Pitt's Offensive Coordinator search

Now that Matt Cavanaugh is on his way out the door, who is next for the Panthers?

Obviously any coaching search is going to generate plenty of name-throwing, wishful thinking and flat-out silly ideas and the tough part is sifting through it all and trying to find out who is really a candidate and who is not.....

So with that in mind, let's take a look at some guys who may or may not be candidates and try and handicap the field......

Brian Angelchio

It would be a good hire because........He has been on the staff as the tight ends coach and Matt Cavanaugh's top pupil and right-hand man. Angelichio is very smart, he understands offense, he is, like Cavanaugh extremely organized. He has learned plenty over the past three seasons from Cavanaugh and he would seem to be ready to take the next step in his career and at 36 years old he is certainly a "young-up and comer" and those kinds of coaches seem to have become the rage in both the NFL and college ranks. He's also already on the staff and thus there would be very few changes, if any, to the offense, the schemes and the terminology which would make for an easy transition. Oh yeah, and one other thing -- he has experience as a play-caller as he was the offensive coordinator at Ithaca from 2000-05.

It would be a bad hire because........Well, if Matt Cavanaugh was the problem (and I am not saying he was but in reading my E-mails and listening to the buzz around town, his popularity was clearly not going to put him into a position to run a successful mayoral campaign around here) -- is it wise to hire a Matt Cavanaugh clone or at the very least, one of his protégés? Also, his lack of quarterback experience is not good given the crop of quarterbacks the new coordinator has to work with. Development is clearly critical.

It could happen because......Again, he is on the staff, he does have some experience as an offensive coordinator and it would be a very simple transition. It would also be a very cost-effective way to fill a spot, and given that the University is in some financial turmoil and currently has an unofficial hiring freeze, well this would be a bottom-line friendly hire. 

It won't happen because......Angelichio doesn't have quite enough experience, particularly in developing and working with quarterbacks. In fact, he has no experience developing quarterbacks and that might be a fatal flaw in his resume.

Odds....Probably less than 20 percent, but the good thing about being the guy on the staff looking to be promoted is the longer the search goes on, the more other candidates fall through, the better your odds are at getting the promotion.

Alex Van Pelt:

It would be a good hire because........Do we need to even ask this? I mean, all together now..."HE'S A PITT GUY"...He's one of the most prolific passers in Pitt history, he has stayed close to coaching since he finished his career. He currently is the quarterbacks coach of the Buffalo Bills and he has expressed interest in jobs at Pitt in the past. He is young enough that he could grow into the role of offensive coordinator and perhaps someday become the successor to Dave Wannstedt. He also has a lot of experience coaching and developing quarterbacks and well, let's just say that's a big plus given what the new coordinator will inherit at that position.

It would be a bad hire because........In looking at his resume, he has never called plays before or coordinated an offense. That is not to say he couldn't get it done or grow into the role, it is just saying that he hasn't done it before. He also has only one season as a college coach and by the looks of his resume half of it or at least part of it was as a volunteer -- meaning, his experience recruiting is minimal. 

It could happen because......Van Pelt has some of the right people in his corner if he wants the job, he is a Pitt guy and that seems to trump a lot of shortcomings and he would come at a fairly reasonable price tag (translation, he's a young up and comer and those are always very good on the bottom line!!)

It won't happen because......Although he is an intriguing name and seems to be a fairly good offensive mind -- Dave Wannstedt is not usually in the risk-taking business when it comes to hires (see defensive coordinator position last year) and he favors and values experience a great deal.

Odds.....I'd say 50/50 but he'll have to convince Wannstedt he is able to call plays

Walt Harris

It would be a good hire because........Walt knows offense. Walt really knows offense and he's also excellent at developing quarterbacks (and for those critics who say "if he's so great, tell me how many QB's he got to the NFL?" I'd say, how many of those guys had a prayer of playing in the NFL to begin with and how many of them did he turn from journeymen to very, very good college quarterbacks) and the ability to develop quarterbacks is going to be a big component of this hire. Walt is well known in these parts and he would certainly turn this offense into something explosive very quickly.  

