I’m drafting an ‘end of the season’ piece that I’ll post in the next couple days but here are some thoughts on the “news” Zeise writes about today in the P-G.
There is nothing out of the ordinary when you have division and complaint after a major coaching staff change. I wrote back in April that in spring practices it looked to me like there was across the board ‘buy-in’ from the players on roster. The players I watched were all excited and active in going about their practices and drills and the ones I talked to were very upbeat and looking forward to the season. I think that’s pretty much true today also, with some exceptions.
Playing .500 ball during the season didn’t help smooth the transition between a new coaching staff and the new styles of play as much as a winning season would. Graham pumped these kids up with some pretty high expectations and those dreams of a big season for the seniors not only didn’t happen but it became pretty obvious early on that it wasn’t going to. Coming back down into reality means there are hard landings sometimes. That probably skewed some upperclassmen’s opinions.
One thing we fans have to realize is that all the romantic visions of players and staff linking arms and singing Kumbaya just never happens no matter how much fans want it to.
It’s obvious that a few players didn’t like the firing of Dave Wannstedt and have let that influence their senior seasons. Nix is one I believe and that may be the reason he hesitated on getting back in the lineup. I don’t think it was any coincidence that he felt better and played the last two games of the season, one of which was the holiday national broadcast of the Brawl. He had to show the NFL scouts that his injury wasn’t chronic before draft day and he couldn’t take a chance that he’d be able to do that in a bowl game… as PITT certainly wasn’t guaranteed to land in one.
Nix has admitted that he “didn’t like some things” in the new program. Ok, that’s not hard to believe either as he spent three years playing and practicing one way only to have it change overnight. That would make me a bit skeptical of the new also. On the other hand a star senior, Chas Alecxih, has said that he very much appreciates Todd Graham. These players are young men and with that they are going to have their own opinions about things, especially things that directly impact them. So I’d expect some divisive behaviors after what PITT went through over the last year. If that didn’t happen I’d be shocked as hell.
Obviously Sunseri hasn’t been happy as his demeanor and his silly ass tweet have shown. The same thing happened during the Harris/Wannstedt turnover when Tyler Palko led a contingent of players protesting the firing of Harris. Palko was very vocal back then and one of the reason was that he knew that he was going from the centerpiece of the offense to a ‘game manager’ under DW – and that is what happened. DW changed Palko from being a gun slinging Heisman hopeful to a typical QB. Graham’s hire took away Sunseri’s security blanket. Both of those actions made the QBs very uncomfortable.
One significant factor in this is that DW was very much a player’s coach meaning that he was buddy-buddy with the players rather than a strong authority figure. Graham is pretty much the opposite. He was hired and came to PITT being asked to not only win football games but also to follow the administration’s clear mandate that the culture of the program had to change. Change isn’t always easy for the staff, the players or anyone else it happens to.
There’s nothing like stricter standards and accountability to put established players off either. Graham’s first two public shows of discipline were ensuring Fernando Diaz wouldn’t be back on the team in March and then he avoided depth chart justice by suspending his #2 QB, Anthony Gonzalez in May for two games. That was a huge message to the players as he had no real #3 QB as yet.
Remember this about that Diaz incident?
A man who said he played football with Diaz told him to “shut his mouth” and accept the citation for being publicly drunk, cautioning him that former Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt was not there anymore and new coach Todd Graham would make an example of him.
Throw expelling LB Kevin Adams in there and those three actions had to raise some eyebrows in the locker room.
When you couple that with the way the season played out on the field, especially when all but one player played well enough to win the majority of the games, that also creates tension in the locker room. An easy outlet for that tension is to direct it upwards toward new staff and away from your teammates. Although I’m sure Tino Sunseri has heard an earful from the upperclassmen also.
This is year one of the Graham reign and we’ll see less and less differing opinions as both he and the players get more experienced together. Graham has already started the turnover from DW’s players to his own by playing 12 true freshman and transfers this season and, as with any new coach, that will continue and increase as the years go on.
