Pitt fires football coach

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Pittsburgh fired football coach Mike Haywood on Saturday, saying he could not continue in the job he held for only 21/2 weeks because of his arrest on a domestic violence charge.

Haywood was released Saturday from St. Joseph County Jail in Indiana on $1,000 cash bond, said an officer at the jail who declined to give her name, after the charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to felony domestic battery in the presence of a minor.

Within hours of Haywood’s afternoon release, Pittsburgh put out a statement from Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, saying Haywood had been dismissed, “effective immediately,” and the school was reopening its search.

“To be clear, the university’s decision is not tied to any expectation with respect to the terms on which the legal proceeding now pending in Indiana might ultimately be concluded,” Nordenberg said. “Instead, it reflects a strong belief that moving forward with Mr. Haywood as our head coach is not possible under the existing circumstances.”

Pitt moved swiftly to oust Haywood following an arrest that sullied a university that is proud of its Big Ten-like academics.

It also raised questions why Haywood — who had only two seasons as a mid-major head coach, including a one-win season — was chosen Dec. 16 following a brief search.

Haywood’s hiring by athletic director Steve Pederson was greeted unenthusiastically by fans, boosters, alumni and students who questioned why a school with annual Top 25 aspirations hired him away from mid-major Miami (Ohio).

Dave Wannstedt, forced to resign last month following a disappointing 7-5 season, had coached two NFL teams before his 2004 hiring.

Haywood was arrested Friday at about 3 p.m. after a custody issue developed with a woman with whom Haywood has a child, police said.

The unidentified woman told police that Haywood grabbed her by the arm and neck and pushed her as she tried to leave the home that Haywood owns in South Bend, Ind., where he once was a Notre Dame assistant.

Assistant St. Joseph County Police Chief Bill Redman said the woman had marks on her neck, arms and back.

Haywood led Miami to a 9-4 record and the Mid-American Conference title.