Reed and Justin with their usual thorough postings have sucked all the oxygen from the room (primarily Reed, this week but every week brings something different from both of them). Oddly enough, I think I’m glad Reed hasn’t gotten a Twitter account or I wouldn’t have anything to say at anytime. Time to hit the links and final thoughts that I may have.
Maybe it is teams from Miami. I don’t know, but that first quarter gave me odd flashbacks to the Miami-Pitt game last year. Where Pitt looked completely unprepared and the Hurricanes jumped all over Pitt. The Panthers tried to recover in that game, but never was able to dig out of the hole in which they put themselves.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday. Obviously there was a significant talent difference, but I like to think that this team is a little different in attitude. With all the talk of how the team is taking on part of Head Coach Paul Chryst’s personality, the even keel probably came through as Pitt did not try to go for the homerun plays on offense or defense. They refocused, and did what they should have done from the very beginning.
FIU made news at the beginning of the season by refusing to credential David Neal of the Miami Herald. No actual explanation was given other than a vague statement of “concerns” with Neal’s professionalism. This was met with national ridicule and much media venom as FIU was cutting off their nose to spite their face in refusing to credential the only beat writer they had. FIU relented after a week — still without any explanation.
The real issue seemed to be much simpler. Neal was honest. He was honest about the performance of the team, their problems and their attendance. The latter apparently was very much a sore spot for FIU AD Pete Garcia who did not like Neal pointing out the obvious difference between the “official” attendance versus the reality. If anything, they now have a beat writer who can really have fun with being honest.
Overall, what we knew probably would happen did happen. Still, FIU hung in with Pitt as well as Boston College did. Boston College beat USC Saturday night. The point isn’t that FIU can beat Boston College (maybe) or USC (no). But FIU spent a good chunk of a game playing on a higher level than they’ve previously shown in the last two years, similar to Alabama-Birmingham last week against Mississippi State. They didn’t look like a team marching to another 1-11. Next week’s opponent, Louisville, lost Saturday to Virginia, an ACC team with a 10-game losing streak to FBS teams going into this weekend.
Despite the near inevitability of the outcome, this Safety Saturday still left much to discuss.
Though, this may have been my favorite part. In talking about FIU had decided before the game that both of their QBs would see action at certain points — which FIU did to its detriment in the first half.
Sometimes, Turner’s classic Football Coach. Coaches love to stick with their plans. Game plans, personnel plans, pregame meal plans, vacation plans, plans for where the kid will go to college. There’s a time to treat those plans like God’s lightning etched them in stone on Mount John McKay.
That time is “never.”
Locking into a plan, failing to deviate regardless of the situation and circumstances. The system is fine, it’s reality that is the problem. Can’t help but think of a former Pitt coach who would hate this kind of criticism.
Not that Pitt didn’t have an odd substitution at QB, but that was more about deciding to send a message to the starting QB than a planned moment.
“I just wanted Chad to take a step back and see things from a different vantage point,” Chryst said. “Not to make the game too big.
“I just wanted him to catch a breath.”
Chryst also said it was an opportunity to give Anderson, a junior who hasn’t played much in the past three seasons, some work.
“Get one guy some work and let the other guy step back and see it’s still a game,” he said.
The offensive players were willing to take the blame for the problems in the first half.
Trailing, 16-0, Pitt marched 66 yards on 11 plays to set up first-and-goal from the 9. Conner took the ball up the middle, and as he fought for extra yards had the ball ripped away by FIU cornerback Richard Leonard for another turnover.
“At halftime, I stood up in front of the whole team and said I take blame for this,” Conner said.
And…
“We expected to come out and take them out early,” Voytik said. “That was our plan, that’s what you want to do against any team that you’re favored [against]. You want to come out and show no doubt. I think a lot of guys expected that to happen, just expected it, didn’t really take the steps to get to that point.”
Voytik, too, said he walked up and down the sideline at the end of the first quarter to try to keep his teammates’ heads in the game. And while the beginning of the game certainly was not pretty, Voytik and Conner emphasized that they were happy with how the team responded after falling behind.
“We started slow, but we finished strong,” Conner said. “That’s what it’s about, finishing strong.”
