Tom Bradley: The Blue And White Elephant In The Room

So, on Monday, I threw out the Tom Bradley as defensive coordinator thing. The idea has been broached on the internet, I'm sure, (and according to the poll so far, more than 2/3 of you want to see him given a shot at the job) but I really hadn't given the idea much thought. Essentially, I gave it the same chance as happening as I have of making an NBDL team anytime soon.

But earlier today, Sports By Brooks, a pretty relevant sports site, says there's legs to it happening:

Multiple sources close to the football programs at Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh have indicated to SbB that acting Penn State head football coach Tom Bradley is the leading candidate for the defensive coordinator position under new Pitt head football coach Paul Chryst.

The article also goes on to say some pretty interesting things.

Here's the thing, though. Pitt beat writer Paul Zeise says it ain't happenin':

The "Tom Bradley to Pitt" stuff has once again popped up, mostly in the Twitter world, but also in at least on news outlet. I'm not sure what the fascination with his guy is and why so many people in so many media circles seem so hell bent on getting him a job somewhere, but could we please put this to rest right now. It is not going to happen at Pitt. Period. Not going to happen. I've been told this numerous times by the right people.

So which is true? I'm convinced it could be both.

Now, let me start by saying if it's Zeise's word against almost any national writer, I'd go with Zeise every time. He's simply closer to the situation that outsiders would be and he's pretty credible. He's not right about everything and I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. But when it comes to accuracy and credibility, I'll take him over most anyone. His post (and you should definitely read the rest of it), as always, offers lots of good insight.

But take a closer look at the SbB article - it doesn't say that Bradley is getting the job ... only that he's Chryst's first choice and that he'll meet with him along with Pederson. That meeting could be nothing more than a cursory one, and might not mean anything when it comes right down to it. Frankly, if the decision is up to Pederson, he'll probably need some strong convincing. He didn't even interview the first time around last year and only got a look the second time because of some likely prodding by the Rooneys.

I said in my earlier post that I wouldn't mind have Bradley as a coordinator. I would have hired him last year, but probably not this time around as the head coach because of the Penn State stuff. But as a coordinator - someone who's not running the show, I think it could work.

I don't know how this will play out, but I still think it's a long shot. If the SbB source is correct about Pederson ultimately getting the final say, there's probably no chance this happens. Time will tell.

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