Well, now there is only one position coach spot left on Todd Graham’s new staff.
“I make it a priority to hire people who will make me a better coach,” Graham said. “I am extremely pleased with the staff we’ve hired thus far. Not only are they excellent football coaches, they are also tremendous men who are honored to be a part of the University of Pittsburgh.”
Graham still needs to hire one assistant coach and he said it will be a safeties coach.
Mildly surprising that Graham has split safeties from the cornerback. Most of the time you see a position coach listed as “secondary” covering both corners and safeties. Give what safeties have to do these days, though, it does have a logic to it.
With most of the Wannstedt staff gone, there weren’t many people that had to be told they wouldn’t be retained by Graham. One, however was Strength and Conditioning Coach Buddy Morris.
[Shawn] Griswold’s appointment means the end of Morris’ third stint at Pitt. Morris led Pitt’s conditioning program for 19 years and served five head coaches since 1980. He also worked for the Cleveland Browns from 2002-2005 and the University of Buffalo in ’06 before former Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt brought him back in ’07.
Morris, a Pitt graduate, helped train some of the best players in Pitt history, including Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, Dan Marino and Russ Grimm.
Morris, whose assistant, James Smith, also won’t return, said he had turned down job offers from Iowa State (2008) and the Washington Redskins (last year) to remain at Pitt.
“I had a 45-minute conversation with (Todd Graham). I understand,” said Morris, a South Park graduate. “He wants to bring his own guy in. I wish him and the University of Pittsburgh nothing but the best.”
Morris is a well-respected and known S&C coach. I expect him to land on his feet.
The good news is that key parts of the support staff are staying.
None of Wannstedt’s assistant coaches were retained, but three members of the administrative support staff will be back. They include director of football relations and program enhancement Bob Junko, assistant athletic director/football relations Chris LaSala and his assistant, Matt Dudek. Graduate assistants Luke Getsy and Eric Thatcher were asked to return.
The hiring of QB Coach Todd Dodge is the most intriguing of all the position coaches. The former North Texas coach, and major proponent of the spread offense at the high school level in Texas is already in action.
“We’re recruiting this weekend when the Steelers are playing in the AFC Championship game,” Dodge says. “It’s a great recruiting tool. The facility is really unique because we share training facilities with the Steelers. The Steelers are on one side and we’re on the other.
Dodge says he just grabbed enough clothes to begin his new job recruiting and working for new coach Todd Graham.
Dodge was the head coach at North Texas from 2007-10 and will now be the quarterbacks coach at Pittsburgh. He won four state titles while at Southlake Carroll from 2002-06.
“It’s what I was looking for,” Dodge says. “I wanted to be somebody’s quarterback coach and be part of someone’s staff with my background as quarterback and as a head coach.”
And of course, Todd Graham has been constantly in motion since last week.
On Monday, Graham assembled a who’s who of WPIAL stars, from U.S. Army All-American Delvon Simmons of McKeesport, Woodland Hills’ Lafayette Pitts and Clairton’s Desimon Green to Hopewell’s record-setting junior running back Rushel Shell, for unofficial visits at The Pete.
That seemed unimaginable only two weeks ago, when Pitt’s lack of leadership left its potential prospects in recruiting purgatory.
“That’s what hurt ’em; I ain’t gonna lie,” said Green, who was the Tribune-Review’s Player of the Year. “He came in and showed a lot of love, coming to the school and calling every chance they get.
“That means a lot with me. I can’t speak for everybody else — they’re still on the border — but he’s been honest with me, and I trust him.”
Maybe they came for a free ticket to see No. 5 Pitt play No. 3 Syracuse before a record crowd, but the important thing is that they came.
Not saying it was the only reason, but you can bet the free ticket to a game like Monday night’s played a big part in convincing them to show-up. After that, it’s up to Graham to sell them.
The article also makes a note of how Mike Hayood didn’t even get started with recruiting in his first two weeks. While some of it had to do with the recruiting dead period, the lack of contact with local Hight School coaches, is absurd.
Graham directly contacts alumni and local coaches, appeals for their support, and promises to serve Pitt with honor.
Ah, but hey, Haywood sent a form letter, so…
“Graham is a snake oil salesman.”
“Graham’s defenses were bad in Tulsa.”
“Graham did not win Conference USA with Tulsa.”
blah blah blah
I decided to get the negative junk out of the way.
Wanny is interviewing with the Cleveland Browns. Poor Wanny. He should just collect his paycheck from Pitt. The sport of football goes to die in Cleveland.
The one position that worries me is RB if the report that C Burns is transferring is true .. with D Lewis opting for the NFL. We need some quality back-ups to Graham (Ray).
The new recututing cclass does to be big but hopefully will have some quality at selective positions.
Not so good marks for Graham hire from Mandel at SI.com
link to sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Of course, neither are these are really meaningful as we will see in another year or so
Graham will end up with a good recruiting class. Just wait and see and think POSITIVE.
Hail to Pitt!
1) Haywood wasn’t allowed to speak with any HS recruits until he became a member of the coaching staff – which was to take effect the day after Wannstedt’s contract ran out. Since Wannstedt’s contract was for the ‘full’ 2010 season that meant until after the last game of the year – which was the Jan 8th bowl game, therefore Haywood’s contract started on the 9th. The details of his beginning employment at PITT were detailed by both the P-G and the Trib Review when Haywood was hired… it was also one reason it was so easy for PITT to cut him loose after his incident.
Up until the 9th Haywood would have been considered a “Booster” by the NCAA. Still, he certainly could have put more effort into discussing things with the local HS coaches – whom he could talk to anytime.
2) Wbb – There have been many great interviews with our decommitted recruits on the subscription pay message boards – to a person each one has said that they committed to PITT because of Dave Wannstedt. It was a foregone conclusion that we were going to lose a ton of recruits once his firing was announced – I’m kind of surprised that anyone was shocked by it.
As far as the existing staff goes – it was a total house cleaning by the PITT administration. It didn’t matter that anyone on the staff was a good coordinator or coach – they all were fired. The salient point being was that, like DW, their contracts for 2010 went through the bowl game also and PITT allowed most staff to leave early… other than Bennett and two others.
That’s why you see that the only holdovers in the football program are the three guys who were actually on the administrative staff and not on DW’s coaching staff; Junko, LaSala and Dudek.
But make no mistake – if a PITT fan looks at what transpired and wonders why we didn’t retain some staff because they were good coaches they are barking up the wrong tree – that was never going to happen.
Let’s Go Pitt!!!
talking to some of the recruits/players i know in the area… every single one of them said they werent going to play for this guy… and the player’s meeting had many talking transfer…
AND HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ALL OF THIS
very clearly, in plain english, why Steve Pederson should be fired
while he tried to save a few hundred thousand, he sacrificed winning at the football program
from the horse’s mouth…that being Pitt recruit and WPIAL stud (the right kind, with speed) Desimon Green
“I want to go down there with my mom, so she can meet the new staff and see what it’s all about,” explained Green.”If Pitt would have just hired these guys before, instead of (Mike) Haywood I never would have looked around and we would have kept the class together.”
That being said, he has done an excellent job of hitting the recruiting trail fast and trying to put together a class for next year. His enthusiasm and passion are infectious and the current players have already bought in, which will go along way in swaying some recruits.
