Boner Boy's Response to Hangman

Pitt football Q&A with Paul Zeise
Monday, October 15, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Q: Now that Steve Pederson has been fired from Nebraska, what are the chances he'll come back to Pitt?

Franklin Morris, Pittsburgh

ZEISE: I don't know if he'd be interested in coming back - or if the school would be interested in having him back, though he left here on good terms. The man just received a long extension over the summer, which means he is owed a lot of money for a lot of years to come, and I'm sure he'll likely take some time off before jumping back into another job. I think it is a shame when anyone loses their job but as I have said many times, college athletics is a bottom-line business and winning and losing is all that matters in the end. And at Nebraska, if you are going to remain in charge, you had better produce a winning football program. Unfortunately he did not and he likely sealed his fate when he gave Bill Callahan, a guy he hired, a contract extension this year. That goes to show you that schools can talk about what their priorities are, but if you are at a place like Nebraska, the only thing that matters is how well the Big Red are playing on Saturdays. But his choice of a football coach aside (though it should be noted Callahan was his fourth or fifth choice if you read the stories), Steve did a lot of great things at Nebraska - he is a mover, he is a shaker, he produced new facilities for the football program. He did a lot of good things for the overall athletic department and he did a lot of great things when he was at Pitt so I think Pitt should at least make the phone call to see if he's interested.


First published on October 15, 2007 at 5:26 pm