I’m rather cynical about most things. Especially when it comes to sports. Yet, I have to admit to being taken aback by the way Coach Wannstedt is acting.
Then Pitt’s administration tried to do the right thing by giving him a few days to decide if he wanted to coach the bowl game. As of today, he still has not given Steve Pederson his final decision. And the times I have talked to him over the past two weeks – the last time being Thursday – he said he was “going to work with the team, get them prepared, run practices and then wait to see where he is at and how he feels next week” before he makes his decision. Now, that is what he has said and that is what he is saying on the record.
Unfortunately, he has also told a number of people around him he is not likely to coach in the game and that he doesn’t want to go through a week of news conferences and luncheons and all of that “play happy” stuff. If it was just about the game, he would coach but all the other stuff he’s not sure he wants to go through.
I do know this – if he doesn’t coach, it will be defensive coordinator Phil Bennett who will be in charge and run things through the bowl. And while Hafley is gone and at least one more is likely to be gone shortly, for the most part the current assistants will coach through the bowl game.
I get that he is probably a bit bitter about the whole thing. I am sure he still feels blindsinded and never saw the firing coming. It’s seems obvious that he feels betrayed by AD Pederson, and this kind of putting off the decision is as much to get back at Pederson as anything else.
That said, I’m still surprised by the way he is acting since while it may be making Pederson look bad for not forcing the issue and contributing to killing ticket sales; it strikes me as being far, far crueler to the Pitt assistants and the players.
They are the ones stuck waiting to find out about preparation. They are the ones who don’t know who is leading the team. These are the people who are really being hung out to dry in this. I never would have expected Wannstedt to treat them as mere pawns in this.
It’s why no one knows whether Jason Hendricks and Mike Cruz will be suspended for the bowl game or not. Who is the one making that call?
It shouldn’t have come to this. AD Pederson had to hold Wannstedt to a timeframe to make the decision. And if he wouldn’t make it, then it is made for him. It makes no sense after the move to relieve him of his duties to then go soft on this part of things. I am having a hard time seeing how Pitt doesn’t come out and lay an egg in Birmingham with this mess.
Yeah, because no one in the NFL ever enters with a history of drug abuse.
Please go back under your bridge, troll.
“So far the Panthers have 10 players committed for the current class which will sign in early February, but that number is down from the 19 that had committed to the team before Haywood replaced Wannstedt.
Haywood said he expected to sign about 19 or 20 players but has been overwhelmed by the number of players who have reached out to him — who his staff either didn’t know or hadn’t planned on recruiting.
“We have a lot of players interested in us,” Haywood said. “Now we just need to figure out who fits what we are looking for athletically and academically. It seems like there isn’t enough hours in the day right now, but we’re off to a great start.”
Read more: link to post-gazette.com
By the way, how many of the basketball players graduate?
That would be Pitt 75% Penn State 67% oh I’m cryin with laughter at my office.
Dude, first rule of trying to make an argument, do your fact checking first before calling someone out!!!!! Beau-tee-full!!!
Join the MAC. Maybe you’ll be able to compete.
Now, be a good boy and go change JoePa depends!! You’re dismissed!!!
And it takes a lot of skill to make elderly jokes. I bet up to 5 years ago Paterno could have beat you in a 100 yard dash.
This, however, got him thrown off the team and cost him a pro career. At Pitt, when you throw a guy through a window, nothing happens.
Scott sat out a year in high school, not because of an injury but because a drug search at his high school found drugs in his locker. This is not just rumor, but came directly from a coach and multiple Parkland students. This was the start of letting him get away with illegal behavior. PSU knew this when he was signed, yet still let him back on the team after his suspension for whatever it was Joe threw him off for the first (publicized) time.
Does a kid deserve a second chance to straighten out his life? Absolutely. Over and over? By the way, scott’s attitude stunk- me first, what team?
Oh, and as to graduation rate, when your bball players aren’t good enough to go pro they stick around for four years. That helps your graduation rate. However, no matter how good a fan’s team is, it doesn’t help them be a better person if they are an ignorant jerk.
His girl was probably getting molested by the rapist!!! Oh, that’s right, you have inside info that he didn’t do anything!!! lol
00’….5-7….7th
01’….5-6….7th
02’….9-4….4th
03’….3-9….9th
04’….4-7….9th
05’….11-1…1st
06’….9-4….4th
07’….9-4….5th
08’….11-2…1st
09’….11-2…3rd
10’….7-5….6th
Totals 7.6 wins 4.6 losses avg place 5th
I don’t know, stinks of the definition of mediocre!!
Let me guess, you don’t count the losing or sub par seasons.
You’re preaching to the choir, %95 of us hate the Big East for football.
I must say, as bad as it is, the last time you played a Big East Pitt team, you got shut out?? 12-0 I know, that doesn’t count, it was 10 years ago, but go ahead and use 10 years for graduation rates.
All the crimes were misunderstanings, go back 10 years for this, not for that.
I think what your problem is, you think that Penn St is part of some upper class with Texas, USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, etc. etc., when in reality, just another mediocre team.
Our difference is, I know my team is mediocre, you just haven’t come to terms with yours!! LOL
Pitt has to play on Thursday or Friday nights for anyone to pay attention.
Pathetic
Don’t forget John Ameche’, he certainly was a delicate flower in the Penn St. tradition! lol
I have a good one. How about Dan “I was waving my finger telling the world we were number 1 and then Penn State dropped 48 straight on us” Marino?