Harris heads to Stanford

Rumor no more. Walt Harris is the next head coach for the Stanford Cardinals. It was announced… Rumor no more. Walt Harris is the next head coach for the Stanford Cardinals. It was announced yesterday that Harris accepted a deal to be Stanford’s head coach.

The terms of the deal have yet to be released, and Harris could not be reached for comment.

The rumors of Harris departing to Stanford started a month ago when Stanford fired its head coach Buddy Teevans after two consecutive 4-7 seasons.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Harris flew out to California on Friday to interview for the job. He left on one of Pitt’s recruiting weekends. On Saturday, after meeting with the university president and provost, Stanford’s Athletics Director Ted Leland offered Harris the job.

Harris was back in Pittsburgh yesterday, and is expected to be in California again today for the official announcement.

Leland gave Harris his first head coaching position at Pacific in 1989. Harris leaves Pitt with a 52-43 overall record and he leaves them in the midst of a BCS season.

Pitt will travel to Tempe, Ariz., to play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. Harris is still expected to coach in the bowl game, which is noteworthy because Utah, the team Pitt will face, will be coached by Urban Meyer, who has already accepted a job at the University of Florida.

If for some reason Harris does not coach in the Fiesta Bowl, an interim coach will be named. One of the possible candidates for the interim position is defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. He also may be considered to replace Harris as head coach of the Panthers.

When asked if he was going to take over as head coach, Rhoads responded simply by saying he does not know which way the administration is going to go, and that things will play out in the days to come.

Another replacement for Harris, and the more likely of the two, would be former Pitt Panther Dave Wannstedt. He resigned from his head coaching position with the Miami Dolphins earlier this season

Before Miami, Wannstedt was head coach of the Chicago Bears, where he turned the program around and took them to the playoffs. Prior to his tenure in Chicago, he was the assistant head coach under Jimmy Johnson in Dallas. His defense forced nine turnovers in Super Bowl XXVII in Dallas’ 52-17 blowout win over the Buffalo Bills.

Wannstedt, a Pittsburgh native, began his coaching career at Pitt in 1975 as a graduate assistant coach under John Majors. Johnson joined Wannstedt at Pitt in 1977 and in 1979, both left for Oklahoma State. The two made their way to the University of Miami, where they coached the Hurricanes to a 12-0 national championship season in 1987.

He played offensive tackle for the Panthers from 1970-73. In his senior year, he was named a captain for Pitt.

Wannstedt would bring a defensive style of play to Pitt that could propel the Panthers to outright Big East championships in the future. His defense at Miami fielded 11 NFL draftees, including five picks in the first and second rounds.

Athletics Director Jeff Long could not be reached for comment on what direction Pitt plans to go with its opening at head coach.