Harris hired as Stanford's new football coach
Sunday, December 12, 2004
By Janie McCauley, The Associated Press
STANFORD, Calif. -- Pittsburgh's Walt Harris was hired as Stanford's new football coach today, giving the Cardinal the offensive-minded leader they sought to replace Buddy Teevens.
Stanford spokesman Gary Migdol said Harris accepted the job today, and the school planned an official announcement tomorrow.
"He's accepted and will be here tomorrow," Migdol said. "He's in Pittsburgh today."
Harris, 58, reportedly was meeting with his team this afternoon and is expected to coach the 19th-ranked Panthers in the Fiesta Bowl against Utah on Jan. 1 before assuming his new job.
Harris interviewed on campus Friday, two days after Southern California offensive coordinator Norm Chow visited to interview. Athletic director Ted Leland offered Harris the job yesterday, then met with university president John Hennessey and provost John Etchemendy as a formality in the hiring process.
"He interviewed very well and presented himself very well," Stanford linebacker Jon Alston told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday. "In my impression, he's done some really impressive things, and hopefully he can continue them at Stanford. I thought he was a coach's coach. The things he was able to accomplish at Pittsburgh speak for themselves."
Alston has watched Pitt from afar and noticed how Harris turned around the program. Alston believes Leland worked quickly to get a coach hired before the height of the recruiting season.
"I think it worked fine," Alston said of the timing.
Leland said he wouldn't spend a fortune on his football coach. Harris met last week with Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Long, but the school didn't offer him an extension for more than the close to $600,000 he was earning. Pitt sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko campaigned for the school to keep him.
Leland went with the coach he knows -- he hired Harris to be head coach at Pacific in 1989.
Leland searched for a coach with a strong offensive background after Stanford struggled to score during Teevens' tenure. The Cardinal went 4-7 the past two seasons, losing their last five games this year. They were 0-13 down the stretch the past three seasons leading to Teevens' firing last month.
Harris, Pitt's eighth-year coach, has plenty of connections to the Bay Area. He grew up in South San Francisco and attended college at Pacific in Stockton, where he also began his college coaching career directing the secondary.
He coached the linebackers at California from 1974-77 and made stops at Air Force, Michigan State, Illinois and Tennessee before taking over at Pacific for three seasons. The school eventually dropped the program.
Harris was Ohio State's quarterbacks coach in 1995-96 before going to Pitt.
Pitt is coming off three straight seasons with eight or more wins.
Harris presided over a nice turnaround at Pitt _ which was 12-32 under Johnny Majors from 1993-96 before he arrived. Harris and the Pitt administration have been at odds all season, especially after his agent called at midseason for the school to give him an extension or let him seek a new job.
Chow has directed the top-ranked Trojans' offense for four years.
The 58-year-old Chow hasn't been a head coach since 1970-72 at Waialua High in Hawaii. Chow, who is of Chinese descent, has talked about wanting to be the first Asian-American to be head coach at a major college.
"It was a win-win situation for the university," Alston said. "I think what it came down to was head coaching experience."
Former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who played at Pitt, would seem to be the out-of-the-gate top choice to replace Harris. He has expressed interest in the job.
Wannstedt and Bill Cowher were the two finalists for the Steelers job in 1992.
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