Do you ever get the feeling there is a bit of regret amidst present and former Pitt decision makers about not hiring (now) LSU defensive coordinator and the hot head coaching candidate, Bo Pelini?
Word is as A.D. at Pitt, Long was interested in hiring Pelini but was rebuffed by higher-ups and tabbed Dave Wannstedt. Maybe Long will make a play for Pelini this time.
Mmm-hmm. That reminded me of something I read earlier this month in a Zeise chat.
ticktockman: What role does Jerry Cochran play in this program? We’ve sucked through various AD’s and Coaches, but he has been a constant it seems.
Paul Zeise: I’m not sure how much he has to do with the program. I know his first choice for the head coach the last time was Bo Pelini and he was obviously over ruled, so while he has some say, he clearly doesn’t have the final authority to do anything.
That leaves the blame all on Chancellor Nordenberg as Chochran and Long apparently have quietly whispered in different reporters’ ears how they wanted Pelini a few years ago. That is assuming both are being truthful and not engaging in a bit of revisionism.
We should want both players and coaches who want to be at Pitt. I could easily see Pelini leaving after a very short stint-even if he was successfull.
Give Wannstedt ’08 then make your claims..Pitt will be legit for the first time in the new big east-getcha popcorn.
Compared to what we are going through now I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.
Regarding having someone who wants to be at Pitt, shouldn’t thier ability to run a SUCESSFUL anything, anywhere be the reason someone is hired?
I personally would love to stay at Pitt as Head football coach forever….Of course I would suck worst then Wanny. So I’m not sure how big a factor that should be when looking at who might be the best fit.
If Bo Pelini stays for a few years and goes that means he did the job. What is wrong with having to replace coaches if they get the job done. Hire the best candidate and quit worrying about hiring the guy that will stay the longest. Ben Howland left us and look at how he turned the program around.
Every week the team looks confused, the coaches fail to call aggresive schemes until the last quarter. All anyone talks about is the great recruits we’re getting into the program and then it’s always next year. Well that’s complete bullshit and your a fool to buy into this Koolaid any longer. Dave is a great guy, but he can’t coach a winning program. The only winning program he was involved with was when he was with Jimmy Johnson…maybe Jimmy was the reason those teams won, and not because of Dave.
As for Pelini, you have to wonder what the deal is with this guy that it’s been three years and no one has taken a shot on this guy yet. Also, remember Mike Stoops. He was the next big thing when he was hired at Arizona. He ain’t looking so great now.
Back to the satire…
Tough choice, eh?
Dave runs a clean program. I like him, and aside from wins and losses, represents us well. HOWEVER, we can’t over look the wins and losses, because they will catch up to us sooner or later. If we don’t win next year, it could get really bad.
And, yes, it CAN get worse than this. We could be Syracuse.
link to pittsburghpanthers.cstv.com
How about we all make our best efforts to stay in the stands at halftime for this one?
I don’t care where the guy is from, remember the last Pitt guy was Foge Fazio and wasn’t he a great recruiter and defensive guru?
Dave was a loser in Chicago and Miami, so far he has been a loser at Pitt. Why do you think that is going to change! He walked into a good situation and he has screwed it up big time.
No bowl game in 08 no Wanny in 09! Can’t wait!
He will not take Pitt to a bowl game, not in a million years. Some of you guys are blind and think wait another year, for what?
Look at the performance on the field, poorly prepared and very poor strategy. Wanny will never change, ever, he is a concrete head.
If they didn’t have McCoy their offense would be ranked last in division one.
Rider R, be careful there is a good chance you will have to eat your words! Syracuse is no push over they beat Louisville!
also, do you think nordenburg would have made pelini keep rhoades on staff as he probably did with wanny?
Hire him and we get good recruits… but ummm we’re still stuck with him coaching said recruits.
Don’t hire him, the quality of recruits declines, but the coach at least isn’t a total blockhead.
But anyone who said that Harris didn’t leave the cupboard empty obviously isn’t seeing the juniors and seniors on the field right now (you know, the guys that came after Palko/Blades/Revis).
And I don’t think anybody can win with those guys.
Jimbo: I live in Boise and have watched a potential 1-year wonder WAC team (Boise State) develop into an annual conference champion, playing up in bowl games they invariably are picked to lose, but rarely do. Why is this? BSU has “low rated” recruiting. But they kids who love the game and leave their blood and sweat on the field week in and week out. Recruiting quality does not necessarily win games. These BSU kids are smaller, slower and have less athletic talent than other teams, but they win all the time because they are coached up and motivated properly. This is what good coaches do. Find a coach who does this and you win…period. That is why BSU beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
I love Pitt and have watched them weekly. With the exception of a few players, they dont play with this enthusiasm I see here. Last year they rolled over and played dead. It was an insult to the game and to our alma mater. However, this wass not the fault of the kids…it is the fault of the coaches.
BTW, Chris Peterson (BSU HC) used to be the quarterback coach at Pitt in the early 1990’s. Too bad he hated it there, because he would be an ideal HC.
I think that you are wrong with the “stepping stone” issue. If a coach could come in here, recruit well, and start winning at a high level to lead Pitt to a BCS game I think that it would re-establish Pitt as a major player on the national scene, even after he leaves. Utah is different because they are a non-BCS school and does not have nearly the resources that Pitt does. Also, Utah at least goes to bowl games just about every year and is at least a threat to win their conference now. That’s much better than where Pitt is now in the Big East!!
But, you are right on about Boise and the culture they have developed around their team. That is what Pitt needs to do! Imagine if that could happen with Pitt’s more highly “ranked” recruits!
Hire the best candidate. Can’t play the what if game. Things change. Sometimes a school and a city grows on these coaches. Look no furthur than Skip Prosser when he rebuffed Pitt to stay at Wake. He loved the community(even though he was a Pit. guy)
Let’s go back three years. The BE had just gone through a messy break up. There was a constant drum beat from local and national media that said the BE should lose its automatic BCS spot. Morelli, Johnson, and I think Bryant had all backed out on verbal commitments (not entirely sure on Bryant). Our HC’s agent had publicly stated that Pitt was kidding itself if it considered the Pitt HC job to be a big time coaching job and we were lucky to have Walt Harris. Who were these great HC candidates of which you speak that (a) Wanted to come into the above situation; and (b) could recruit in the face of the above situation? If it was Pelini, why was it not Pelini for BC, NC State, Miami, Alabama, ARZ St and I don’t know how many others over the last three years? DW did not come to Pitt and offer his services, Pitt went after him. He was the best HC candidate that we could convince to take the job…hands down. That does not mean that he has been successful, or that the team will have a better win/loss record next year (I think that they will be a lot better over the next two years), but I’ll tell you this for sure, if he is fired after next season (or this one) he will have left this program in ten times better shape than any of the last three or four Pitt HC’s have done. Talent on the field wins a lot more FB games than great coaches do. Les Miles has certainly coached his team to two wins that a less agressive coach would not have. But conversely, Urban Meyer has not been “out coached” three times this year. He just went up against teams with more talent than his. Pitt is loaded with talent. If you to the games, you are seeing that talent start to gel. I think we are in for a very good run over the next 2 to 3 years.
