Pitt's Harris defends record

[Apis Bull]

Link:  Pitt's Harris defends record

Pitt's Harris defends record

By Joe Starkey

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Monday, June 21, 2004

Walt Harris might be lacking returning starters -- Pitt will have the fewest in the Big East next season -- but he is not lacking satisfaction in his performance as Pitt's football coach.

Harris was asked Friday during the Walt Harris Football Camp if it would have shocked him to be fired after last season, when the Panthers finished below expectations at 8-5.

"I probably have two answers to that," Harris said. "One is that if they don't think we've done a job here, then, you know, go ahead.

"One-A is, I doubt they think that. That's because I feel like I have a close relationship with our chancellor, Mark Nordenberg, and our assistant chancellor, Jerry Cochran. And I feel like in the one year (athletic director) Jeff Long's been here, I've had good communication with him."

Harris is 44-40 in seven seasons at Pitt. The Panthers were 24-53-1 in the seven years before he arrived. The Panthers were a popular top-10 pick before last season but finished unranked after losing in the Continental Tire Bowl.

"We did go to a bowl for a fourth time, you know?" Harris said. "And we did win eight games, and we had a guy (Larry Fitzgerald) who came in second in the Heisman. We came into a program that hadn't gone to a bowl in (eight) years. You couldn't find anything 'Pitt' in the stores. You'd never see a Pitt football player advertised on college football. We've done a good job in graduating our players, and we've done a representative job of keeping our guys in line.

"So, I would have been shocked (to be fired), but, like I said, my first reaction is that if they don't think it's good enough, I'm sure somebody else will."

Neither Nordenberg nor Long has expressed the slightest dissatisfaction with Harris. They haven't extended or sweetened his contract, either. His current contract, signed in 2000, runs through the 2006 season and pays him considerably less than what the highest-paid coaches in the country earn.

Harris believes his team was overrated going into last season, though he concedes there were good reasons for such high expectations.

"People logically put it together and came up with a higher rating than probably, player for player, our talent level was -- especially to be rated in the top 10," he said. "Last year was very disappointing to me. I don't think we played like we know we can play. We obviously didn't coach good in certain areas. The fact is, we lost an outstanding running back (Brandon Miree) for seven games. That was a big hit. And our defense (ranked 79th in NCAA Division I) completely shocked us."

Pitt won't have to worry about living up to high expectations this coming season.

Several college football magazines have hit the stands, and none picks the Panthers to finish higher than third in a revamped, seven-team Big East that no longer includes Miami or Virginia Tech.

Street & Smith's picks Pitt fourth -- behind West Virginia, Boston College and newcomer Connecticut -- and says, "Too many missing parts to expect better than .500 as post-Fitzgerald days begin."

The Sporting News picks Pitt third (behind WVU and Boston College) and says, "With a softer schedule, anything less than a New Year's Day Bowl might prompt athletic director Jeff Long to blow things up and start over."

Phil Steele's magazine picks Pitt third (WVU, BC) and says, "Many times a team that underachieves one year ends up overachieving the next."

Athlon's picks Pitt fourth (WVU, BC, Rutgers) and says, "Harris faces his biggest rebuilding project since taking over eight years ago."

Harris pointed out that Pitt played a winner-take-all, regular-season finale against Miami last year, with a BCS bowl bid at stake. The Panthers lost, 28-14.

"I would hope we could play the last game of the year every year for a Bowl Championship Series bid," he said, "and one of these days (a victory) is going to happen for us."

Summer practice begins Aug. 12.

Joe Starkey can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com.

Harris is going to have a lot of pressure on him this year.  If we beat them, it could mark the beggining of the end for him.

[bulls96go]

we could and should beat pitt

[E.T.]

We NEED to Beat pitt, and I BULLieve we will !

I am sooooo ready for this opener.

Go BULLS !!!

[smazza]

pitt is a must win

harris has underachieved

[Apis Bull]

pitt is a must win

You keep saying that.  How is it a "must win"?  I'd like to win it as much as anyone else and think it would be great if we did, but it's far from a must win.

[smazza]

losing the first game with a young qb would be bad for confidence

losing first game at home would be bad for confidence

to lose arevenge game at home would be bad

can't explain it any better to you scbull