The Sports Monitor

I liked the Todd Graham hire by the Pitt football team in January. I was looking forward to seeing his high-powered offense in action. I liked the idea of his commitment to Pitt he said after his hire. He talked a great game. Less than a year later, I have lost all respect for the man. Graham up-and-left for Arizona State, leaving Pitt, his players and the program on a whim. Well, maybe it wasn't a whim. Maybe he knew his up-tempo style just wasn't going to work in Year 2 at Pitt. Maybe he couldn't get the right quarterback to run his offense. Maybe he wanted to leave before everyone else figured out that he wasn't as good of a coach as he made himself out to be. Maybe he didn't like the weather. He's a Sun Devil now. Ask a Pitt player, and I'd guess they'd say he's something like the devil instead. Graham notified his players by text or email -- how nice. Nothing being committed to your job. Athletic director Steve Pederson agreed: ...

Depending on your choice of news, either Tom Bradley is the next Pitt coach, will be the next Pitt coach or is the leading candidate to be the next Pitt football coach. Whatever the case, it looks like Pitt is zeroed in on Bradley, despite the other names (Sal Sunseri, Teryl Austin, Paul Chryst, Todd Graham) being mentioned as possible successors to the short-lived Mike Haywood experiment. Much to my dismay, Pitt doesn't want Rich Rodriguez. Bradley would be a solid second choice. It didn't seem that way the first time around. When Bradley contacted Pitt about getting an interview he was turned down. My problem with the ascendancy of Bradley is this: If he wasn't good enough for an interview the first time around, why is he now the leading choice? The short answer is, it's just Pitt. Dan Rooney recommended Pitt look at Bradley. It wasn't enough to impress athletic director Steve Pederson. For some reason, Pederson saw something in Haywood that not many ot...

Mike Haywood will never see the sidelines as coach of the Pitt Panthers football team. The university fired Haywood on Saturday after his arrest on a charge of domestic violence. Haywood says, "The truth will eventually come out." While the circumstances are truly disgusting and hopefully the truth will be brought to light, the charge is a way for athletic director Steve Pederson to get a do-over after failing to get a solid candidate in the first place. With a chance to inspire players, alumni and fans, Haywood underwhelmed many with his introductory news conference nearly three weeks ago. Those from Dave Wannstedt's recruiting class apparently were underwhelmed, too, as some of them decided to play elsewhere next season. I've felt that Haywood was lucky to be considered for any coaching gig. He parlayed a couple breaks into a job at a conference with a tie-in to a BCS game. (Notice I didn't say big-time school, because Pitt clearly hasn't shown eno...