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Pitt Fires Haywood

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Wouldn't surprise me if J. D. Brookhart's name surfaces... he has very good roots in the Pitt area...

He was the Akron Zips coach for 6 years... now with Colorado...
but came from Pitt (was OC)

Not sure how much he had to do with obtaining/developing Antonio Bryant and Larry Fitzgerald.. plus Nick Goings, John Jones, Kirk McMullin, Stepnoski, Curtis Martin... and a number of other Panthers that made it to the NFL around his era there

He also put a number of Zips in the pros... Charley Frye (hey, he was good in college) and Brookhart is responsible for Hixson as a receiver (he was a DB)...
 
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kentuckbuck;1846039; said:
I think RR will be the next coach at Pitt
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Just had a chat at work about that idea. (I work in western PA with a lot of Pitt fans/alums). Reviews were mixed. I think it would be VERY interesting, especially the backyard brawl.
 
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MaliBuckeye;1850740; said:
Tom Bradley, the unnamed "head coach in waiting" at PSU is the new guy at Pitt, per this report.
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It will be very interesting to see what happens in Happy Valley should Bradley go to Pitt. If Bradley takes other PSU staff members with him, the PSU admin is going to have to make some hard choices. I have a hard time seeing any big-time coordinator willing to jump on board with Paterno, unless they have some promise of future employment, not only for themself, but for anybody that would be a part of their staff. This just might be the catalyst for announcing a formal head coach in waiting at Penn State.
 
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Pitt donors push to get rid of Pederson

From forcing the resignation of football coach Dave Wannstedt to hiring Mike Haywood, who was arrested and fired two weeks later, Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson has become a lightning rod for criticism.

Now Panthers alumni and boosters are issuing a threat to Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg: They want Pederson to pay.

Or they won't.

A movement is gaining momentum to pressure Nordenberg to fire Pederson or face the possibility of prominent donors withholding financial support.

"If Pederson remains, I'm done," said Paul Helsel, a 1966 graduate who played baseball at Pitt and donates between $10,000 to $25,000 annually to the university. "There are so many people like me who are upset."

Pederson on Thursday deflected criticism directed at him, saying the search to find Haywood's successor is not about him.

"This has been and always will be about the University of Pittsburgh," Pederson said. "And I am honored to be part of this team."

University spokesman Robert Hill, speaking on behalf of Nordenberg, said the chancellor supports Pederson and would have no further comment.

Among the disenchanted are former football stars Al Romano, a captain of the 1976 national championship team; and Bill Fralic, a three-time All-American and college Hall of Famer whose No. 79 jersey the university retired.

What should get Pitt's attention is the backing of big-money booster Armand Dellovade, 73, of Canonsburg.

Dellovade, who owns a contracting company in Washington County, said he donates about $60,000 annually to Pitt. He has 34 football season tickets, including two dozen seats in the prestigious club level, and 10 season tickets to men's basketball games. Dellovade said he is contemplating ending his financial support if Pederson continues to run the athletic department.

"He should be gone," Dellovade said.

.../cont/...
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You'd think they would have thought about it BEFORE re-hiring the AD that not only managed screw up the team's name (PITT to Pittsburgh) and tear down their stadium the first time around he THEN went on to somehow accomplish the impossible and somehow fuck things up at Nebraska.


Another story along the same lines from Pitt's school paper

At least two regular Pitt donors threatened to halt their donations and other financial contributions to the University if Athletic Director Steve Pederson is not fired following the coaching fiasco that has dominated Pitt football for the past week.

Both alumni donors, Paul Helsel and football great Bill Fralic, have been in the John Bowman Society since at least 2005, meaning they have donated between $10,000 and $24,999 each year.

Both men also claimed to have heard similar sentiments from a number of other donors ? including one who has reportedly pledged six figures to the University ? but declined to share those donors? names.

?It?s between the other donors and the University,? said Fralic, who played on Pitt?s offensive line in the mid-80s and then for the Atlanta Falcons. ?But I know a lot of big financial supporters, and there are a significant number of them that tell me they don?t want anything to do with the program or the athletic department anymore.?

