Mark Madden stirred up Panther nation by saying sources have told him that Matt Cavanaugh will be taking the Jet's quarterback coaching job later this week.
I checked with some people and as always they are being tight lipped. It is the usual do not confirm and do not deny responses that are common in sports.
Before we all get excited let's just think back for a moment when we heard from inside sources that Ron Rivera was the guy for the Steelers job, or the inside sources who led everyone to believe Russ Grimm was going to become the head coach, the same insiders who led us to believe Jamie Dixon was already on a plane for Arizona State.
Let's just take this for what it is, simply a rumor. Before anything becomes official, don't get too all worried or worked up over it. Don't go out and buy BringBackWlat.com, just let things happen.
I do think that there might be some coincidence of this story not only being released today, but also coming to light after all of the recruits have signed their LOI's. While Pitt, WVU, and PSU all have some decent players coming in, no one has a really over the top, standout class. With this rumor about Cav coming to light, it means more Pitt people will be getting interviewed about this situation. That then turns into a nice way to hype up our class and shine the light a little brighter on Pitt.
Despite these rumblings, if a job such as this was offered to Cavanaugh, I believe he would accept this as this is the best way for him to get back as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. It all depends on if the offer from Rex Ryan exists or not.
There are some higher ups at Pitt who are demanding change for the way the Sun Bowl ended. It was all but apparent that Bryan Bossard was the man who was going to be the fall guy this season. He was unable to recruit well and we saw our receivers regress throughout the season. This was a problem he had in Maryland and looks like it is becoming a trend instead of an anomaly.
Coaching changes usually happen after LOI day to preserve committed recruits which is why I believe we will see a change made here in the next few weeks. I do believe that Wanny will allow him to look elsewhere first (like he did with Charlie Partridge) so that 1. he doesn't have to fire him and 2. To help him avoid the perception he was fired in back to back seasons.
Many people blamed his recruiting, but I feel it was the performance of a veteran core of WR's is what led to the opinions here. Many people are upset at Jeff Hafley at not landing the big 3 from New Jersey, but the important thing is that we made inroads to New Jersey and now have established a presence. Hopefully Jeff can undo the Ball school of secondary and get the players on the field to perform well while also landing top talent from the Garden State.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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4 comments:
This hire is going to be easily the biggest of the DW Era. Bigger even than Bennett, since it seems that DW exerts so much influence on the defensive side of the ball.
As I have mentioned before, I hope they think outside the box on this one. Somebody young and innovative, preferably who has never set foot at the University. I firmly believe that we can still be a pro-style team and run creative and innovative offenses provided that we have the right personnel. If Major Applewhite was capable of working for Saban at Alabama and Mack Brown at Texas at the age of 28, I find it hard to believe that there is nobody else under 45 capable of handling the job.
The only exception to my no-Pitt rule that I would make for either of these hires is Yogi Roth, who I understand is having tremendous success learning under Pete Carroll and the staff at USC. Otherwise, we need to avoid groupthink and focus on expanding our recruiting base and maximizing the talent that we have.
Well - it's pretty apparent Cav is leaving, and I think it's best for all concerned. however - I caution all PITT fans to temper expectations with this coaching change as first year OC historically have a steep learning curve.
We may very well look 'prettier' out there next season, yet not reach the scoring levels that we just had in 2008. Fans forget that we just went through a season we we both just about scored the most points in 10 years and won more games than we have in 25 years.
Pretty heady position to be executing a major change from.
I'm alternating between laughing and crying when reading all the posts in various media calling for Harris' return. Personally I think it will never happen - and very strongly feel that it shouldn't either. Just as I have been doing since the initial reaction to Cav's departure unleashed a storm of "Read-Option!" and "Spread Offense!" posts ...
Sometimes I marvel at the arm-chair coaches that PITT fans are.
Does anyone in their right mind think that DW is about to overhaul an offense that he's spent four years recruiting and training personnel for, that just gave us both the highest scoring and most wins as stated above??
Really - Wannstedt do this??
Of course he won't - which he promptly and definitively squashed at this news conferences yesterday.
Also, I very much doubt this means we'll see Cross back in the mix as QB. We possibly could see him play a few more downs, but he'll not ever be our starting (or rotational) QB, unless he somehow has a quantum leap in grasping the intricacies of an offense - any offense.
You're a celebrity DPJ.
http://www.pittnews.com/sports/
jedlicka_serves_as_king_of_the_zoo-1.1354458
Nice article.
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