The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pitt is “close to a deal” to make Tulsa’s Todd Graham the Panthers’ next football coach, and that talks are ongoing. It appears that Graham wasn’t just making a move to get Tulsa to give him a better deal – he really is pretty likely to come to Pitt. However, talks could fall apart if the two sides can’t come together today:
If the two sides agree on money issues, Graham could be named the new coach as early as Tuesday. If a deal is not done today, it is expected that Graham would pull out and the search would continue.
The two sides are currently haggling over salary issues, the P-G reports.
Meanwhile, a report out of Oklahoma suggests Graham has already taken the Pitt job:
In four seasons, Graham’s squads have gone 36-17 and have won all three bowl games they’ve appeared in by a combined score of 170-55. This season, Tulsa finished 10-3 — Graham’s third 10-plus win season at the school.
A team meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.
We’ll see how this turns out.