Has anyone considered what will happen if the whole Cavanaugh to the Jets thing falls through? I mean everyone has all but packed his bags and put him on the next flight out of town. He hasn’t resigned yet, there is no official word. I’m just saying.
Now that Bob Smizik took retirement, it seems Ron Cook has assumed the mantle of crotchety,old, contrarian-for-the-sake-of-it columnist. He warns against expecting too much with a change of offensive coordinators because of the QBs still there.
But before you give Cavanaugh one final kick on his way out the door, ask yourself this: Was the conservative offense his fault or Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt’s? It was Wannstedt who insisted on a pro-style offense. Cavanaugh was just following orders.
Beyond that, any offensive coordinator is going to look like an idiot if the quarterback can’t execute plays. How much more creative could Cavanaugh have been with Bill Stull and Pat Bostick?
Stull never improved much last season. Down the stretch, he was bad in a loss at Cincinnati, bad against West Virginia in a game that star running back LeSean McCoy won, bad in the first half at Connecticut and dreadful in the Sun Bowl.
Bostick also has been disappointing. It’s not so much because he had a tough 2007 season as a true freshman, thrown into the starting lineup before he was ready because of Stull’s hand injury in the first game. It’s because Wannstedt and Cavanaugh thought so little of him last season that they burned his redshirt at Navy before they had to do it. They never would have done that if they considered Bostick a future star.
He kinda, sorta, concedes that his evaluation of QB talent is a legitimate issue. He tries to argue that it falls on the QBs and their lack of talent for failing to develop by citing Tyler Palko apparently being a fan.
That’s a crap argument. First of all, Palko was already further along in his development before Cavanaugh came on (and it conveniently ignores the misery of Palko’s first year under Cavanaugh’s direction). Palko is also the son of a coach, a film junkie and simply more talented.
Stull had been under Cavanaugh’s tuteleage the entire time at Pitt. That also means, Cavanaugh should have known what Stull could and could not do. As much as Stull regressed during the season, too many plays called for Stull to make throws that everyone else knew he could not make.
I don’t think anyone disagrees that Coach Wannstedt has a conservative influence on the offensive scheme. At the same time, what other scheme has Cavanaugh run other than a pro-style, West Coast offense?
As for the offense having issues regardless of who is the OC next year. I agree. I think most Pitt fans understand that unless the QB play takes a step towards real competency and consistency, the offense will struggle regardless of who is coordinating. It is still a change that needs to be made.
Interesting analysis of the rumored names for the OC by Paul Zeise. I appreciate the dripping sarcasm regarding “Pitt guys.” I hope he’s wrong about Van Pelt, though. He just does not have the experience to make me feel comfortable as a coordinator.
I think he overstates the drag on the hirings for potential short-termers of Noel Mazzone and Chan Gailey. That possibility of leaving after a brief stay didn’t stop him from hiring Phil Bennett as DC.
I guess the thing about Gailey is whether he permanently damaged himself in his spells as a head coach that killed his OC abilities. Did he come down with Paul Hackett disease where after some experience as a head coach he lost all feel and skill as an OC to call a game and teach. Remember, once upon a time, Hackett was a fine OC and teacher. Then — as Jets fans can attest — he never came back.
While on the subject of assistant coaches, a nice puff pice for Jeff Hafley and recruiting New Jersey. Talking about being the hardworker and insane hours, complete with bringing an air mattress to the office.
“That’s got to make an impression on you,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Either the guy is really committed, or he’s out of his mind – in some cases, both.”
Wannstedt promoted Hafley to Pitt’s secondary coach when Chris Ball left for Washington State last year. Hafley, a Montvale, N.J., native, immediately volunteered to focus his recruiting efforts on his home state, even though Pitt had landed only three New Jersey prospects in the previous four seasons.
“We had recruited New Jersey, but we just didn’t have one specific guy focused on it,” Hafley said. “You’ve got to get one guy to focus in on New Jersey.
“When I got hired, I said, ‘Coach, I’d like the shot to recruit New Jersey. It has great football, and they all know Pitt.’ “
And finally, the Octonion returns to answer the question, what happens when you give fruit hope? It’s the assigned reading for today.
