PITTSBURGH — It seems like Pitt is very close to nailing down Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley as its next head coach.

However, seemingly every time we get close it’s refuted. Here’s how Wednesday progressed. It was full of ups and downs, positives and negatives…

1) Pitt denies Tom Bradley rumors.

Pitt Associate Athletic Director E.J. Borghetti issued this statement on behalf of the university…

“The University of Pittsburgh has not offered its head coaching position to anyone, and no decisions about an offer have been made.”

So Pitt is back to being coach-less again … or is there one …

2) PennLive.com reports that Tom Bradley has texted his current players to say goodbye.

So again, everyone’s thinking “We’ve got a coach!” Here’s what the text reportedly said:

“Love you kids. Going to miss you. Wish I could take you with me. Anything I can do for you, let me know.”

Alright, that does it. Pitt has a coach! We can move on!

Not…

2) PennLive.com retracts the story.

The website is quoted as saying this:

“A previous report I made that Tom Bradley texted players that he had been offered the Pitt job is erroneous.”

This is getting ridiculous. So Pitt doesn’t have a coach. We can end our night (by this time we’re well in to the night).

Wrong again … maybe

4) Penn State linebacker tweets that he, in fact, did receive a text message from Bradley.

And this is what he tweeted:

“Tom Bradley got Pitt job. Congrats!” ~@NastyNate34

Hmmmmm.

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Don’t know what to tell you, folks, other than that this coaching search is getting as weird as having your head coach in jail for an entire weekend. Or having a Penn State and West Virginia guy listed as top candidates for your job opening.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

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Chris Gates | Area 4-1-Zoo Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com