The secondary, though, also struggled. Some of that is simply the cost of being much more aggressive. You risk letting receivers get behind you more if you are going to try and jump the routes and play tighter man-to-man. That happened a few times. It cost Pitt on a big play and nearly cost them a few more times. That said, I prefer aggressiveness by the secondary to soft coverage and conceding chunks of yardage out of fear of giving up the big play. Reggie Mitchell — who was really burned once — also had three pass break-ups and leads the team.
I realize that Pitt does not have Clemson and FSU in their division, but to compare the rest of the Coastal to the Big East that Pitt left is just not particularly intelligent. There are reasons to think Pitt can have a really good run in the ACC, but it won’t be simply because the rest of the division is weak. There isn’t a lot of difference between the top to bottom of the Coastal. That is an opportunity for Pitt, but it’s also one for every other team.
Now for Dave Wannstedt.
/sigh
I hate. HATE having to rehash this shit. But considering the comments it has generated, I don’t see any way to avoid it. I waited a few days because I wanted to think carefully about this.
I realize if you don’t despise Steve Pederson you are considered a defender of him. I like to think I’ve made it clear I don’t think Pederson is a particularly good AD. I also don’t think he is the devil and the worst thing that has ever happened to Pitt Athletics. Which for that reason, makes me a defender of him.
Dave Wannstedt has a different POV. Of course he was fired by Pederson, so he has some biases of his own. He hasn’t hidden that he holds a grudge. He basically called his shot before the season started, and got his one opportunity at halftime on Saturday to take it.
On it’s face, there should be nothing there with which to disagree as a general statement. Yes the “contending for conference championships” comment was self-serving, but hey I’m sure Walt Harris felt the same way about Wannstedt’s first few years. It’s that one glaring question. Is anyone even suggesting that the AD isn’t on the “same page” or not letting “Paul run his program?”
Hell, up until the point he was fired, I would love to know how Wannstedt believes he wasn’t supported by the AD? What resources was he denied?
Answer: this has nothing to do with Chryst. This has nothing to do with Pederson. This is all about Wannstedt.
It’s not like the AD acts with pure autonomy. Especially when it comes to firing the football coach — doubly so when there is money owed on the contract. He didn’t get fired without the full support of the Pitt administration. Not the AD acting on his own.
But Wannstedt has always been a much cannier political player than people give him credit. He lasted in the NFL as a head coach at Chicago and Miami longer than a coach with diminishing returns should, because he knew to get close to the owners, more than the front office. Make it harder to be fired. Make the relationship personal. Make the money want to believe it was just some bad breaks or that things were close to being turned around. At least until it couldn’t be ignored any longer and everyone else — fans, media, front office, paying customers — had turned on him.
He did the same at Pitt with Chancellor Nordenberg and other people in power at Pitt. Wannstedt was and is savvy enough not to burn the bigger bridges. But Pederson. Pederson is different, so he can be the focus for Wannstedt’s ire. Not to mention an easy target.
Wannstedt didn’t see his firing coming four years ago. He still doesn’t understand that it wasn’t about some personal conflict with Pederson. It was not a betrayal.
It had to do with his overall record. It had to do with the way he lost so much overall fan support — and attendance that would follow. It had to do with the off-the-field incidents that were spiking. So many whiffs on recruiting. (Outside of CBs Kyshoen Jarrett and Terrell Chestnut, I’m not exactly weeping any longer over that 2010 recruiting class. Just picture the duo of QB Gary Nova and RB Bill Belton and cringe.) All the things that were ostensibly under Wannstedt’s control.
Wannstedt has acted like he was owed loyalty by Pitt to the same level that Joe Paterno had at PSU, or Don Nehlan at WVU, or even Lloyd Carr at Michigan. Not because of what he actually accomplished as the coach at Pitt — unlike what those coaches did — but simply because he was a Pitt guy and from Pittsburgh coaching Pitt. And in the end, even those coaches were forced out. Paterno for the scandal, but Nehlan and Carr because they just stopped winning enough. Regardless of their history and status.
What is really sad, is that this is the sort of crap that is just divisive enough for fans. All for the same school that Wannstedt professes to love. He is not the embodiment of Pitt. He was a part of Pitt. I hope someday he can be part of Pitt once more. Right now he is just a man with a grudge that he has put first.
This is a non issue.
PC made it quite clear he has had all the support he needs.
