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August 19, 2013

There was an article on another graduate assistant. He isn’t listed in the media guide so I didn’t notice the addition of Taylor Mehlhaff as a Special Teams Graduate Assistant.

Mehlhaff was a very, very good kicker for Wisconsin. Briefly got some time in the NFL before the Saints cut him before their Superbowl run.

“He was a guy that I admired and respected a lot when he was playing, just the mental toughness that he had,” Chryst said of Mehlhaff. “It’s great having him around. He’s a sharp guy, he brings good energy.”

“When [Chryst] found out I was looking to go somewhere, I think he was pretty excited to get me here,” Mehlhaff said. “I had a couple opportunities to go to some other places, and I felt good about this. With the group of guys that I know here, it’s more of a family-type feel. It’s a close-knit group.”

Now Mehlhaff is on the Pitt staff as a special teams graduate assistant. He is assisting in a variety of special teams areas, but his focus is on working directly with the kickers and punters. That’s particularly helpful for Pitt, since the Panthers will have two scholarship specialists on the roster this season in kicker Chris Blewitt and punter Ryan Winslow.

It’s a perfect role for Mehlhaff and one Pitt can benefit from.

“In a lot of places, that’s a neglected position, and Taylor has really, really good knowledge of the kicking part,” Chryst said.

The one thing missing from the story is that Mehlhaff’s brief time in New Orleans paid off in other ways. He is engaged to a former Saints Cheerleader (and 2012 Miss Louisiana, 4th runner-up).

 





So a Cheesehead and a Cajun Hottie walk into a bar…… More family hires by Chryst. Someone tell him we need coaches and people with connections to the Southeast. Not Canada and the Great White North.

Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 9:39 am

We need great special teams, Tags is gone, who will make the big plays. I hope this guy can coach.

Comment by gc 08.19.13 @ 10:21 am

“More family hires by Chryst.”
Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 9:39 am

I don’t know if it’s a big deal yet, but that is exactly what I was thinking reading this.

Big ups to Mehlhaff though. A kicker with that last name pulls of a bomb shell, smoke show fiance? He’s doing something right, and definitely winning.

Comment by BostonsCommon 08.19.13 @ 10:38 am

Hey upittbaseball…a former saints cheerleader is a pretty good connection if you ask me

Comment by Atlanta Panther 08.19.13 @ 11:05 am

Boston – I married one as well. Louisiana has beautiful woman, great food. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful woman in and around Baton Rouge. You just need a truck, a LSU Flag, boots, a good job and they are sold. LOL.

We really need someone with a tie to South Florida. WVU has it in the old QB Seiler…Who recruits great in South Fla.

Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 11:09 am

He’s no Blewitt.

Comment by PittofDreams 08.19.13 @ 11:13 am

ATL Panther – I agree!!! He obviously can sell! Maybe Chryst will learn some closing techniques.

Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 11:14 am

I’ve seen a bit of hand wringing over this before. What is the worry with Chryst making “family hires”? That he is surrounding himself with people that will do nothing but agree with him? I can see the danger in that. But how do we know that is, or even would be the case?

Or is the thought that not enough outside ideas will be filtering in? Chryst seems pretty set on his philosophy. I think he is going to win or lose with it regardless of whether there are outside influences on his staff or not.

If it is just a matter of wanting a coach that will recruit a specific region, that is a different argument that has nothing to do with making family hires.

Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 11:37 am

Comment by wbb 08.19.13 @ 11:40 am

@Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 11:37 am

It should be about hiring the best person for the job. Not the best person that Chryst has worked with in the past.

Comment by BostonsCommon 08.19.13 @ 11:41 am

Okay — don’t disagree with that. But there are a lot of factors that go into making someone “the best person for the job”. That is a pretty vague statement. Just because Chryst knows them knocks them down a peg somehow?

Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 11:47 am

49ers seem to like the ex-Pitt players.

Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 11:49 am

…. or tall, talented discontented WRs (Randy Moss)

Comment by wbb 08.19.13 @ 11:53 am

@Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 11:47 am

I’m trying to refrain from using too much hyperbole, but when you limit the pool of potential candidates to “only someone Chryst has an established relationship with”, you’re basically disqualifying the entire industry of football, sans Wisconsin, Oregon State, the San Diego Charges, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and anyone Jeep might speak highly of.

Comment by BostonsCommon 08.19.13 @ 11:55 am

I don’t know. Maybe Chryst is more concerned right now with getting the right guy to help a young kicker acclimate to kicking in Division 1 than he is having a kicking assistant help with recruiting.

If Blewitt turns out to be solid… Melhaff will certainly deserve some of the credit and Chryst for bringing him in.

Comment by PittofDreams 08.19.13 @ 12:07 pm

I agree Boston 100%. The best coaches want challenged on all fronts. Chryst reminds me of a my way, don’t challenge me dictator. Just the way I see it. So far in year #1 he earned a D in my book. Here comes year #2. We shall see.

Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 12:09 pm

I think you guys are also discounting the culture change aspect. It’s inportant, and Chryst is doing well to bring in guys who know it.

Comment by Atlanta Panther 08.19.13 @ 12:11 pm

Melhaff better add more value than helping a kicker. Is Blewit even the starting K?

Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 12:11 pm

For the most ardent Pitt fans, a chance to give Ashlyn and Taylor a real Panther welcome.

WARNING! Clicking could prove costly!!!

link to crateandbarrel.com

Comment by PittofDreams 08.19.13 @ 12:13 pm

You don’t see many trades in the NFL. Looks like Baldwin hasn’t changed. Huge potential no consistency.

Comment by gc 08.19.13 @ 12:18 pm

While most coaches will hire thru his network and within his comfort zone, he still would go outside if a real qualified candidate was available.

