As is usual these days with a new coach, it isn’t enough for him to be good coach and recruiter. We have to like him. We have to know his story, the losses and what made him who he is.
Sorry if this sounds too cynical. It’s just that while this is the common thing, it still comes down to wins and losses. It won’t matter how sympathetic his story is, or carefully packaged information that might offer insights into what makes Todd Graham tick. It is simply about winning.
That’s not to say there weren’t interesting nuggets in the profile pieces today. The influence of a high school coach that helped change his life. The mother that worked multiple jobs and sacrificed for her kids.
Really what I (and many of you, I’m guessing) care about reading is stuff like this.
Although he comes from a different part of Texas, Graham has been told he sounds a lot like former President George W. Bush, and he uses it to his advantage.
His powers of persuasion are such that, even though he spent just one season as the head coach at Rice, it was long enough to coax $7 million from boosters for renovations to Rice Stadium.
“I can’t wait to get into (recruits’) living rooms, get on the edge of my seat and tell them about the University of Pittsburgh,” Graham said.
The regional recruiting battles are about to get interesting, if they haven’t been already, Copeland said.
“The recruiting wars between Pitt and Penn State, I promise you, are fixing to intensify,” he said. “He is a relentless recruiter. He is the most demanding, determined person I have ever seen.”
Former Pitt defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, who tried to hire Graham when Bennett was coach at Southern Methodist, said Graham will find a way to win at Pitt.
That Bennett was big in his praise of Graham, after everything else, says a lot. First it says that Bennett was class all the way in his time at Pitt. He was being set up to be the sacrifice for Pitt’s disappointing season, and he came away looking better than most.
Second, it reinforces the idea that recruiting isn’t going to be dropping off under Graham. Which should not be a surprise. Graham was working the local scene almost as soon as he finished his presser and one-on-one interviews.
One of the coaches Graham spoke with Tuesday night was Woodland Hills coach George Novak. Good move. Woodland Hills produces more Division I college players than any school in the WPIAL.
“I was sleeping on the couch when he called,” Novak said with a laugh. “He just wanted to introduce himself and he pretty much talked about what he talked about at his press conference. He just wants an opportunity to prove himself to the coaches in the area.”
Almost as important, he’s got the players on the roster ready to go.
After his first meeting with his new team, some of the players talked about how energized he had made them feel. Many talked about how excited they were for the future.
“When coach Haywood came in, he never smiled, he told us to sit up in our chairs and laid down his law,” said Pitt receiver Cam Saddler. “After what we had been through in losing a coach we all loved and everything else, that really turned a lot of us off. But coach Graham came in with high energy, he had a smile, he made it clear everyone of us were important to the program and to him and made it clear he really wanted to be at Pitt.
“When we walked out of that room, we were all excited because you could tell this guy has a plan and he has a lot of passion for what he does. After that one meeting, I know this going to work out just fine. You just wait and see.”
Saddler has always been the defacto media/PR person for the Pitt players. It’s a good sign.
Now for the history side, there is optimism for having Graham, because he has an edge not seen in some time.
Is stealing recruits away from Tulsa a nice thing to do? Probably not. Might it qualify as ruthless? I think so.
After 30 years, is it time for a little ruthlessness at Pitt?
You make the call.
Are you a Pitt fan who wants to finally move beyond mediocrity? Or are you a proud Pitt alum who is more interested in your alma mater maintaining its integrity?
Um, both?
This is not to suggest that Graham is going to become the next Jackie Sherrill and leave town in a few years with a couple of top-10 finishes, a few nice bowl trips and the NCAA having to book long hotel stays in Pittsburgh for it investigators.
It’s just a reminder that the last coach to keep Pitt in the top 10 on a regular basis was one of the slipperiest, penalized coaches in college football history. After 30 years and so many coaches, it might be time to accept that the only way for Pitt to get back into the top 10 is to have a coach who’s at least willing to ask what would Jackie do, and then decide if he can get away with it.
If the extent of his “ruthlessness” is poaching his former program’s recruits, I’m okay.
Now for the neat history lesson of the day. Something I did not know.
Meanwhile, those who maintain Pitt will be dogged by the Mike Haywood debacle don’t know their history.