I respect DW for his loyalty to Pitt however his verbal shot
at SP was classless. In addition by creating controversy with
his comments he drags Pitt into the discussion just when
we are beginning to forget the nightmare of multiple coaching
changes. Be a big boy Dave….you got paid….you are gainfully
employed….get on with life!
Nicely said Chas. As in any firing there was more than met the eye with Wannstedt’s removal.
What got me about the remarks, aside from the foolishness of doing it publicly, was that they were completely unnecessary and – as Chad said – 100% self serving.
There is a reason that DW won’t now comment publicly about his outburst and that is because the Fox people probably have told him “Keep your damn mouth shut and only talk about football”. After talking with my non-PITT fan friends over the last three days I haven’t heard one guy say that they liked or agreed with what he did and said, except that it was shocking to some and one guy said it made PITT look foolish.
I think you really have to be a die hard PITT fan to defend what he did and that’s OK – everyone sees things differently.
BTW – how do you guys think the new Chancellor thinks after those halftime remarks? He was kinda thrown under the bus also in that he is the boss of bosses. Or Chryst himself being dragged into the hot mess pile? The one thing that is 100% against Paul Chryst’s nature is being asked to discuss things he doesn’t want to – yet he was forced to refute Wannstedt’s remarks in public.
A bad situation all around and an unnecessary distraction from the great works Chryst and team are doing so far.
But consider that not only was Wanny the lowest paid HC in the Big east, it is well documented that hs recruiting budget was slashed after the 08 season. Frankly, neither of you know what went down behind closed doors and it should have been obvious there was friction, and Stevie took the first excuse to fire him.
And as I said, I think this was not the right forum for Wanny to editorialize about his former boss … but it should be known that Steve had Nordy wrapped aroundf his finger.
Consider:
– after the firing, he found a coach at $600k less than what his chief rival was paying for their new coach WHICH JUST SHOWS YOU HOW LOW THE FB BUDGET WAS
– and after that disaster, within a few weeks he made another hiring to cover his ass and spent over $2M
– and then after that disaster, HE IS STILL EMPLOYED
and BTW, whether you want to acknowledge him or not, Fraud did mention on a few occasions about the lack the admin support the FB program was getting at Pitt
Where is it documented that any football budget was cut when Wannstedt was coach? Never heard that or read it.
Let’s talk about what to expect on Saturday from our guys and the ones whose mascot is “Herky the Hawkeye.”
H2P
Also, here is an article immediately after Wanny was fired. (Note that Jones was a 1st year coach from a MAC scool, and that Stewart’s replacment was signed for approx $2M) Heywood was signed at $1.4M.
Listen, it is debatable whether Wanny should be fired. But what is not debatable is why Pedersen still has his job?
I am much more incensed about that than Wanny’s firing, trust me!
It could mean low academic standards, dates for recruits, even $ for recruits.
Better: Competitive pay for coaches; tutoring, good food, health care and housing for players.
I hope it’s the latter.
Chetthejet, note that Tubberville is over $3M (I’m not sure the Cincy AD would want to come here even though he is stuck in the AAC)
We are all pretty satisfied with the off the field caliber of recruits Chryst is getting and that isn’t by accident or even new, it was also a condition of his employment in 2012 that meshed exactly with what PC wants in his players. PC doesn’t have to worry about any oversight in that area because he was doing it already.
Fans are still minimizing all those 2010 off the field incidents that were a large part of DW’s firing but we shouldn’t be. That was unacceptable to the PITT admin and a change was made.
But when taken in the subsequent context of the resulting rebuttal quoted by HCPC himself and the multiple developments that have transpired over the last four years with conference realignment, Nordy’s retirement and a new Chancellor coming on board, the influx of capital money now available from the ACC,etc., you have to wonder if Wannestedt even actually “knows” what is going on with the internal workings of the University’s administration and the athletic department as it pertains to the current operations of the football program.
Now, if in fact, Wanny really doesn’t have a clue on what is actually going on with the program, the AD and the administration present day, then it really is something to examine as a potential issue of slander for the Fox Network to have to deal with due to potentially “unfounded comments” publically stated as “facts” by one of their employees who apparently still has an axe to grind with an old employer of his in the Pitt administration.
If the Fox Network executives took that same spin on these remarks by Wanny, investigating and then confronting Wanny on the basis of his information which prompted them, well then if it is discovered that it is based on only conjecture and mainly made due to bad blood from years ago, Mr. Wannestedt just might be looking for yet new employment once again in the near future.
