The Wannstedt-Schiano friendship/mentor-pupil meme continues apace. This article chronicles how they got to know each other.
They stumbled upon each other through a mutual friend nearly a decade ago. Wannstedt, head coach of the Chicago Bears at the time, had never met this 29-year-old hotshot assistant coach from Penn State. He needed to fill a defensive assistant vacancy. Nothing too complicated. Just looking for someone who could blend in with the rest of the staff and teach the players without causing a stir.
Bears defensive coordinator Bob Slowik knew that Schiano, a young defensive backfield coach for the Nittany Lions for five years, would be an ideal fit.
“Bring him in,” Wannstedt told Slowik. “Let’s talk to the kid.”
The meeting wasn’t exactly filled with fireworks.
“I remember going on the interview,” Schiano said. “Dave is such a low-key guy. They put a premium on the people that they know and people they can trust. The biggest part was to see if I could get along with the staff and add to the staff chemistry. Dave’s as good a guy to work for as there is. He’s demanding, but he’s fair and honest. I learned a lot from being around him.”
Maybe it’s just a different management style, but that bothers me. I’d like to think the premium is on ideas and ways to make the players better (and in college, add recruit like a fiend). The main criteria seems to be: gets along well with others. I am now deeply concerned about that regarding Pitt’s assistant coaches. Maybe I’m worrying over nothing.
The relationship is also part of the Big East Notebook on ESPN.com (Insider subs.).
Schiano owes a lot to Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, who hired Schiano when Wannstedt was coaching the Chicago Bears and then recommended him to Butch Davis to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami.
“He’s been a real mentor to me,” Schiano said. “He gave me an opportunity to get in the NFL. I learned a lot of football, about handling players. I think that’s one of Dave’s strengths. Butch and he are good friends, and I didn’t know Butch at all. That certainly was a big help for me.”
Schiano worked with nickel backs when he joined the Bears, then was elevated to secondary coach. Wannstedt saw an eager young coach, which is why he recommended Schiano to Davis.
“He was outstanding — a great communicator, very smart,” Wannstedt said.
The notebook also suggests that Schiano could be on the hotseat if he can’t beat a vulnerable Pitt team at home. Otherwise, it just rehashes stuff already covered in the last couple days: injuries for Pitt; Rutgers working on fundamentals; Blades speaking well of Leonard; Pitt not losing any commits; Wannstedt accidentally naming recruits, etc.