In 1969, Pitt thought it had a deal to hire Frank Kush to coach the football team. Five days after he made his commitment, he backed out and returned to Arizona State.
The flustered search committee then found Dee Andros at Oregon State and thought it had a deal with him.
At the 11th hour, he decided to stay put. Pitt instead hired Carl DePasqua, who went 13-29 over four seasons and was replaced by Majors.
Majors started winning, and nobody remembers the Kush-Andros part of the story except for windy columnists who retain too much useless information.
If Graham’s teams win games and light up the scoreboard at Heinz Field, only the trivia fans will remember Haywood.
Bit of a strawman argument about Haywood debacle haunting Pitt. Only PSU and WVU fans hope that there is some sort of real fallout. Most Pitt fans see it as a minor short-term embarrassment.
On the other hand, his energy is contagious … a quick test willl be to see who signs on a few weeks from now … but of course the ultimate test will be in the fall
I disagree my coworkers son is a tight end on the Tulsa team, Graham was very well respected by the players, coaches and administration he is going to be missed by all in Tulsa.
Shut up and win…now, wake me up in the Spring|
As for Doris’s comment, I believe that an article in the Tulsa paper did mention something to the effect that, if you are on the same page, great, if you aren’t you are gone. I guess I am okay with the person given the responsibility of managing a mult- million dollar operation demanding that things be done his way. Avoids confusion.
Obviously, his method is effective and may sell tickets and recruits. Since Chas invoked the past issues of Sherill, I’m just saying that I don’t or have never trusted this type. I also said it wouldn’t be fair to judge him until he does something wrong, and I certainly hope my thoughts of him are ill-conceived.
Exactly what is sleazy about Graham’s coaching history?
He managed to win seven games – and a bowl game – at…Rice!
Tulsa offered him a better deal and he took it.
Pitt offered him a better deal and he took it.
Professional athletes change teams when they are offered a better deal.
College football coaches change schools when they are offered a better deal.
That is life. It is not sleaze.
Put it this way … when he talks in the future of how he plans to stay at Pitt, it just won’t create that feeling of trust as when Jamie says it.
Regardless, I’m behind the guy, and the program. He could sell me a friggin Pinto.
“He came out and said everything that everyone wanted to hear”…
Didn’t we hear exactly the same from DW in 2004 when he promised to take the PITT football program to a National Championship?
And “…including that he will sign the best recruiting class. Wow, deja vu – “We’ll build a wall around Western PA”… who said that one?
The similarities go on and on…with every coach in DI football.
Doris – Our last coach kept Elijah Fields on the team when any other coach probably would have cut him loose way earlier – it took Fields alluding to a ‘pay for play’ arrangement with PITT to be let go. Yet, the coach also dismissed two freshman in Coleman and Knox off the team (and out of school) as a knee jerk reaction after the Sheard incident.
What is the common theme there? DW wanted Field’s talents as a starter for as long as possible and felt that the two freshman were expendable.
How we watched our HC make excuses for every loss last season, just about all centering on the players and not himself, was about as self-serving as it gets.
Really – coaches are all the same when you scratch beneath the surface, with some exceptions on either end of the spectrum.
The difference is that Dave Wannstedt was an PITT alumni and a favorite son out of the Pittsburgh Steel Mills – hence our perceptions of him offered more latitude than you are willing to give Graham. Had Graham grown up in Homestead rather than Mesquite, Texas I dare say your opinion would be 180 degrees different.
One time I complained to my dad that I thought sometimes business people took advantage of consumers too much. His reply?
“If you are going to play piano in a whorehouse, don’t pretend you don’t know what’s going on upstairs. “
There are very few choir boys coaching D-1 football programs. Probably a handful without detractors. I find the debate entertaining so thank you everyone for your contributions.
I supported Wanny for a long time because he was building a program and we had little fear that he would leave. Unfortunately he lost too many games he should have won. It did not appear that was going to change. Add to that the off the fields issues, He is gone.
I thought Bradley was a good choice for all the reasons listed before. But if he is so great, why is he still carrying Joepa’s clipboard?