I will say this. Regardless of what kind of divisions or disappointment there may or may not be in the locker room, those kids seem to have given Graham 100% effort out on the field. I didn’t see any quit in anyone – poor play at times, yes – but IMO that wasn’t attitudinal.
But I’d disregard those message board posts that there was some sort of major physical confrontation after the three departing coaches informed the players they were leaving. Zeise has discounted them and he has access to timely info about the program. I’m sure there were some highly spirited discussions with a few F-bombs launched between the players recruited and those who recruited them but again, that isn’t unexpected as the players in question felt jobbed and mislead by the coaches who are leaving.
One thing to remember about reading the PITT football message boards is this; everyone on there has their own opinion about things and there are a lot of rumors posted to advance agendas. We have seen that all year especially since Wannstedt was fired and Graham replaced him.
Some PITT fans just can’t get over the fact that Dave Wannstedt was let go and it’s not hard to understand that some players might feel that way also.
A lot of the chatter on there now about how the new hiring process is or is not going well is just that, fans who want to cast a certain light on the situation. No one but the PITT staff and admin know what is happening on the hiring front and if they are smart at all they will not rush these hires but take the time they need to do it correctly. This year’s recruiting season is almost over and won’t be impacted too much by the departures so the emphasis has to be on good, solid assistants who can both coach the players up and also recruit new ones. There is no immediate need to run out and get someone just to fill an open spot as soon as possible.
Tony – I read the worried comments from FRANKCAN on yesterday’s Blather post and then wrote the above. But I reference Zeise a lot as he has good insights into the program.
Most of what I write is opinions and inferences based on media accounts mixed with some fist hand observations of practices and games and eavesdropping of press box conversations. Zeise certainly has way more factual info and access to program personnel than I do, that’s for sure.
“Notable” is a good word to use rather than “major” when describing what might be happening inside the program. The players and staff may be fighting like cats and dogs but I highly doubt it. Although I know that did happen toward the end of last season.
As to Graham leaving: See my reference to message board rumors above.
H2P!
Having said that…. Graham needs to deliver wins in 2013(Year 3). I’m talking 11 wins and BCS birth. A 8 win season with a crappy Decmber bowl won’t cut it. He is paid too much money and the fan base is too morose to suffer through another mediocre regime.
If he gets us to an 11 win/BCS caliber team, he can go anywhere he wants for all I care. By that point, there will be someone that is talented enough to take over it once it is built.
I have no sources close to the team. I am just a fan and I read this blog, as well as many others, because I love Pitt football. In my opinion this team played very hard all year. I love that. I personally don’t think the team always played hard last year. In my opinion there were numerous times were it looked like they folded, stopped giving max effort. Of course with a coaching change there are going to be differences of opinion and levels of uncertainty. We might now have always got the result we wanted on the field this year but the players and coaches brought it every week. Good things are coming for this team.
Also, when would any JUCO players be enrolled at PITT?
does anyone know if theres any merit to the rumor that tino is considering a transfer? i say this as both a pitt fan and a decent person, pitt is not the place for tino. 1) he just cant run this offense the way it needs to be run and 2) when you, tino, are being booed by THE STUDENT SECTION fior just COMING ONTO THE FIELD, you have to realize that starting over isnt a bad idea. at first i thoughtthat tinos lack of success was just his incapability to run the system, but after the tweet and other atrticles ive read on various sites it seems to me that tino has been going through the motions and has a horrible attitude. i feel bad for him, but i truly thinks he needs a fresh start at a place that will be glad to have him, and fcs school or very low d1 schoo.
Those players who buy into the change will adapt those who don’t will leave the program or not play. Graham over the next few years will recruit players who fit into his system.
During the 1st year of the Wanny regime he inherited a BCS team with an experienced QB, they proceeded to finish at 5-6 with blowout losses to ND, Louisville, WVU and let’s not forget that loss to Ohio U (go back and look up the posts from this game in the archives)!