Something to think about.
And you have absolutely no idea what Wanny knows or doesn’t know about the current state of the program.
Now once again, I think Wanny’s comments about the AD the other day were completely out of line, and it was not the forum for it. As a Wanny fan, I was disappointed.
However, not one of us knows for sure just what is going on there now, or 4 or 5 years ago.
As I previously said, just something to think about. Nothing more, nothing less.
1) he points to Wanny as being political savvy with Nordy, yet the fact remains that Pedersen (A) hired a ‘disciplinarian’ who was fired for abuse 2 weeks later and (B) lobbied Nordy to pay $600k for the next coach whichwas onvicously a terrible hire … and yet he is still employed!
2) Chas writes “It had to do with his overall record. It had to do with the way he lost so much overall fan support — and attendance that would follow” … what a total fabrication?
Data shows that attendance was up in Wanny’s final 3 years, and dropped sharply in the year following with the fast talker on board. Attendance raised last year with the 1st year in the ACC with FSU and ND coming in but attendance again is back down this year.
So Chas …. please explain
(1) how Wanny was more political savvy than Stevie was when Wanny was fired after the best 3-year record in decades while Steve is still employed after the total fiasco of 2010-1 especially when he had to get Nordy to overpay for Fraud, and
(2) how you claim Wanny was responsible for poor attendance when the data shos just the opposite?
Peterson is so vastly disliked by the majority of Pitt alum and fans that he figures out that the only way to increase his approval ratings is to have Wanny publicly dis him on national TV. Thus creating a sympathetic character in which people run to defend Peterson.
Not sure what Wanny gets out of it, but for Peterson this is gold.
That is ” you have one day after you are fired to bitch, whine, drink, carry on etc. over the injustice of it all and what an asshole the person who fired you is!”
After that one day, your job is to quietly and humbly move on and spend 100% of your efforts finding a new job.
When I interviewed sales reps for jobs, any spark of negativity toward their former employer was a signal for end of interview.
I hate SP and think he should be fired yesterday but all Wanny did was give him credibility that he did not deserve.
And yes, I can imagine SP’s first call was to HCPC to get out there and refute DW’s comment which he did today.
So does the NUMBER OF POSTERS to Pitt Blogs.
Nice Guy… Pretty Good Recruiter… BAD GAME-DAY COACH.
Unfortunately, Wanny is jeopardizing the “Nice Guy” Part by GRINDING HIS AX on National TV.
I followed the program closely since way before the Wannstedt years. There isn’t a chance in hell that any Pitt fan knows the exact reason why an assistant has left the program and they certainly don’t know how the team’s budget is managed.
I heard the opposite. Partridge left for Wisc because they offered more money and Pitt couldn’t match. It is all in how we spin the story.
Doesn’t matter which is true. Wannstedt wasn’t a good head coach and should have been showed the door.
Wanny realized this was mistake, and he replaced Bray 2 years later with a LB coach who played at the Univ of Miami to once again try to get back in the FL market.
********
wbb,
Because of the argument you seem to be making that Wanny was the OVER-RIDING FACTOR in drawing Fans to Pitt Football Games.
Wrong “W”… it’s WINS.
Despite losing to Iowa State, IOWA seems to be solid AGAINST THE RUN.
Voytik is 3-AND-A-HALF AND 0. But this week, if CONNER is held under a 100… the PRESSURE will really be on the QB.
I am concerned about the DIFFICULTY Voytik seems to be having SEEING DOWNFIELD… let alone throwing there.
So does the NUMBER OF POSTERS to Pitt Blogs.
Comment by PittofDreams 09.16.14 @ 11:16 am”
POD – I would humbly offer that there is an inverse relationship between wins and posts. 🙂
Because by the end of October we will be contending for the Coastal Division spot in the ACC Championship game….and that whole argument will be irrelevant.
That’s my Dr. Tom imitation. 🙂
With the ACC cash flow adding significant dollars as a baseline, Pitt can allocate the dollars over the next number of years to do so. For all his shortcomings, SP did facilitate Pitt moving to the ACC. My point was hiring the Cinn AD is what illustrates why Pitt has not realized greater success.