It would be a bad hire because........Forget the silliness of the fact that Walt was pushed out because the program needed to get to the next level -- and now he'd be asked to help get the program to the next level.........Can you imagine Walt Harris, who never met a vertical passing route he didn't like co-existing with Dave Wannstedt, whose idea of opening up the offense is running a sweep instead of off tackle? I just don't see it working out -- Walt is very aggressive in his play calling, Dave likes it to be more conservative. Walt loves the pass and wants to pass every down, Dave loves the run and wants to run, well, a lot. This just doesn't seem to be a match made in heaven. 

It could happen because......There are apparently some influential people talking to Wannstedt about at least considering the possibility and he is at least thinking about it. That doesn't mean it will happen, but stranger things have gone on in the past.  

It won't happen because......It is not like Walt Harris doesn't still have some baggage left over from his time and while he is cordial with the people at Pitt, he didn't exactly leave on the best of terms, either. It would be awkward at best and frankly I just don't see much precedent for a college coach returning to a place for a lesser job, particularly after he had essentially been fired by said place. 

Odds.....I'd say less than 10 percent and that is probably way too high. I just don't see it happening, despite all the scuttlebutt about it, though if it did, boy would that be fun.

Noel Mazzone

It would be a good hire because........Of all the candidates we've heard about through various channels, he seems to have the best resume on paper. He was an offensive coordinator for 11 seasons at Ole Miss, Auburn, Oregon State and N.C State so he has a lot of experience preparing for plenty of different styles of defenses and has recruited in a number of different regions. He also is a former college quarterback and before he was promoted to his first offensive coordinator job, he was a quarterbacks coach for several years at Minnesota, TCU and Colorado State.  He tutored Philip Rivers at N.C. State so he does have a history of mentoring a big-time quarterback. 

It would be a bad hire because........He has spent the past two seasons in the NFL with the Jets as a receivers coach and so this job could be just a temporary stop while he looks for another shot at the NFL. He has been somewhat of a nomad so there is a history of jumping jobs and because he is not a "Pitt guy", well he really has no ties here.

It won't happen because......He'll get offered another position in the NFL. He also might not have enough of the "right" people pushing for him.

It could happen because......Like I wrote earlier, if you just look at resumes he clearly has the best one of the known candidates -- or at least people who have inquired or have been reached out to or are just rumored to be interested. And at 51 he is older, more mature as a coach and he has that "safe hire" in the Phil Bennett kind of way to him. We all know Wannstedt loves experience and Mazzone has plenty.    

Odds....Perhaps 4 to 1 against, maybe a tad higher. He has that "not a Pitt guy and very few ties to Wannstedt's career" thing going against him. But his NFL experience is a plus as his background as an offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach.

Chan Gailey

It would be a good hire because........Like Mazzone, he obviously is qualified for the job and he obviously has a proven track record as an offensive coordinator. He is a former quarterback, he has run offenses in the NFL and in college football. He has obviously had success recruiting in the past and he has ties to this area with his work as the Steelers offensive coordinator during the mid-1990's.

It would be a bad hire because........He was fired at Georgia Tech in large part because his offenses were not very good and thus the team didn't win enough. He was also most recently presiding over one of the worst offenses in the NFL as Kansas City's offensive coordinator and given his NFL ties and his extensive NFL experience, he'd be a short-term gap stop at best as he would most certainly be looking to move forward again quickly.

It could happen because......Gailey and Wannstedt are good friends and well, he is currently unemployed, but again, it is hard to see this one happening. Wannstedt will reach out to Gailey, if he already hasn't, but more than likely it will be to get some recommendations for some younger coaches who Gailey has worked with or knows.   

