1996

Dec. 16

Hired by Pitt

Dec. 23

Hires his first two assistants, Brian Williams and Vincent White

1997

Jan. 16

Gets his first verbal commitment, from OL Mike Bosnic of Albert Gallatin

March 17

Coaches his first on-field practice

August

Oversees his first quarterback derby, among Pete Gonzalez, Matt Lytle and D.J. Dinkins

Aug. 24

Says only two or three on Pitt team could start at Ohio State

Sept. 19

Upsets No. 22 Miami, 21-17, at Pitt Stadium in a Thursday night ESPN game, prompting fans to tear down the goal posts

Nov. 28

Beats West Virginia, 41-38, in three overtimes to clinch Pitt's first bowl berth since 1989

Dec. 3

Named Big East Conference coach of the year

Dec. 31

Coaches first bowl game, 41-7 loss to Southern Mississippi in Liberty Bowl to finish 6-6 best record since 1991

1998

Jan. 23

Gets verbal commitment from Valley RB Brandon Williams, a sign Pitt is making inroads in the WPIAL

March 9

Cancels first spring practice, saying players slacked off after the Liberty Bowl

Oct. 2

Loses to Temple for second year in a row, this time at home and in the final minute, 34-33

Oct. 17

Loses to Rutgers, 25-21, as Pitt gets booed by homecoming crowd

Nov. 27

Loses to West Virginia, 52-14, at Three Rivers Stadium for seventh loss in row to finish 2-9

1999

Jan. 28

Lands his biggest recruit yet, Perry QB Rod Rutherford, who spurns Penn State and Michigan State.

March 16

Bars RB Kevan Barlow from spring practice for "irresponsibility to the requirements of being part of this football team."

August

Holds training camp at Johnstown for the final time

Sept. 11

Nearly upsets No. 2 Penn State at Beaver Stadium, but falls, 20-17, when LaVar Arrington blocks late field goal

Nov. 13

Beats Notre Dame, 37-27, in last game in Pitt Stadium

2000

March 14

Harris' contract extended through the 2006 season

April 16

Has his first player drafted, with the Steelers selecting CB Hank Poteat in the third round

August

Holds training camp at new South Side facility

Sept. 16

Beats Penn State, 12-0, at soldout Three Rivers in final scheduled meeting between the rivals

Oct. 7

Benches RB Kevan Barlow down the stretch in 24-17, two-overtime loss at Syracuse after Barlow fumbles

Dec. 1

Holds news conference to say he's staying at Pitt after Alabama shows interest

Dec. 28

Loses to Iowa State, 37-24, in Insight.com Bowl when he stubbornly sticks with the pass against Division I-A's 95th-ranked run defense

2001

Jan. 5

Says he agrees with AD Steve Pederson's decision to deny Ohio State permission to speak with Harris about its coaching job

August

Installs spread offense

Sept. 1

Beats Division I-AA East Tennessee State, 31-0, in team's first game at Heniz Field

Sept. 8

Loses at home to Division I-A fledgling South Florida, 35-26, for arguably program's worst loss

Oct. 20

Loses, 45-7, at Boston College despite abandoning spread offense, falls to 1-5

Dec. 1

Beats UAB, 24-6, for fifth consecutive win to complete a comeback for a winning season and bowl bid

Dec. 20

Beats North Carolina State, 34-19, in Tangerine Bowl for first bowl win and apparently saves his job as Pederson had been talking to Ron Zook

2002

Sept. 7

Loses to Texas A&M, 14-12, in part because of a penalty on a swinging-gate extra-point play

Nov. 2

Upsets No. 3 Virginia Tech, 28-21, on the road for his biggest win to that point

Nov. 4

Finds his team at No. 23, Pitt's first time in the polls since 1991

Dec. 26

Beats Oregon State, 38-13, in Insight Bowl to finish 9-4, Pitt's best season since 1982, and finishes No. 19, Pitt's first time in the final poll since 1989

2003

June 18

Learns of WR Billy Gaines' fatal fall at an area church

July 31

Finds Pitt at No. 11 in the preseason coaches poll

Sept. 6

Suspends QB Rod Rutherford for one quarter because of a legal run-in

Sept. 20

Loses at Toledo, 35-31, when defense can't stop QB Bruce Gradkowski's short passes

Nov. 8

Beats Virginia Tech, 31-28, in final scheduled meeting between the two

Nov. 29

Loses at home to Miami, 28-14, to end any chance at a Bowl Championship Series bid

2004

Feb. 4

Loses two plum prospects on signing day as QB Anthony Morelli (Penn State), RB Andrew Johnson (Miami) renege on verbal commitments

August

Criticizes several players for using pain as an excuse not to practice; oversees his final QB derby at Pitt, between Tyler Palko and Luke Getsy

Aug. 31

Refuses to release QB Luke Getsy from his scholarship as Getsy transfers to Akron

Sept. 25

Holds off Division I-AA Furman, 41-38, in OT despite 17-point second-half deficit

Sept. 30

Loses at Connecticut, 29-17, opting for "The Slide" and a field-goal attempt over a shot at the end zone late in the first half

Oct. 9

Beats Temple, 27-22, with second-half comeback for his 50th win at Pitt

Oct. 13

Declines comment after his agent blasts Pitt and his bosses don't offer a vote of confidence

Oct. 16

Beats Boston College, 20-17, in overtime to keep Big East title hopes alive

Nov. 13

Defeats Notre Dame, 41-38, as QB Tyler Palko throws five TD passes. It is Pitt's first victory at Notre Dame since 1986

Nov. 25

Beats West Virginia, 16-13, to break two-year losing streak in Backyard Brawl

Dec. 1

Named Big East coach of year

Dec. 4

Wins at South Florida, 43-14, for sixth win in seven games

Dec. 5

Accepts bid to Fiesta Bowl, Pitt's first BCS berth

Dec. 11

Accepts head coaching job at Stanford

Dec. 12

Talks to Pitt players and tells them he is leaving program after the Fiesta Bowl.