Only time will tell if Graham can get us back into the top 20 and competitive nationally. We all want that. He has certainly won the PR battle so far. The next battle is recruiting, no matter what he does we will debate the results. Then as it should be it will be wins and losses.
One thing I am sure of, is that it won’t be the same old Pitt.
As far as 4 years and he’s gone. Well, take a HYPOTHETICAL situation, say, he comes in and does really well. Has Pitt in the top 20 one year, top 10 the next couple. Maybe a BCS bowl or two, and 11 win seasons….HYPOTHETICAL I said, right…..OK, then it’s up to Pitt to match the Oklahoma’a, Alabama’s of the world if any of them would come calling. So if one of them came calling and offer 3.5 or (4 mil or more by then), then it would be up to Pitt to match them a’la Jamie Dixon.
If they would win that much, as I HYPOTHETICALLY said above, then the Pitt football coaching spot would no longer be a steppingstone posistion. Just like hoops, when you win and become a top program, and the adminstration backs you up with some cash, you don’t look to go to other top programs, because you are one yourself.
Also, if he does that well, and does leave, the program is attractive to many more candidates in the coaching world.
If he flops, ya, then he’s gone and you try agian.
Hey, I was a big Bradley guy, gotta move on!!
Hell, as ticked as I was with the Haywood hire, after awhile, I even said, “ok, lets see what he does with the recruits”, then the strangler thing came up. Eventually you have to get on board, it’s a done deal, nothing is changing for awhile, Hail to Pitt!!
Hail to Pitt!
All the talk about Graham being sleazy is ridiculous and is based on nothing factual. If those of you that are tossing this around have some evidence other then your gut feeling then please enlighten all of us.
If you don’t “feel right” about Graham then just say so. Say something like “I am reserving judgment on coach Graham based on some prejudice feeling in my stomach” instead of using Sleazy or Snake Oil salesman. It make YOU look bad not him when you say these things.
The guy presents himself as a politician would so some of you are skeptical about the things he says. I understand that but I can’t condone it.
None of these things he has said were promises to deliver but simply objectives and I see nothing wrong with understanding objectives and presenting them publicly.
Hypothetical projections of the future at this time are silly as well. Any of us could drop dead tomorrow but few of us fret over the possibility daily. Let’s get a couple of years under our belt and worry about it then. We may not want Graham here 2 years from now.
In conclusion Todd Graham is our coach.
He is saying all the right things and seems to have won over the current players.
He seems to be charismatic, and energetic in his approach to recruiting and has begun to put this years class back together.
He is putting together a staff of assistants that looks to be professional and respected with in the college football ranks.
He seems to be well received by the local media and has spoken to several national media outlets as well.
His introductory press conference impressed most that listened to it.
Compare this to the first two weeks of Haywood who by all accounts had accomplished nothing other then bringing in assistants that no one was trilled about and you have to conclude that Pitt is getting our $$ worth and that we are in much better hands now then we were a few short weeks ago.
All of us in the fan base should be trilled to have Coach Graham as our coach and should support him and his efforts to improve our team.
HAIL TO PITT!
Trent Dilfer compares the NFL and NCAA in terms of board games; one is chess and the other is checkers. Granted, a simplified, idiotic analogy that brushes broad strokes across schemes, personnel, and players….however, I like the analagy for this debate because I think it hits home with why Graham will be better for Pitt than the NFL factory & “old school” predecessors before him…
Checkers vs. Chess. Yeah, there’s some strategy and innovation needed with checkers (not nearly the level as chess)…but most of all…checkers is fun, easy to grasp, and can be played by anynone. The NFL is a man’s game. Played by the elitist of the elite; both athletically and with the smartest of the minds on the coaching side. Nick Saban, Pete Carrol, Tim Tebow, Vince Young, Matt Lienart, and a zillion other examples of great checkers players that can’t play chess. Why? That fun factor and skill set only works in college FB…it doesn’t translate to wins on Sundays.
So, my point here is….