It took Wanny 3 seasons just to get Pitt back into a bowl game, 3 years!
Now, say what you want about Graham but remember if this team had a “decent” QB they could be easily 8-4 right now and we still post that he should have coached up Tino or put in Myers?
I think Sunseri has reached and shown his potential and just frankly doesn’t have the God given physical talents required to be even a marginal D1 QB in any system.
Regarding Myers, do you think the coaching staff is that clueless? If Myers could help this team win he would play immediately, because the bottom line is to win.
If Wanny would have won more games this discussion would be a moot point.
Support the coach, root for this team and go to the bowl game!
If a car can not run, parts need to be replaced. There is no need in keeping the old parts.
You cant get the kind of change we were looking for with the status quo.
Todd Graham was hired to make changes to a sputtering football program. Throw out the old parts. This needs to be done to improve the football program.
The sooner the “Wanny was our guy” recruits graduate, the better. I was one of those who thought Wanny’s hire was an excellent idea but after last year’s season, I could not longer defend him. With his recent comments, I am even more disappointed in him.
Sal sent us the wrong son.
“Coach Ditka” must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning to be this pessimistic. “pk” is much more realistic to what really happened this year. This season COULD have been a frickin debacle. Come on, get real Ditka! The facts are, we go into the UCONN game with our backs to the wall already staring at a losing record with the last two games being bad losses AND we lose our premier player on the team early in that game.
The team responds by not only winning that game but goes on to fight back to .500, WHILE letting both Cincy and WVU out of the bag in the fourth Q in those games. They could have easily been wins if the Offense/QB had taken care of business. That happens and all of a sudden TG accomplishes his goal of winning the BE championship.
Does this team have issues? For sure but they are all correctable. As Reed has blogged, this team played hard all season and NEVER quit. They did this while the most important positon in the offense demonstrated obvious limitations to implimenting the systems TG was attempting to install. They also took heavy body blows, one after the another with key starters going down week after week.
This last game against Syracuse, we had so many players out, that we were playing true freshman and new recrits all over the field, . That test by fire of so many of our young players seeing playing time now will show up next year with improved early performance and will enhance our depth chart as well.
Coaches come and go. TG has an opportunity here when considering who he wants for replacements. Getting some guys with previous ties to the ACC might be an option since we now know that is where Pitt’s future lies. This could end up as a benefit to recruiting longterm.
If we finda QB that fits TG system and who is a fast learner (Voytik?), we get Jacobson back for a 6th year, Ricketts works out on the offensive line and if Ray Graham heals up from his ACL injury in time for the 2012 season and I say our future looks pretty damn rosey. And I haven’t even mentioned Rushel Shell in all of this.
I quess I’m just a glass half full kind of guy, but thats the way I see it. And as always HTP!
it was his staff the 3 proven winers from dick rods staff they had been big time coachs at WVU all most a national title till the 13 to 9 game.
they ran a good offense at mich.
TG had two great offensive coorinators at tulsa and mcgee from dickrods staff so i will worry untill he replaces thoes coachs with big time asst agein and if you go to outher sites you will see that the good coachs are takeing new jobs left and right just not here.
he does not have all the time in the world as some of you think.
frankcan. i dont think a big name is necessary. like ive said in previous posts, tg has been great at finding high quality assistants even if they havnt been high profile. his assistant hires at tulsa would lead me to believe he knows where to find quality coaches
Recruiting will take care of itself – who is doing the actually face to face recruiting is important but falls distantly in place behind who the Head Coach is, The University itself and the prospect of playing time. None of those three issues are affected by who actually makes the contacts.
To be honest I’m not even reading much about it and I’m certainly not worried about it as these things have a way of working out. Sometimes the guys you first have on staff are not the best fits anyway… Didn’t losing Cavanaugh to the NFL work out OK. Rhodes went to Iowa State and Phil Bennett came in and had great defenses. These things happen.
