There really is only so much to say about Coach Wannstedt’s extension. Coach Wannstedt’s value to Pitt is not questioned. At the same time, it is not like he is going anywhere. Wannstedt’s value to Pitt is probably greater than in the open market. Not by much, as he could probably earn near his salary as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. He wouldn’t, however, get to be the head coach at this level of college or the NFL.

Neither side has any desire for that, though. The additional years on the contract are for purposes of refuting any negative recruiting efforts of how long Wannstedt will be at Pitt. To provide tangible evidence of both sides commitment. The bump is salary is to make sure Wannstedt knows Pitt is not taking him for granted. There are no mysteries here.

“The contract extension is really an indication of a mutual commitment to one another,” Pederson said.

He declined to disclose the terms of the agreement or say whether the extension increases Wannstedt’s pay.

“We have always tried to compensate our coaches fairly and make sure that they’re competitive,” Pederson said.

He said this is not “earth-shattering news” — Wannstedt knew the university wanted to extend his contract…

The move, as such didn’t create huge ripples in college football, but it is spring, so the news cycle is a little quieter.

Q. Dave Wannstedt received a contract extension from Pitt. How do you rate the job he has done there?

Hayes: Wannstedt will be the first to say it’s all about winning championships. Pitt is close, and could’ve won the Big East last year if the defense could’ve held a big lead on Cincinnati in the last game of the season. That said, he and his staff have made a significant impact on the program: from recruiting, to player development to winning (20 of the last 27 games).

When he was first hired, Wannstedt talked about how returning to his alma mater was an important step in his professional life. I’m not sure he realized how much he’d grow to enjoy the college game. When a coach is invested like that at a place he truly enjoys, only good things can happen.

Curtis: I’m thinking a solid B. The lack of a Big East championship sticks out, especially in a league that lacks the traditional juggernauts each of the other five BCS automatic qualifier conferences features. Throw in the head-scratching losses, even last season to N.C. State, and Wannstedt can’t rank among the best. Still, he’s brought together a strong staff, and he’s shown he can both recruit and develop players on both sides of the ball. A hair more consistency in the fall, and Wannstedt jumps to another coaching caste.

As Chris Peak points out, this is happily part of a time of coaching stability and success in both football and basketball. A rarity for most programs.

Even in terms of Pitt history, Wannstedt and Dixon have become two of the longest-tenured coaches in their respective sports. Wannstedt’s five years served tie him for the fifth-longest coaching stint in the football program’s 120-year history, and if he serves the full duration of the current contract, he will have been Pitt’s head coach for 10 years, which would rank as the third-longest tenure behind Jock Sutherland (15 seasons from 1924-38) and John Michelosen (11 seasons from 1955-65).

Wannstedt, who has a 35-26 record in five seasons and in 2009 led the program to its first 10-win season since 1981, is also just one of seven head football coaches in Pitt history to serve at least five consecutive seasons. The program has had a total of 34 head coaches in its 120-year history.

The men’s basketball program has had more consistency. Dixon’s seven-year tenure is also tied for the fifth-longest in program history, but the Panthers had just four head coaches – George Flint, Doc Carlson, Robert Timmons, and Charles Ridl – in the 64-year span from 1911 to 1975. Since 1975, only two coaches have led the Panthers for at least seven years: Paul Evans (1986-94) and Dixon.

…

“You can look at the University of Pittsburgh and say, ‘I’ve got pretty good assurance about what’s going to happen next,” Pederson said Wednesday. “I’m going to go there, I’m going to get a great education at a great university, I’m going to play on a great team, I’m going to be coached by outstanding people, and I don’t have to worry every year about what’s happening next. I can go in and I can achieve everything I’m trying to achieve without worrying about all of this other stuff.'”

Good times.