| The University of Pittsburgh hired Walt Harris as head football coach in 1996. Harris faced the task of jump-starting a program that had suffered through 5 straight dismal seasons. What he’s accomplished since then is nothing short of amazing, starting with an immediate turn-around his debut season in 1997. Although Harris came to Pittsburgh as a highly respected quarterbacks coach (at Ohio State), few predicted that he would lead the Panthers to their first bowl appearance since 1989. On the way to the Liberty Bowl the Panthers had stunned the nation with a prime time upset over Miami as well as upsetting Virginia Tech. Harris earned Big Ten East Coach of the Year honors following that 1997 season.
1998 was a rebuilding year, but in 1999 Harris proved that the rebirth was still on track with a respectable season that saw the Panthers narrowly miss another bowl berth.
The progress that Harris obviously made the past two seasons in replacing the players who had departed after 1997 had the hopes and expectations of the fans high, and they weren’t let down in 2000. After strong wins over Penn State, Boston College, and West Virginia, the Panthers advanced to the Insight.com Bowl for their second postseason appearance in 4 seasons.
2001 saw the Panthers limp out to a disappointing 1-5 start and many feared that reality may have been settling in, but Harris rallied the team for a 5-game winning streak that was every fan’s dream. The Panthers won those games by an average of 25 points a game soon found themselves in the Visit Florida Tangerine Bowl in Orlando facing North Carolina State. They one the game in impressive fashion, 34-19, and Pitt fans everywhere celebrated their first postseason victory since 1989.
After a 9-4 regular season record and a 38-13 pounding of Oregon State in the Insight.com Bowl in 2002, there is no doubt that Pitt has returned to a position among the elite in college football with Walt Harris at the helm, and that the best is yet to come. With few players leaving the team following 2002, Pitt fans are looking forward to how far Harris will lead the team in 2003 as he continues his brilliant coaching career.
Walt Harris graduated from Pacific college in 1968 and earned his masters there the following year. While at Pacifica, he played defensive back for the Tigers. His first coaching job was at his hometown high school (El Camino) in 1970. After holding various coaching positions at Pacific, California, Michigan State, and Air Force, he accepted the quarterbacks coaching job at Illinois (1980-1982) where he became noted for his work with Tony Eason, Dave Wilson, and Jack Trudeau – quarterbacks who all went on to the NFL. Then, from 1983-88, Harris was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee, working under Johnny Major. He later was promoted to assistant head coach there. The Volunteers made five bowl appearances and won the 1985 SEC championship during that period. 1989 saw him returning to his alma mater of Pacific to accept his first head coaching job. Under his direction, the Pacific Tigers registered national rankings of second in total offense and third in total defense in 1991. From 1992 to 1994 he was the quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets and tutored Boomer Esiason while there. 1995-1996, Harris was the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State, helping guide Bobby Hoying to 3,269 yards passing and 29 touchdowns in 1995 and the offense to a 1996 season in which it ave |