Those issues that Coach Ditka lists are true, those are happening. But the fact that even with all those negatives, Graham coached this team to six wins and a bowl game tells me that the future is going to be productive and fun. I’ll tell you right now, and I firmly believe this, had DW had this same team with those same injuries he wouldn’t have won five games… probably even less. Think 2007 without McCoy. He would have panicked and the team would have been infected by it – just like we saw happen in all those big games losses while he coached. Hell, he had eight NFL players starting last season and didn’t have those major injuries and still only won one more game than Graham did.
Think about that for a second. We lost Lewis, Baldwin, Hynoski, Sheard, DeCicco, Berry, Pinkston and Romeus (who could have petitioned for another year) and throw in TE starter Mike Cruz… that’s what we had to replace and we lost one more game than in 2010.
Graham on the other hand played new kids in the appropriate positions, even sitting down established starters to do so sometimes, and got production out of them. That is good coaching.
You have to understand that the PITT administration knew there would be growing pains and an adjustment period with any new hire, but especially one where there was going to be a dramatic change both on the field in how they play ball but off the field with discipline and accountability.
PITT went through a hell of a lot of negative stuff that wasn’t in any way under Graham’s control – the fire, hire, fire situation with DW and Haywood and the serious injuries to key positions are two of them. Do we fans realize just how badly that put Graham behind the eight ball this season? Still, not only were we in every single game but one up until the final gun but we made a bowl and his recruiting has been great through out.
That last point can’t be overemphasized – these recruits and thier parents see much deeper into the program than us fans do and they all talk with each other constantly. There is no way to hide any warts the team and staff may have from them – and in our case everything is still very attractive to them.
That’s a heavy positive in my mind.
Losing assistants to a higher paying job and to go back with someone they all had a great successful history with isn’t hard to understand. I’m not surprised they jumped at that chance at all.
As to the divisions in the locker room… IMO and as I wrote above it is minor and to be expected unless, as a fan, you have a poster of PITT football on your wall right next to the one of My Favorite Pony because you are in dreamland if you don’t think this kind of thing happens with each and every head coaching change through out the history of college football.
The sky really isn’t falling Chicken Little, just a few clouds passing overhead in an otherwise bright day.
Well put – while a lot of people may be disappointed at a 6-6 record (soon to be 7-6) TG did a good job. Give the man some credit and get on his bandwagon before it gets full!
because if you go to the web and look youwill see that all the good ones that run the spread have got new jobs all ready.
becuse AZ AZ STATE ohio state mississippi washington illni and outhers all are hireing new staffs so they are grabing the big name coordinators up as fast as they can so unless he has one hid some were we will get the left over unless he goes withe the one he has on staff and i dont think that would be smart he was the co last year and has proved nothing.
You’re the exact fan that was described above. Overreacting to everything.
Team unity? Taken care of as soon as Graham has his players in place – slowly started to happen throughout the season.
Coaching Carousel? As long as the Head Coach stays, who cares?
No QB? He inherited the group and Gonzalez got himself suspended before the season. Plus, he has a top QB recruit coming in next year.
Serious injuries to key players? Really? Every team in the country deals with injuries…the only way to cover this is recruiting.
Can’t adapt to new system? He’s had one freakin’ year.
Coaching blunders? Every coach makes mistakes and I didn’t see any to be concerned about in the future.
Transfers? Who have they lost of significants? and they don’t compare to the players who transferred in.
Losing games? They lost one more game than Wanny did in his 6th year as the coach.
Be realistic.
Comment by Reed 12.08.11 @ 5:34 pm
That crew you listed were saddled with the same thing this years crew were saddled with,
Tino-itis. Neither team either from 2010 or 2011 beat anyone that was more than a middling team itself. Last year’s best win was against a .500 Kentucky team and this year’s was against a 7-5 Louisville team.
