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Rhoads surfaces as finalist
Rhoads, 37, and Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh, 48, a former Pitt quarterback, are the only two candidates to interview twice with Long, who is seeking a replacement for Stanford-bound Walt Harris.
Three other candidates -- Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Bo Pelini; Carolina Panthers defensive line coach Sal Sunseri, a former All-American linebacker at Pitt; and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, another former Panthers All-American -- have not been contacted by Long for second interviews.
Long attended the annual Chancellor's dinner for the football team at the Cathedral of Learning last night. He would like to introduce a new coach soon, considering Pitt is the only school from a BCS conference without a coach. There now are four coaching vacancies in Division I-A.
Rhoads has remained in the thick of the coaching search since it began 10 days ago, and, he has gained growing support from many high school coaches in the area and current Pitt players. Several Pitt players met with chancellor Mark Nordenberg on Rhoads' behalf yesterday.
A native of Ankeny, Iowa, Rhoads is a high-energy motivator who oversaw a top-25 defense in 2001 and 2002 before a falloff last year.
Several players who have verbally committed to Pitt said they'll stay true to the commitments if Rhoads is named Harris' successor. He is an intriguing candidate, not only because of his intelligence (high school valedictorian) and upbeat style, but he would carry a lower price tag than Cavanaugh, who's worked for four NFL franchises and owns four championship rings (three Super Bowl; one national championship).
One NFL source said money could be a sticking point for Cavanaugh, although compensation has yet to be discussed between the two sides in earnest. Harris makes an estimated $600,000 in this, his eighth and final season with the 19th-ranked Panthers, who face unbeaten Utah in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and NFL analyst Steve Young said yesterday that Cavanaugh is ready for a head coaching position. Cavanaugh was briefly Young's position coach with the 49ers.
"I think a lot of Matt Cavanaugh," Young said yesterday by phone. "He is a great offensive coach. I think he has done a great job of coaching in Baltimore and been given very little. You have seen the best of Trent Dilfer in Baltimore. You have seen kind of the best of everybody who has gone through there. He hasn't been given a lot to work with.
I really believe in Matt a lot. I also know he has been preparing for this kind of job for a long time.
"Matt has a sense of what it takes to play. I would be very willing to jump on board of any discussion of Matt Cavanaugh being a coach in college, especially at Pitt."
Meantime, Pelini, a 37-year-old native of Youngstown, was once seen as a frontrunner for the Pitt job, but reportedly did not dazzle Long in his interview. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who was a colleague of Long's before the latter was hired by Pitt, made a call to Long yesterday on Pelini's behalf. Oklahoma AD Joe Catiglione, also a former colleague of Long's, did the same for Pelini.
Sunseri, a Pittsburgh native with strong ties to the area, reportedly was impressive during a three-hour interview with Long this past Monday, but a source said last night that he was not contacted about a second interview.
Lewis, the former defensive coordinator with the Steelers, met with Long last Saturday in New Jersey, but a representative from the New York Giants said yesterday that Pitt had not contacted the team about meeting with Lewis.
Based on the recent turn events, Cavanaugh and Rhoads appear to have emerged through the interview process.
Cavanaugh is in his sixth season with the Ravens and produced the NFL's top rush offense in 2003. But he has taken heat in Baltimore because his offenses typically are ranked among the bottom of the NFL standings. The Ravens were 32nd in total offense in 2003.
Still, Cavanaugh has earned praise from his peers in the league, notably Young and Ravens coach Brian Billick.
"When you have an opportunity to go home -- and that's home for Matt in a very special way -- you have to support that all you can, and we do," Billick said. "Matt has been a huge part of the success we've had through a number of circumstances. I've never been around a coach any more ready to be a head coach than Matt Cavanaugh."
