Pittsburgh University now has openings for both a head football coach and an athletic director. Due to the latter position opening up, Greg Schiano may now be interested in filling the former.
On Wednesday, Pittsburgh announced that Steve Pederson is out as AD. Pederson was in his second stint as the AD at Pitt, having served from 1996-2002 and returning again in 2007. According to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, Pederson’s departure will likely be seen as a positive for Schiano.
With Steve Pederson out as AD at #Pitt I expect former #Rutgers coach Greg Schiano will be much more interested in Panthers HC job.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 18, 2014
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Tuesday that Pitt had reached out to Schiano about the job.
The Panthers have had a revolving door at head coach since Pederson began his second stint in 2007. Paul Chryst, who had a 19-19 record in three seasons at Pitt, is leaving to take the Wisconsin job. In 2010, Pederson forced former Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt out following an 8-5 season so he could bring in Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood. Two weeks later, Haywood was fired over a domestic incident at his home.
Pederson then hired Todd Graham from Tulsa, who coached one season before leaving to take the Arizona State job. The school is now left searching again in the wake of Chryst’s departure.
Simply put, Pederson has not been able to bring stability to the program. That is likely one thing that would have deterred Schiano.