It’s not a coincidence that Sunseri’s best games were against dreadful teams, Syracuse (twice), Uconn (2011) and Rutgers (2010). Rutgers was much better this year at 8-4 and Sunseri was of course terrible. Which is why he’ll probably have a good game against SMU’s dreadful defense.
Although June Jones is staying at SMU now since Az. State withdrew their HC offer to him.
If McGee was calling the plays, he can leave.
Oh he left already…….thanks good luck.
We have an OC, one being Mike Norvell.
And what’s the big deal we lost a Tight Ends coach and the DB’s coach. That guy already got the DB’s to transfer to Pitt, so thanks to you too. Have fun in Tuscon, which btw the way is not anything close to Scottsdale or Phoenix.
Don’t remember seeing Tuscon listed anywhere on Best Cities to live list from ANY source. Where as someplace special, Pittsburgh is always listed and frequently in the Top 5, if not numero uno.
If you’re worried, chill, pour a strong one or take a pill. Relax….be happy !
I’ll admit I thought that with Ray Graham being our RB, and Sunseri in his second year, that we’d get more offense and more wins. I figured 7-5 or 8-4 at the tops so that’s why, in light of the injuries we sustained, I’m not too disappointed.
Being right in those losses until the end also made me think that this team had some fight in them. To me that all bodes well for 2012.
The bottom line for me is that I think fans expected way too much this first year and in a sense I can’t blame them as they were listening to the HC expound on how good our offense was going to be. i do think that Graham himself believed that based on Sunseri ‘s and the rest of the offense’s play in the camp.
As I said before the difference between what Sunseri showed in the preseason practices and scrimmages was about 180 degrees different then what we actually got from him once the season started.
Turner Gill got the hook AFTER ONLY 2 years of a 5 year $10 Million dollar contract.
The Jayhawks are on the hook for $6 Million.
These coaching gigs have become pretty lucrative, even if you stink!
Comment by Reed 12.08.11 @ 9:37 pm
Well, having never seen Sir Tino practice or scrimmage, we’ll have to take your word for that.
Of course Zeise-o over at the PG writes the same thing. I did watch the Blue-Gold game on the NFL network in 2010 and I was not impressed with Sunseri from Day 1. He did nothing in that game to warrant being ‘gift-wrapped’ the starting job.
Other than the fact his last name was Sunseri.
And DW’s comments the other day, verified that was the overriding factor in his coronation of Sonny boy.
but mike norvell as oc he is TG frend that is how come he has the job you dont know that he is any good he was not oc at tulsa and mcgee was a top oc .
norvell is not a proven oc . and with recruting comeing up we need the new coachs .
i like to side with you as mutch as i can but at this time of year and with a new system we dont need to be changing coachs after the second clasds or forth not such a big deal but i think it is now a big deal.
i wonder how many times a coach can find lighting in that bottle. i just think this was a bad time for change 2 or 3 years in is one thing this was to soon and i think you ae all blowing it off to liteley.
When the coaching staff errs, and continues to play cancer (TS), the team becomes disjointed (like a polammalu shoulder)and doubts creep in. I really think that is why we witnessed Shanahan boxing the ball instead of catching it. The receivers didn’t run patterns full tilt because they had no confidence that a pass, if thrown their direction would be on time or accurate. Next year Shanahan will be an Hback if he wants to have any professional aspirations.
I think Pitt is going someplace special and that is not to BBVA. They are headed to the ACC and need to hit their stride with a seasoned coach in tow when they finally begin action. TG’s mistakes are correctable. The only ones he made more than once was starting Tino. Don’t give me all this bullshevek that Tino was our best option to win. Cancer is never the best option in any organization. There are two ways to handle cancer. You manage it or remove it. Managing it failed. Now TG, make a plan and execute it. Remove the cancer, be decisive about it and start rehabbing the psyche’s of the players. Voytik, Myers, Gonzo, Anderson, step-up fellers. Listen to the real man across the training facility who is not 40. Next man up! It’s your opportunity. Do with it what you will as this will start to define who you are as a person. Carpe ACC!
