Pitt fans hoping for answers in the wake of coach Walt Harris' departure for Stanford probably will be disappointed by what Panthers athletic director Jeff Long said -- or didn't say -- in a news conference yesterday.

Long identified only one potential candidate, current defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, and he said the hiring would probably happen in weeks rather than days or months. The only criteria he divulged was that the new coach will have some college coaching experience and leadership qualities.

Long, who met in a room crowded with members of the news media at the Petersen Events Center three hours before Stanford formally introduced Harris in California, also did little to refute reports that his relationship with Harris was strained beyond repair.

Although Long opened the news conference by reading a lengthy prepared statement in which he noted "remarkable progress" during Harris' eight seasons and wished Harris well, at no time did he express regret over losing Harris.

"I don't know if 'disappointed' would be a term that I would use," Long said. "I certainly respect coach Harris. He's a professional and he's a football coach. He was faced with opportunities. Nobody can know what's best for Walt Harris. Only Walt Harris knows what's best for him. I can't express disappointment."

Long declined to speculate whether Harris would have returned to Pitt next year if he had not taken another job.

In a statement released through Pitt, Harris outlined the improvement he has seen at Pitt and thanked the university, chancellor Mark Nordenberg, his assistants and the players -- but not Long or former Panthers athletic director Steve Pederson.

Harris' contract at Pitt ran through the 2006 season, a short lead time in a profession where recruiting is crucial, and Harris is believed to have wanted an extension. Long declined to say whether he offered Harris an extension as a counter to Stanford's offer.

"We talked after he came back from Stanford [over the weekend], but those conversations are private," Long said.

One thing Long and Harris agreed on was that Harris will coach Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 1, the school's first Bowl Championship Series game. Long said if a new coach is named before then, the new coach would remain in the background and would have nothing to do with coaching the bowl game in Tempe, Ariz.

Long, who became Pitt AD a few months before the 2003 football season, called this the most significant and important hire of his career. He said he would conduct the coaching search himself, although he will consult with Nordenberg. He said he already had a mental short list of coaches he would be interested in and he has received many inquiries.

"NFL, former NFL, broadcasters, high school coaches, you name it, they've been recommended" Long said, smiling. "And I don't mean to [put them down]. There are some quality, quality people that have been recommended, some outstanding football coaches out there that have interest in our program, some that have been out of coaching for a while.

"Pitt is an outstanding institution and we have an outstanding program here. It's just natural that those people would be interested."

Long said candidates for the job don't necessarily have to have Pitt ties or ties to him or college head coaching experience or NFL experience. He isn't looking specifically for an offensive or defensive guru or a coach who favors a particular style of offense or defense, despite the fact Pitt has a young team that adapted well down the stretch of the season to Harris' West Coast offense and Rhoads' aggressive 4-3 defense.

"We hire a head football coach to run the football program," Long said. "It is their responsibility to hire the coaches and administer the program. It's not my place to tell him what the best offense for him is.

"Certainly, I would think any coach would look at what we have coming back, the type of players we have coming back, and I think successful coaches adapt their plans to the student-athletes, the players they have. I will hire a coach that I think can lead this program, and that includes everything from Xs and Os to academics to conditioning, all those things."

He also said he would like Pitt under its new coach "to do a better job locally of recruiting."

The only candidate Long confirmed is local.

Rhoads, 37, has been Pitt's defensive coordinator and secondary coach since 2000.

"Coach Rhoads has expressed his interest in leading the program," Long said. "I would have expected that, and think that Paul is a quality man."

Rhoads acknowledged his interest, but declined to discuss it in depth.

"I'm going to love to talk when I think the time is appropriate," he said. "I do desire to be the next head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh, but I don't think talking about it right now would be productive."

Long has the same philosophy, saying he would not comment again on the hiring process until a new coach is announced.