Report: Pitt hiring Penn State’s Bradley

Tom Bradley spent 32 years as an assistant coach on Joe Paterno's staff at Penn State, establishing a reputation as a top-notch recruiter and a first-class representative of the Nittany Lions' football program.

Needing a man of Bradley's stature to erase the embarrassment of the Mike Haywood debacle, the Pitt Panthers have hired Bradley as their new head coach, Pittsburgh television station WTAE reported Wednesday night.

Later Wednesday, however, the university denied the WTAE report in a statement.

"The University of Pittsburgh has not offered its head coaching position to anyone, and no decisions about an offer have been made," said E.J. Borghetti, a spokesman for the athletic department.

The Panthers are in Birmingham, Ala., preparing for Saturday's BBVA Compass Bowl game against Kentucky.

Bradley, 54, who is originally from Johnstown, Pa., just completed his 11th season as Penn State's defensive coordinator. He had interviewed Dec. 17 for the Temple head coaching job that went to Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio.

Some Pitt fans may not like Bradley because of his strong ties to Penn State, a former archrival in football. But they can't question the need to put a fresh spin on the hiring process following the forced resignation of head coach Dave Wannstedt after a 7-5 season.

Pittsburgh had hired Haywood, the former head coach at Miami of Ohio, to replace Wannstedt. However, the university's chancellor fired Haywood Saturday, 17 days later, after he was arrested in Indiana on domestic violence charges.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Bradley was contacted Tuesday by Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson, and the two talked about the job. Bradley then met with Pederson and other members of the university's senior administration, the newspaper reported.

The Post-Gazette also said that Steelers chairman Dan Rooney had called Pederson during the previous hiring process to recommend Bradley but was miffed when Pederson did not follow up. Pederson said he wanted to hire someone with head coaching experience.

Paterno gave Bradley a wholehearted endorsement on Sunday.

"If they asked me, I'll tell them I think Tommy's a fine coach," Paterno said. "He's got strong city of Pittsburgh contacts. He's got a brother [Jim] who is the head orthopedic surgeon for the Steelers. So I think that Tommy should be a very, very prominent person as a possibility."

Bradley played for the Nittany Lions in the 1970s. He assisted Paterno in a variety of roles until taking over as defensive coordinator in 2000.

Bradley had guided the Nittany Lions' defense to six consecutive top-15 finishes nationally in yards yielded and points allowed before this season.