Fralic said that he is likely to stop donating if Pederson ? whom University leaders have repeatedly supported ?stays at Pitt after a new head coach is named. Helsel agreed.

.../cont/...
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I missed it when this happened in September. Haywood filed suit against Pitt for several million dollars, saying he was fired after a "rush to judgment" that was a breach of his contract.

Reading the legal complaint (a link in the last line of this article), Haywood was trying to visit his 21-month old son on New Year's Eve, a day on which he had visitation rights. The wife hid the kid, he retuned later and saw evidence of her drinking, and went to find the kid, who was alone in the car inside the garage. According to Haywood, she tried to stop him, and slipped on some slush in the garage, being barefoot at the time. She then called the cops, who arrested him (Haywood's version states that the South Bend police were sensitive to those associated with ND football receiving special treatment, so they arrested him even though the kid's mother said he hadn't done anything that should warrant his being arrested). So he spends New Year's eve in jail overnight, and gets fired on New Year's Day.

Pitt.News (student paper, on Sept 20, 2011)

Football: Haywood files suit against Pitt

Former Pitt football coach Michael Haywood filed suit against Pitt in federal court on Monday, seeking millions of dollars in damages from the University.


The complaint said that the University breached its contract with Haywood and violated federal law when the school fired him in January.

Pitt ?rushed to judgment and fired the coach hours after a disputed domestic incident in South Bend, Ind.,? the complaint in the suit states, adding that University officials didn?t listen when Haywood attempted to refute the allegations.
Pitt spokesman John Fedele declined comment, saying the University does not comment on pending litigation. Pitt Athletics spokesman E.J. Borghetti also declined comment.
On Dec. 31, 2010, less than two weeks after he was hired, police arrested Haywood in South Bend, Ind., on charges of domestic abuse against the mother of his child. Pitt fired Haywood on Jan. 1.
A news release from Buzbee Law Firm said on June 28 that soon after the domestic abuse allegation, the mother of Haywood?s child filed papers saying that Haywood didn?t pose a danger to her or their then 21-month-old child and that ?the submitted paperwork also raised questions about the accuracy of the police report.?
The lawsuit asserts that Pitt didn?t live up to the agreement to buy out Haywood?s $300,000 contract with Miami University of Ohio.


Haywood would have received up to $7.5 million plus incentives from the contract with Pitt, the release states, and he is looking for at least $3.75 million in damages. According to the release, Haywood?s contract entitled him to $750,000 for each year remaining on the contract if the University fired him ?without just cause.?
...

Buzbee said that they ?bent over backwards? in attempt to reach an agreement with Pitt. The attorney also said he and Haywood met with Pitt officials in a meeting at which Pitt officials admitted that the institution had promised to pay Haywood?s buyout.

?Mr. Haywood said that if they paid the buyout, he would drop the whole thing,? Buzbee said. ?And they wouldn?t do that.?

At a court hearing on Feb. 11, Haywood entered a court diversion program in Indiana, which requires 60 hours of community service and a psychological evaluation. If he completes the deal, the charges will be dismissed in one year.
Court documents said that during the hearing, Haywood admitted to touching the mother of his child in a ?rude, insolent or angry manner? and said she suffered an injury after falling.
Buzbee and Christopher Johns of the Buzbee Law Firm in Houston and Rolf Patberg of Patberg, Carmody & Ging, Attorneys at Law, in Pittsburgh represent Haywood.
?We allege Pitt officials ignored their contractual obligations and terminated Mr. Haywood in violation of his Constitutional rights before he could refute the abuse allegations,? Buzbee said in a release from the Buzbee Law Firm on Monday. ?No one in the Pitt administration or athletics department bothered to adequately investigate the situation or speak with Mr. Haywood directly. Had they done so, they would have quickly determined that Mr. Haywood?s employment should not have been terminated.?


In the release, Haywood said that the initial allegations were complete false.


?In the midst of an argument with my son?s mother, I acted to defensively protect my son and did nothing violent,? he said. ?This lawsuit is intended to set the record straight and help restore my career and reputation.?


Editor's note: Check out the complaint that Haywood's attorney filed here.
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