Different credentials required for coordinator hopefuls

‘ ‘ ‘ After helping the Pitt football team to a rousing 3-0 defeat in the Sun Bowl, offensive… ‘ ‘ ‘ After helping the Pitt football team to a rousing 3-0 defeat in the Sun Bowl, offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh left to take a position as quarterbacks coach of the New York Jets. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The move leaves the Panthers with a decent-sized hole ‘mdash; about two or three yards right up the middle at most ‘mdash; in their coaching staff. On the plus side, as his first move with the Jets, Cavanaugh got Brett Favre to retire, which should make him one the of the most popular coaches in the NFL. Conversely, Peter King now hates him. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ A few names have been tossed around as possible replacements, but Pitt has yet to make a hire, so let’s take a look at some of the top candidates, and a few under-the-radar ones. If nothing else, we can speculate and possibly start some baseless rumors. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Noel Mazzone ‘mdash; He was the wide receivers coach with the Jets for the past three seasons, and a few reports have him as the favorite for the position. Mazzone has plenty of experience, spending 11 seasons as offensive coordinator for Mississippi, Auburn, Oregon State and North Carolina State, and runs a Wannstedt-friendly conservative offense. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In the past, his offenses were inconsistent and had trouble scoring in the red zone, which means he should fit in nicely. Also, in his one year as offensive coordinator at North Carolina State, fans started making shirts that read ‘Fire Noel Mazzone,’ so if nothing else, he certainly makes an impression. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But not everything about him is negative. He has experience in both college and the pros, which must be a reason he’s thought to be a front-runner for the job. Even better and more important than that is the upper-lip fur. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Mazzone has an absolutely fantastic mustache. It’s not as good as Wannstedt’s, but honestly, it’s not too far behind. Then again, this might not be such a good thing. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It just lends further credibility to the rumor that Wannstedt isn’t actually a football coach, but an old-timey villain sent to Earth to conquer our planet by assembling the finest grouping of mustachioed men the universe has ever known. If Mazzone is the hire, the staff is only a guy with one of those mustaches that curls up at both ends and wears straw-boater hats away from forming Megazord, but with an unbelievably large mustache. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Walt Harris ‘mdash; The former Pitt coach from 1997-2004 is one many Panther fans are hoping for. Under Harris, the Panthers went to bowl games six out of his eight seasons and won the Big East in 2004. Harris then went to coach Stanford for two seasons, but is currently without a team. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ While it would be a nice hire, especially because it is what fans seem to want, it just seems a bit too awkward to work out. Would you want to work underneath the guy who replaced you only four years ago? Not only that, but Harris was known to run a very aggressive offensive, whereas Wannstedt prefers conservatism. Also, the area between the bottom of his nose and top of his upper lip is alarmingly bare. It’s as naked as a skinned cat. No good. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Greg Cross ‘mdash; Hey, got to get him involved with the offense somehow. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Brian Angelichio ‘mdash; Angelichio is Pitt’s tight ends coach since 2006, and he was the offensive coordinator at Ithaca College for six seasons, from 2000-05. During his last season at Ithaca, his offense put up just less than 40 points per game, placing them 18th in the country. That, and’ he’s an in-house guy and only 36 years old, could give him a leg up on the other applicants, and makes up for his mustache-less face. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Chris Brown ‘mdash; The Steelers won the Super Bowl playing that Pittsburgh brand of smash-mouth football, so why wouldn’t it work in college? Unfortunately, he has no ties to Pitt. Plus, he has yet to run an offense, but he has run ‘it,’ whatever that might be. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Greg Gattuso ‘mdash; He is the Panthers’ defensive line coach, assistant head coach, and has been on the staff since Wannstedt first came to Pitt. Before becoming the defensive line coach, he was the tight ends coach. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Duquesne, and was the school’s all-time leader in wins, going 66-7 in his 12 years. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Much like Harris, though, Gattuso led a very high-paced offense while coaching Duquesne. Plus, if he filled out a checklist of physical traits, a mark in the box next to mustache would be conspicuously absent. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fade to Jonathan Baldwin ‘mdash; Now, having something that isn’t a human being as the offensive coordinator seems outlandish, if not flat-out insane. But you have this perfect, never-fail play up your sleeve, and just waiting for that crucial fourth-and-two to call it is nuts. Have it run the offense. Use it more frequently than there are snaps in the game. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Those are just some of the guys, and things, that might run your 2009 Panthers offense. Take a look at them all, study up and see who you think is going to be your new scapegoat for any shortcomings Pitt might have next year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ And, of course, beware of the mustache.