PM

Yeah, Vanderbilt looks stupid, too? They just offered 3M and got turned down. If Pitt got someone fast, and they don't win the BE, next year and a national championship in five, you would all be screaming it was too rushed. Grow up, just maybe this is all a lot more complicated than you geniuses think.

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written by panther123, December 13, 2010 - 06:11 PM

Pitt is not exactly a "Top Job" in college football..
So Peterson and Co. have their work cut out for them...
Maybe the next guy should wear a nice red sweater vest to the interview...

Pitt needs to think outside the box here -

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written by notrocketscience, December 13, 2010 - 06:11 PM

Ever see Holgorsen interviewed. He is no leader. It is like watching paint dry. Go to youtube and watch him. His players call him mellow. He bombed the interview.

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written by centerline, December 13, 2010 - 06:12 PM

I wonder if Pitt has considered James Franklin, the coach-in-waiting at Maryland. He's highly thought of, I understand, and seems like a solid football citizen. Great reporting on the coach hunt, you guys. I'm enjoying it tremendously.

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written by notrocketscience, December 13, 2010 - 06:15 PM

Just because you get an interview does not mean you are a great candidate. It means you have the credentials to get your foot in the door. There is a lot more invovled.

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written by Joe D, December 13, 2010 - 06:19 PM

If all those other "non-coaching" things mattered to Pitt... Holgerson should have never been on the list and never interviewed, etc etc with all these expectation. Very easy even for me to look him up and find out stuff.

Stoops Stoops Stoops.

Please not another Pitt alum.

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written by druc, December 13, 2010 - 06:19 PM

dana might not interview well but he can score points. looking at the BCS, the ability to score points seems to be pretty important in college football. don't see a lot of great defenses and the rules help the offense so if pitt is looking to get to the next level they need a coach who can improve their offense. swing for the fences instead of settling

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written by jaydog, December 13, 2010 - 07:00 PM

what about Mike Sewak or Jim Hostler?

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written by cfcboc, December 13, 2010 - 07:17 PM

So now that Auburn's offensive coordinator Matzahn is not going to Vandy and the news item on CBS Sports mentioned the Pitt opening, what's the take on Matzahn as a possibility?

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written by cfcboc, December 13, 2010 - 07:22 PM

Oops... just saw the PG article where Auburn is doubling Matzahn's $500K salary and extending his contract, so doesn't look like he's an option anymore.

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written by Central Pa Bucs Fan, December 13, 2010 - 07:28 PM

Central Pa media finally got around to disclosing Tom Bradley's candidacy-five days after Paul Z did and just about the time the Holgerson candidacy exploded. Everybody who thinks that's an accident, please hold up your hands. I agree with the Pederson critics-Paul Ziese's sources should never have disclosed to Paul that Pitt wanted to hire Dana until the deal was done. Paul's coverage is great-and he can spin this reverse however he wants, but it seems clear to me that Pederson got left at the altar-and that the people who leaked Holgerson as the next coach made public disclosure of Pederson's embarrassment inevitable.
What a third rate, junior high school operation Pederson has run since he decided to fire Wannstedt!

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written by wee willie wallace, December 13, 2010 - 07:34 PM

Most everyone on here is bashing Pederson. Why? Maybe, just maybe, Holgorsen did not check out in the vetting process. If that is the case, good for Pitt.

Quite frankly, that is the most logical explanation. Zeise wrote yesterday that Holgorsen has always been at the top of Pederson's list after Golden was hired. Now, all of a sudden, he was not that high up after all?

Come on Mr. Zeise...............which is it? Either your sources are pretty unreliable or you are not getting the facts.

Two coaches in the country have been hired. So what? I would rather Pitt do a thorough check than have an "O'Leary situation" on their hands.

Maybe this will be a blessing in disguise.

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written by apm74, December 13, 2010 - 10:39 PM

And right on cue, the Nordy & Pederson begin to choke on their own feet. This is going to turn out to be eerily similar to the firing of John Michelosen, as Pitt fades into a revolving door of highly unsuccessful coaches until the program becomes so unprofitable the university has no choice but to pay or get out of the sport all together.

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