Did PITT get What it Deserved?

[cygnus34]

By ERIC CRAWFORD

Courier-Journal

Three days, two coaches, two very different ways of doing things.

Last weekend on the recruiting trail, Pittsburgh football coach Todd Graham and Charlie Strong, head coach at the University of Louisville, were telling recruits and parents all the same things.

By Wednesday, we knew one of them was a sham.

By now you certainly know the tale of Graham, who got a job offer from Arizona State after just one season at Pittsburgh. He then asked Pitt AD Steve Pederson for permission to talk with Arizona State. Over the next 24 hours he refused to talk with any of his Pitt bosses, even declining to talk with a Pitt administrator who came to his home Tuesday night.

On Wednesday morning he informed the school via text message that he was leaving.

Pittsburgh administration, of course, deserves nothing less. It was no less deceptive in dealing with the Big East Conference before bolting to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The least it could’ve done was recuse itself from league leadership decisions while maneuvering to exit behind its back.

But no matter how much of a karmic kick in the pants Pittsburgh has coming, its players don’t deserve this. Some took to Twitter with righteous anger — and they had every right. I admired the way they pulled together in last season’s BBVA Compass Bowl against Kentucky. I expect they’ll do it again this season when interim coach Keith Patterson leads them into the same bowl against SMU on Jan. 7 — their fifth coach since the end of the 2010 season.

But I’ll tell you who wasn’t sending tweets or text messages. U of L football players — even though their coach was in the thick of at least one coaching rumor mill.

“Never once did I get a Tweet or anything from our players talking about, ‘Coach don’t go’ or anything,†Strong said Monday, reaffirming his commitment to U of L. “Because they knew I wasn’t going anywhere. It was never a conversation with them.â€

Coaches make speeches of all kinds declaring their loyalty. Graham made a bunch. Nobody lasts anywhere forever, and no one should begrudged a chance at a better opportunity.

But Strong has laid down a high standard for departure.

“You don’t walk out on someone,†he said. “Here you are, you’re two years into a program, and all of a sudden someone has given you a chance, and you’re just going to walk away and say, ‘Bye, bye’ and just walk out? I never would have been placed in this position if (AD Tom Jurich) hadn’t given me that opportunity.

“ ... When you have an athletic director who gives you everything you need, that’s all you ask for. Because you know exactly who you’re working for. You go take another job, you don’t know what you’re stepping into or what you’re up against. We know what we have here. So let’s build on it.â€

Randy Edsall didn’t know what he was stepping into at Maryland, nor Rich Rodriguez at Michigan. Have things been that much better for Miami or Boston College since stepping into the ACC?

If you’re a U of L fan today, where would you rather be — standing in the Big East with Strong and your administration, or stepping into the ACC with Pitt’s situation?

“A lot of times people will say, ‘You’re just driving by, take your suitcase out, unpack your bags, then pack them back up and go.’ †Strong said. “We can’t do that.â€

No text messages necessary.

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Graham on his accepting the PITT JOB

PITTSBURGH -- Todd Graham is setting high expectations and talking a big game, promising to bring an exciting brand of offense with him as he leaves Tulsa and becomes the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh.

"We'll be the most explosive team in the country," said Graham, who was formally introduced Tuesday at a news conference in the Panthers' South Side practice facility."

"We're built around speed, speed, speed, and explosive power," the 46-year-old Graham said. "We'll be fast, efficient, explosive. The fans at Heinz Field -- they won't want to sit down with the type of football we play."

He will be paid about $2 million per season at Pitt -- nearly twice as much as former coach Dave Wannstedt -- which makes him the Panthers' highest-paid football coach ever.

"I believe people know what your heart is. I spent 10 years coaching high school football. I love kids. I went into this business to make a difference in young people's life," Graham said. "These coaches in this area -- they know me, they know the reputation I have. We're going to treat their players with great respect and they know they can trust and we'll take care of them."

"It's time to come together," Graham said. "I'm one of those guys who's about looking forward. Through change you have conflict, you have adversity, and emotions run rampant. The bottom line is we've got to move past that. I'm going to work hard to earn your trust."

[GaUSFBull]

"If you’re a U of L fan today, where would you rather be — standing in the Big East with Strong and your administration, or stepping into the ACC with Pitt’s situation?"

I think Louisville is made it perfectly clear they would rather be in the B12, and if they had gotten an ACC invite, they would have been gone too.

[Triple B]

It's really hard for me to say that Pitt "deserved it" when looking at it from a fan or player's perspective ... from the Administrative side .... BOOOYAH!

[jvwvu]

Even as a WVU fan who dispises Pittsburgh and wants to see them fail at everything including Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, I feel bad for the players who have been recruited there, transferred there and now are stuck there as recruits without knowing who their coaches will be.

And by the way Graham has always been a ****, Butch Jones though is a classy guy who came out of that Regime.

Also the last 2 years is going to kill Pitt in 2-3 years when they hit the ACC unless, they do what WVU is doing take 30 somekids (to fill in) with Jucos and Early Enrollees counting to prior season.

[crambone]

Yes they deserved it. And so does Cuse with their coach-**** scandal. I wish the same on WVU. There aren't enough bad things that can happen to those 3 schools to satisfy me.

[Triple B]

Yes they deserved it. And so does Cuse with their coach-**** scandal. I wish the same on WVU. There aren't enough bad things that can happen to those 3 schools to satisfy me.

[Who'sYourData?]

The thing is, this coaching situation is transitory. In a year or two, they will be squared away. What they did to the Big East is permanent damage.

[SRQ]

Pitt will be buried in the ACC. Biggest mistake Miami ever made was leaving BE.

[macphisto]

Pitt will be buried in the ACC. Biggest mistake Miami ever made was leaving BE.

I think for both them and VT it has been a net negative. Pitt will fare even worse. They were one of the big dogs in the BE and will be an also ran in the ACC, just like Maryland or NC State. Same goes for West Virginia in their move. They'll be K-State's equal. Looks good against weak opponents and falls apart most years against Texas, Oklahoma, OK State, etc. West Virginia is trading BCS Bowls for Pinstripe Bowls.

[crambone]

Pitt will be buried in the ACC. Biggest mistake Miami ever made was leaving BE.

I think for both them and VT it has been a net negative. Pitt will fare even worse. They were one of the big dogs in the BE and will be an also ran in the ACC, just like Maryland or NC State. Same goes for West Virginia in their move. They'll be K-State's equal. Looks good against weak opponents and falls apart most years against Texas, Oklahoma, OK State, etc. West Virginia is trading BCS Bowls for Pinstripe Bowls.

Yep. There's no way in hades that WVU competes with Oklahoma or Texas. Shoot, they won't even be able to keep up with Texas Tech or Baylor.