We’ve been playing chess with a bunch of checkers players/coaches. It doesn’t work. Not for NCAA CFB circa 2011. We need to be playing checkers. The players want to have fun. They want a guy that sells fun, not I’ll make you a better a chess player. Give me a guy that is selling the college game as it is…a less complicated version of the chess game, played with much inferior talent… so let’s have fun and rock this shit with entertaining games. Let’s do our part about winning, but let’s do it by having fun. Offense AND defense. Along the way, I’m going to make you better and we’re going win a lot of games. If you’re a chess player, that will come out in April at Indy….but while you’re here, we’re going to have a blast on the field. Keep it simple, stupid. Just win. Have un, run and gun…and win games, baby!
So, let’s let Graham bring in his kids…sell ’em on fun and good times, and see if he delivers and changes the culture.
Our chess playing NFL factory over the last 30 years has produced no BCS wins, 2 (tied) Big East conference championships, and a handful of years in the top 10 at the end of the year….
Bring me kids that win at Pitt…not with the Jets, Cardinals, Colts, and other NFL teams that have top players from Pitt.
I don’t know for sure, but I’ve had a lot of experience with guys from Texas that are Sales Managers, owners of marketing companies and the like and that’s just the way they are. There’s nothing ‘snake oil’ about it, they are just high energy, aggressive types who believe in themselves and their product. And you definitely want those types on your team or leading your team.
Just my experience and come on wbb, I know your a Pitt guy, jump on board and support Coach Graham, as opposed to who could have been our new head coach, I feel we are quite fortunate to have a guy like Todd Graham who worked himself up thru the ranks from High School into college and his climb has all been based on his performance and merit, not connections and family ties. And in today’s world that is quite refreshing.
Yeah, not much excitement in watching Lewis and Graham rip off long touchdown runs and having 200+ yard games. Many of Baldwin’s leaping catches were real yawners. Now we will see some real excitement. There will be passes from the QB’s and running plays from the running backs, not like before.
But seriously, people are still arguing about Wanny on here? Give it up, Wanny is long gone. And the Louisville and South Florida games were horrendously boring.
Jackie Sherrill wanted to stay at Pitt for one more season (and with the right deal maybe longer) as we were preseason #1 going into Marino’s senior year and 33-3 the three years prior. Ed Bozik, was Posvar’s right hand man over athletics and soon to be AD. Jackie could not stand Bozik who also had a big ego and turned out to be not so great an AD. Bozik pulled some stunts that really pissed Jackie off and that is why Jackie left a #1 team with Dan Marino at QB. He did get the biggest deal ever at the time to go to Texas A&M but Pitt was prepared to pay him well too. Foge was a great DC but not HC & we finished 9-3 in 1982 season losing in Cotton Bowl. Jackie hit the jackpot but would have stayed at least one more year if Bozik had not been around.
I am excited for the next football season.
I think it may not have been just the style of play, but, the fact that every time there was a big game, they lost. Think about it, one of the few big wins, was, 13-9, that was exciting.
Having dog fights with New Hampshire and Florida European was not exciting, more like sickening!!
Then crapping yourself every time you play someone half decent or noteworthy on national t.v., lends itself to some thinking it is boring. You work them up like it’s gonna be different this time, and, it never is.
I think it had something to do with that yinzer!!!! LMAO!!!
Then, when we did have an anomaly it was that we’d lose to a team that should have had no right being on the same field with us.
Once in six years we’d get a 13-9 game. Perhaps we beat one or two big favorites – but hardly ever.
Regardless of who was going to be the new coach PITT was ready for a change.
The bowl game was a great surprise, and I hope a portent of things to come.
HTP, beat the cuse.
Go beat Syracuse.
I was disappointed whe Sherill left but understood just like I would if Graham left.
Note to all — I didn’t bring up the Graham comparison to Sherill; all I was doing was to respond to what Chas had written about it.
It is true that I do not care for Graham’s type …I’ve seen a handful of other coaches with the same approach and was turned off to them also .. but for the 3rd time on this very blog, I will restate … it is unfair to judge Graham until he does something wrong or insincere.
Also, when did the Miami Dolphins last go to the playoffs and who coached the team?
Conclusion? Boy are there a lot of very bad coaches. Just keep firing them and hiring new ones. Eventually…
I’ll be happy in 3-4 years if someone else wants Graham
