Pitt Hires MAC Coach Michael Haywood To Replace Dave Wannstedt

Sources out of Pittsburgh are reporting that Michael Haywood, who has just completed his second regular season as coach of the Miami (OH) RedHawks, will be named head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The decision to hire Haywood is a curious one.

Haywood brings a thin resume, having been a head coach for just two years, although he relentlessly pursued at least four jobs over the course of the past three seasons.

Steve Pederson appeared ill-prepared to conduct the head coach's search and apparently had made few plans for it in the closing weeks of the 2010 Pitt football regular season.

Despite not initially hiring Dave Wannstedt, who was forced to resign last week, Pederson extended his contract two times. Pitt will keep Wannstedt on as an assistant to Pedersen, to finish out his contract.

In addition to the hasty nature of Pederson's search, it appears Pederson entered the coaching search with inadequate funds to hire the kind of big name guy he had promised Panther fans he would do.

After Dana Holgorsen, reported to be the No. 2 candidate on Pederson's list, accepted an offensive coordinator's position for arch rival West Virginia for the 2011 season followed by the head coaching slot in 2012, Pederson was under pressure to find a coach and close the deal.

Remarkably, Pederson conducted the search which landed Haywood in just a week, record time by Pitt's standards.

Whether quick is good remains to be seen.

The Pitt fan base and community welcomes Mr. Haywood on board and will do their part to aid his success.

Pederson already has the 2011 Backyard Brawl circled on his calendar. How that game turns out could go a long way in determining how long fans will want to keep him as athletic director.