FIESTA BOWL Coaches ready to move on

Urban Meyer and Walt Harris will be taking over at their new schools.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Call it the "Lame Duck Bowl."
Urban Meyer of Utah and Walt Harris of Pittsburgh will coach the final game at their respective schools in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night before moving on to new jobs.
Both insisted, with their bosses' blessing, on finishing the season before making way for replacements who already have been hired.
"I made a commitment to these players," said Harris, who is leaving for Stanford. "I've always talked to them about finishing -- whatever it is. With that as one of my philosophies, it was no question what I was going to do."
Utah defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham will take over at Utah. Dave Wannstedt, who resigned as coach of the Miami Dolphins, will be the new coach at Pitt.
Dedicated players
Meyer accepted the Florida job nearly a month ago, but after a brief trip to Gainesville, and a few recruiting stops, he was back in Salt Lake City to prepare the unbeaten Utes for the biggest game in their football history.
Meyer said he's never been around a more dedicated team.
"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another group of kids that worked as hard as these guys," he said. "We started in January and all those 6 a.m. workouts, all the things that we take great pride in. To walk away and not be able to see that, that would have been very hard."
Alex Smith, Utah's standout quarterback and a Heisman Trophy finalist, said the team just wouldn't be the same had it come to Arizona without Meyer's meticulous leadership.
"It's how he talks to the team, it's how he runs things, his decision making," Smith said. "And then it's his intelligence. People talk about his attitude and his work ethic, the intellect often is overlooked. He's such a smart coach and thinks things through so well. It's tough to find that combination in a coach."
After going 17-6 in his two seasons at Bowling Green, Meyer is 21-2 in two years with the Utes. As far as Smith is concerned, Meyer lives up to the hype, molding an offense that has scored at least 41 points in nine of 11 games, and more than 50 in four of its last five.
"Obviously he sparked it all," Smith said. "It was the attitude. It was the work ethic, his motivation for excellence, in the film room, out on the field, in the weight room. It definitely rubbed off on me."
Harris was a survivor
If Meyer is a coaching meteor, Harris is dogged survivor. Often at odds with athletic director Jeff Long, Harris was no cinch to come back next year for a ninth season at Pitt, where his record is 52-43. He had a contract through 2006, but university officials said it would not be extended.
So when Buddy Teevens was fired at Stanford, Harris took the job. Since then, Harris said, he has worked as Pitt's coach in the daytime, and as the Stanford boss at night.
Pitt hadn't been to a bowl game in eight seasons when Harris arrived. He took the Panthers to six postseason appearances, capped by this year's Big East title and first BCS bowl appearance. The Panthers started the season 2-2, then won six of seven to earn the trip to the Fiesta.
The situation that virtually forced Harris out irked his players.
"It's a business and it's cutthroat and it stinks," sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko said at the time. "But being around it my whole life, you understand this is part of the job. Coach Harris has been great. He hasn't been selfish about anything, he's been all about the team and we appreciate that."