Tom Bradley (left), who is ready to move out of the shadow of Joe Paterno, is set to take the Pitt head coaching job.
Word on the street is Pitt found its new head coach to replace the abruptly fired Mike Haywood with the hiring of Penn State staple and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. Though neither Pitt nor Penn State confirmed the move, sources close to the team say it’s a done deal. Two Penn State players received text messages from Bradley that suggested he was offered the job and will ultimately take it once the contractual terms are ironed out. Bradley was originally thought to have landed the Temple job, but he lost out to Steve Addazio. Fans assumed Bradley would stick around one more season with JoePa, but with the sudden firing of Haywood, this head coaching position was too good to pass up.
This is a good move for Pitt as Bradley has a solid football pedigree under his belt. He has been on the Nittany Lions coaching staff since 1980 and played for Penn State from 1975 to 1979. Bradley will inherit a team that underachieved with Dave Wannstedt at the helm. Pitt fans should feel a sigh of relief with Haywood being fired and Bradley quickly coming in as a replacement. Spring football cannot come soon enough for the Panthers with a new coaching staff ready to take Pitt where Wannstedt failed.
Meanwhile, this will be a big loss for JoePa and the Nittany Lions as Bradley was a solid recruiter who successful recruited and coached numerous All-Americans such as LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny and David Macklin.