Just 2 recent examples: I have no idea what connection Jeff Hafley had to Pitt, and Ron Gattuso, although local, was a PSU grad and a Duquesne coach. These 2 turned out to be pretty good finds.

But, just like we have to give 2-3 years to see how some of these commits develop, same goes for these coaches.

Comment by wbb 08.19.13 @ 12:35 pm

“…but when you limit the pool of potential candidates to ‘only someone Chryst has an established relationship with’, you’re basically disqualifying the entire industry of football, sans Wisconsin, Oregon State, the San Diego Charges, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and anyone Jeep might speak highly of.”

Again — just because Paul Chryst knows them somehow makes them a less qualified coach? That is what I am gathering from your argument. There’s got to be more to it than that.

Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 12:36 pm

Again — just because Paul Chryst knows them somehow makes them a less qualified coach? That is what I am gathering from your argument. There’s got to be more to it than that.

@Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 12:36 pm

I didn’t say, or even imply, that having a previous relationship with Chryst makes anyone less qualified. It’s just ridiculous to make that a prerequisite to coach at Pitt.

To say, “I don’t care who you are, or what you prior experience is, or how qualified you are, if I don’t know you, or haven’t worked with you, you are not going to coach here.”

That’s just so incredibly arrogant and irresponsible and reckless and naive. And for the record, I never even said that that is the policy. It’s just a little curious so far, and something to pay attention to.

Comment by BostonsCommon 08.19.13 @ 12:56 pm

JCE, I think the whole thing hinged on the hiring of Matt House as DC, not to mention that everyone on the staff has Wis ties except for the WR coach (forgot his name) who has Jeep Chryst ties … but a pretty good hire I must say.

I believe Chas wrote a blog back in January (or so) that identified a large handful of qualified DC candidates … some more than others, and a few that even had Wisc ties (Todd Orlando.) I’m not sure if Matt House, who has just a couple of years in as a defensive asst was even listed.

PC’s main criteria seems to be someone he knows well … which is usually not the best criterion.

Comment by wbb 08.19.13 @ 12:57 pm

Actually, BostonCommons, you pretty much did imply that. Neither here nor there though. I get where you and everyone else is coming from. I was just trying to see if there was anything deeper than just a general unease about too many “family hires”. I have questions about Matt House too. But I am not a football coach, nor do I know Matt House from anyone. Chryst is and does. Hopefully come the end of the season we are all wondering what all the fuss was about.

Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 5:32 pm

Seriously, you gripers know little about the football faternity. MOST head coaches hire coaches they know. That is NORMAL hiring practice. I, for one, am getting tired of you bashers making mountains out of mole hills. Please find something more productive to do

Comment by pittman4ever 08.19.13 @ 7:53 pm

“Actually, BostonCommons, you pretty much did imply that.”
@Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 5:32 pm

That wasn’t my intention. It’s just bad business practice to only higher people inside you existing network of contacts. If he’s only going to hire people he knows, than he’s not even considering hundreds, or even thousands, of other coaches who may be more qualified. And that’s bad business, it’s just not a smart way to run any organization. He should be looking for the best coaches, and if one happens to be from outside of his network, then it’s his responsibility to pick up the phone and make some calls and find out what kind of guy he is.

It’s probably a bad example, but maybe Bud Foster from Va Tech was sick of Beamer and wanted something new, so he reached out in a call to Pedersen to see about the vacant DC position. If Chryst were to just summarily dismiss Foster because he doesn’t know him and never worked with him, and promote House instead… Then that’s just not smart. I know it’s not a great example, because Foster would never do that. But that’s kind of the point I wanted to make. It has nothing to do with Chryst’s network of contacts being less qualified because they know Chryst. It’s about him potentially ignoring more qualified people simply because he doesn’t know them.

Comment by BostonsCommon 08.19.13 @ 9:06 pm

There is much to be said for returning to Oakland.I get teed off every time I go to the North Side and see another construction site gobble up more parking spaces and garage fees go up while I at times have to park over town near the Benedum and walk 5 miles (at 75 and post coronary). I never had that kind of walk in Oakland and never had trouble with traffic like you do getting out of the NORTH SIDE. Screwup 0ne.Pitt stadium was built in 1927 to have a second tier added later . The total capacity with the top tier, 90k. Peder pooped that advantage away For the PETE. Screwup Two . The year Majors returned to Pitt I was at camp at Pitt Johnstown. got to talking to the Pitt Facility manager who was ecstatic about Johns return and the planned construction of the new stadium in Panther Hollow which he went into great detail about.PD came into the picture later. The new stadium was burried when the state said Roonies get our money Pitt share.Soooo I just gave up my season tickets (because with the North Side today one game a year is all I can handle).Ilove my Panthers but the stadium is more screwed up than the past coaching debacles.

Comment by Lawrence garman 08.19.13 @ 9:31 pm

If Mehlhaff was a paid coach I could be frustrated by yet another Wisky hire, but not gonna get my knickers in a twist about a special teams grad asst. To that I say…Neat.

Comment by Iron Duke 08.19.13 @ 10:52 pm

Yikes – as Pittman says above every HC does this. DW was famous for it.

Much ado about nothing and people are overlooking the fact that our special teams have been pretty bad over the last few years.

Chryst is changing that by giving kicking scholarships and now a GA to focus those players. And yes, Blewitt is the #1 kicker and doing very well so far in camp – he’s got a big and accurate leg.

Good job IMO.

Comment by Reed 08.20.13 @ 8:35 am

As a frosh, big lights and on tv with a national audience makes the heart beat a little faster than summer camp with shorts. I hope he is up for the challenge. God knows in 2 months Heinz Field’s surface will be a disaster.

Comment by Upittbaseball 08.20.13 @ 8:52 am

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