4-1-Zoo: RichRod's New Job Could Cost Pitt
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) -- Potentially bad news for Pitt fans...
Rich Rodruguez will be the next head football coach at the University of Arizona.
Why's that bad? Because he could be taking some Pitt coaches with him.
Co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, secondary coach Tony Gibson and recruiting coordinator Tony Dews have been rumored as candidates to fill Rodriguez's coaching staff. All three worked with Rodriguez at West Virginia and Michigan and several reports state RichRod will be looking to fill his staff with familiar faces.
If any of those faces leave Todd Graham's staff at Pitt, the program could suffer. Both Gibson and Dews have been at the forefront of Pitt's recruiting this season and have done a good job. Some recruiting services have Pitt's 2012 class ranked in the top 20 in the country and losing the two men that had the biggest hand in putting that class together could have immediate effects.
Losing Magee would be a shame as well. He's one of the main architects of Graham's high-octane approach. The offense has gone through a lot of growing pains this season and losing one of the offensive coordinators could prove for more of the same next season.
What's more, Graham has consistently said this is the best group of coaches he's ever worked with. Upon accepting the job he introduced the rest of the coaching staff and explained how excited he was to have been able to assemble what he believes is one of the best coaching staffs in the country.
To lose any of that would hurt the program. To lose it to Rodriguez, a former hated rival coach, would hurt even more.
To lose it when planning to shift the program into a new conference would continue to hurt.
RichRod is already public enemy No. 1 in Morgantown. Looks like that hate could potentially be moving north sometime soon.
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Chris Gates | Area 4-1-Zoo Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com
