Stanford hires offensive-minded Harris to lead Cardinal

[Water Pony]

Palo Alto's man. Walt Harris returns to Bay Area

Posted: Sunday December 12, 2004 2:20PM; Updated: Sunday December 12, 2004 5:42PM

Harris is expected to coach Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl against Utah on Jan. 1 before assuming his new job. AP


STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Pittsburgh's Walt Harris was hired as Stanford's new football coach Sunday, giving the Cardinal the offensive-minded leader they sought to replace Buddy Teevens.

Stanford spokesman Gary Migdol said Harris accepted the job Sunday, and the school planned an official announcement for Monday.

"He's accepted and will be here tomorrow," Migdol said. "He's in Pittsburgh today."

Harris, 58, reportedly was meeting with his team Sunday and is expected to coach the 19th-ranked Panthers in the Fiesta Bowl against Utah on Jan. 1 before assuming his new job.

Harris interviewed on campus Friday, two days after Southern California offensive coordinator Norm Chow visited to interview. Athletic director Ted Leland offered Harris the job Saturday, then met with university president John Hennessey and provost John Etchemendy as a formality in the hiring process.

"He interviewed very well and presented himself very well," Stanford linebacker Jon Alston told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday. "In my impression, he's done some really impressive things, and hopefully he can continue them at Stanford. I thought he was a coach's coach. The things he was able to accomplish at Pittsburgh speak for themselves."

Alston has watched Pitt from afar and noticed how Harris turned around the program. Alston believes Leland worked quickly to get a coach hired before the height of the recruiting season.

"I think it worked fine," Alston said of the timing.

Leland said he wouldn't spend a fortune on his football coach. Harris met last week with Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Long, but the school didn't offer him an extension for more than the close to $600,000 he was earning. Pitt sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko campaigned for the school to keep him.

Leland went with the coach he knows -- he hired Harris to be head coach at Pacific in 1989.

Leland searched for a coach with a strong offensive background after Stanford struggled to score during Teevens' tenure. The Cardinal went 4-7 the past two seasons, losing their last five games this year. They were 0-13 down the stretch the past three seasons leading to Teevens' firing last month.

Harris, Pitt's eighth-year coach, has plenty of connections to the Bay Area. He grew up in South San Francisco and attended college at Pacific in Stockton, where he also began his college coaching career directing the secondary.

He coached the linebackers at California from 1974-77 and made stops at Air Force, Michigan State, Illinois and Tennessee before taking over at Pacific for three seasons. The school eventually dropped the program.

Harris was Ohio State's quarterbacks coach in 1995-96 before going to Pitt.

"It was a win-win situation for the university," Alston said. "I think what it came down to was head coaching experience."

Former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who played at Pitt, would seem to be the out-of-the-gate top choice to replace Harris.

He has expressed interest in the job. Wannstedt and Bill Cowher were the two finalists for the Steelers job in 1992.


Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Stallion]

actually Walt Harris and Tom O'Brian were two quality young coaching prospects that Copeland identified when he picked Cavan-but they both dropped out for better positions at Pitt and BC.