It won't happen because......At this stage in his career it is hard to believe Gailey would want to come back to college for anything less than a head coaching job. Pitt would also not be willing to pay enough to make it worth his while. That's not to say that Pitt is not going to pay for the right guy, but it is hard to imagine a guy who was once making more than $1 million a year at Georgia Tech settling for much, much less than that and adding all the hassles that come with being a college football coach. He could make as much or more with less head-aches coaching in the NFL as an assistant.

Odds....I'd say less than 5 percent.

Charlie Taaffe

It would be a good hire because........Experience is second to none. He's had success at a number of different stops and he's a proven track record as a good offensive coordinator. He's creative, he's coached just about every position on offense and he has plenty of experience against many different styles and schemes of defenses. He also has the requisite "HE ONCE WORKED AT PITT" as he was an offensive assistant with the Panthers under Wannstedt in 2006.

It would be a bad hire because........He is not a spring chicken and his offensive philosophy would not seem to be a good fit with what Wannstedt is looking for. He has coached in the CFL for a number of years and even at Maryland, his offenses were wide open and extremely multiple and that's not the pro-style kind of guy Wannstedt is looking for. 

It could happen because...... He and Wannstedt are friends and Wannstedt respects him as an offensive coach and as we've said, Wannstedt favors experience.

It won't happen because......He already has a job -- he was just hired as the offensive coordinator at Central Florida.

Odds....I'd say less than 2 percent, though it wouldn't be unprecedented for Wannstedt to cherry pick a UCF assistant a month after he got hired. See Tumpkin, Joe.

Greg Gattuso

It would be a good hire because........Gattuso has more experience than anyone on staff at crafting an offense, calling plays and being an offensive coordinator and anyone who watched his offenses at Duquesne would know that the Panthers would become exciting overnight. He was aggressive as a play caller, imaginative and his teams put up big points. He actually joined the staff as an offensive coach.

It would be a bad hire because........Gattuso hasn't coached offense in a few years and like Angelichio hasn't called plays at the Division I level. His style of offense would also give Wannstedt stomach cramps as he was very aggressive in his approach to play calling and used a variety of spread formations and whatnot.

It could happen because......Wannstedt hired him once as an offensive coach, why not twice?

It won't happen because......Gattuso isn't likely to pursue it as he is ready to take the next step and become a Division I defensive coordinator. And even though it would be a promotion and nice raise, well, would you rather work with the talent that he has to work with on the defensive line or try to make sense out of a LeSean McCoy-less offense?

Odds.....Less than 1 percent, but hey it makes as much sense as some of the other names we've heard thus far!

Lance Harbor

It would be a good hire because........Did you see how unbelievable the West Canaan offense was after he finally took over play calling for Bud Kilmer at half-time of their last game? It was unstoppable. The oopty-oop, the hook-and-ladder to Billy Bob -- his imagination and creativity were exactly the jolt this Pitt offense would need. He is also a former quarterback and would have been a star at Florida State had he not blown out his knee, so he has the right pedigree and he's about 37 years old right now, so he is certainly a young-up-and-comer. 

It would be a bad hire because........All of his experience is at the high school level and even though he'd open up the fertile recruiting ground in the plains in Western Texas to Pitt, he doesn't really have any ties to this region or the Eastern seaboard so he'd have a long way to go to really be able to contribute much in recruiting. 

It could happen because......Stranger things have happened and he does apparently come from a family of football stars!!!!

It won't happen because......Harbor already said he'd want to bring his own staff, which would include quarterback coach Jonathan "Mox" Moxon, receivers coach Charlie Tweeder and Billy Bob as offensive line coach. Wannstedt won’t give the new guy that kind of power in terms of hiring staff. Harbor would also want to hire Miss Davis as the the team's academic advisor and well that has a few in the administration very nervous, though marketing guy Chris Ferris sees endless possibilities in Davis in terms of boosting the program’s image as well as ticket sales with an aggressive marketing campaign…..

Odds....Less than 5 percent, or roughly the same as some of the other names being thrown around.....