PITT FOOTBALL Youngstown natives on short list for Panthers job

The Pitt athletic director has interviewed Bo Pelini and will meet with Matt Cavanaugh.
VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
PITTSBURGH -- Two Youngstown natives are among the front-runners for Pitt's head coaching position.
Athletic director Jeff Long interviewed Oklahoma assistant coach Bo Pelini on Saturday and is planning to meet with Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh today.
Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who is being pushed by some Panthers players to succeed Walt Harris, was interviewed before Long left town for the two weekend meetings.
Long met with Pelini in Indianapolis, where he also plans to talk with Cavanaugh this morning. The Ravens are in Indianapolis to play the Colts on Sunday night.
Pelini, Oklahoma's co-defensive coordinator who is a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High, has been on Long's short list since Harris accepted the Stanford job on Sunday. Pelini is a former NFL assistant coach who spent last year at Nebraska before moving to Oklahoma, where Long was the senior associate athletic director before taking the Pitt job 19 months ago.
Pelini is regarded as a disciplinarian but is well-liked by his players. He was Nebraska's interim head coach for a 17-3 victory over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl last season after coach Frank Solich was fired -- coincidentally, by Nebraska AD Steve Pederson, who previously held the same job at Pitt.
Championship experience
Cavanaugh, a graduate of Chaney High, was the quarterback of the Tony Dorsett-led 1976 Pitt national championship team and was regarded as the frontrunner to become Pitt's coach before Harris was hired in late 1996. Cavanaugh turned down the job because he wanted more coaching experience before becoming a head coach.
All but one season of Cavanaugh's coaching experience has been in the NFL. He previously was an assistant with the Cardinals, 49ers and Bears after beginning his coaching career in 1993 as Pitt's tight ends coach under Johnny Majors, his college coach.
Former Bears and Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt was considered the frontrunner at Pitt before pulling his name out of consideration Thursday, telling Long he wasn't yet ready to take another job. Wannstedt left the Dolphins by mutual agreement last month following a 1-8 start.
Tim Lewis, a former Pitt standout and assistant coach who is the New York Giants' defensive coordinator, also may be on Pitt's list. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Lewis met with Long on Friday, the day before the Giants played the Steelers.
Lewis was fired as the Steelers' defensive coordinator following a 6-10 season last year but was quickly hired by the Giants.
Another former Pitt player, Carolina Panthers assistant coach Sal Sunseri, will meet with Long on Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Sunseri has been an NFL assistant for three seasons after previously coaching at Michigan State, LSU, Alabama A & amp;M and Pitt, where he was the interim coach for one game after Paul Hackett was fired in 1992. He was a Pitt assistant from 1985-92.
Harris has led Pitt to six bowl games in eight seasons, but was allowed to leave for Stanford without Pitt moving to extend a contract that was to have run through 2006. Harris will stay on to coach the No. 19 Panthers (8-3) in the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl against No. 5 Utah.