Quite frankly, Pitt with like and kind size attendance and conference affiliation, Cinn just has done a better job in the hiring of the football coaches. Pitt has much more to sell historically and yet the bearcats/coaches just beat Wanny in big games. HCPC was not a SP hire. So my definition of a successful AD has to start with hiring.
That is where SP has failed and the program reflects that failure. Pitt has been half pregnant for the last 20 years. I believe the new head guy will need to direct a sports program that reflects the kind of investment that will yield the opportunity for better results. In this case the egg clearly came before the chicken.
H2P
I appreciate your comment and agree the NUMBER of POSTS PER POSTER go up in BAD times.
But, that’s for us… the LOYAL FAN BASE that have stayed glued to the channel as this SOAP OPERA that is Pitt Football continues to unfold.
What is funny though is the INCREASING NUMBERS OF Posters here and elsewhere coming out of the woodwork to hop the train.
However, an unfortunate DERAILMENT against IOWA or sometime later would almost certainly send them scurrying back into the shadows.
— Pittsburgh running back James Conner moved up from 33/1 to 25/1 after a third-straight 150+ yard performance. Conner has 543 yards and eight touchdowns through three games, averaging 6.79 yards per carry.
Anthony Gair is listed as a starter at free safety, in place of Jordan Lomax, who was ejected from Saturday’s 20-17 loss to Iowa State after drawing a targeting penalty. Per NCAA rules, Lomax will not be allowed to play in the first half Saturday at Pittsburgh.
H2P
Money of course. Wanny wanted more money for the program that SP didn’t have to give and SP wasn’t willing to get into with it Nordy to get more.
Wanny probably also wasn’t happy about the lack of public support he got from the university and alumni when he was getting trashed because his players kept getting arrested all the damn time.
As for Wanny, totally clueless and classless, actually his outburst probably caused him to be called out by the Fox higher ups to put a muzzle on it.
Iowa is going to game plan to stop our running game, this game will be decided on Voytiks arm and the decisions he makes.
I’m expecting a decent crowd for this one at least 50k in the seats.
@ Dan 72, and Pederson’s second call was probably to some Fox Network exec., bitching at the top of his lungs about how Wanny threw him under the bus at halftime, LOL.
@ wbb, “so why you addressing me”?, because I would feel totally uncomfortable unaddressing you. LOL2
@ Mr. Lawrence, not a bad imitation, but if you had just ended with “discussion closed”, it would have been spot on! LOL3
@ Pitt of Dreams, upon our first loss, yes, out with those Pitt optimists, but making lemonaid out of those lemons, I would suggest that it makes lots of room for all those pessimist and troll commentators currently patiently waiting in those shadows of which you speak, now doesn’t it? LOL4!
It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Money from John M and Gertrude E Petersen. For all we know, John may not give a damn about Pitt. Gertrude may be our “angel” donor.
H2Petersens
You and I and a WHOLE LOT of others have typed a lot of energy (Mostly Positive) into this Blog over the years.
We ENTHUSIASTICALLY WELCOME all the NEWBIES… so long as they stick around for the BAD as well as the GOOD.
That would seem to be a fair request… at least the way I see it.
Isn’t it just perfect irony that this crap doesn’t happen earlier but at a time when a current PITT HC is about to relegate DW’s memory to the ash heap with a good season? If Chryst was losing three in a row does anyone think DW says a damn thing?
Anyway – Iowa-PITT preview coming up soon. Save your ‘comments thinking’ for that subject and let’s put DW to beddy-bye where he belongs.
Jake Rudock spent plenty of time trying elude Iowa State tacklers Saturday.
The Iowa quarterback was sacked four times by the Cyclones, including twice by Cory Morrissey.
“It seemed like we were out of rhythm,’’ Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It didn’t seem like anyone just broke through there necessarily, it was more of a team function. It seemed like we were kind of muddled there and Jake held the ball a little longer. Credit goes to Iowa State. They played really good team defense.’’
I hope that he is saying the same thing after this Saturday.
H2P
The preview can’t come too soon. Thanks.
H2Previews
Understanding that Iowa had limited opponents to 1.9 yards per rush in its first two games, an effort led by a stout defensive line, Iowa State had to look for other ways to move the football. That started by working to get the ball outside.
“Trying to get it on the perimeter was a huge part of our plan,’’ Cyclones quarterback Sam Richardson said. “They had a bigger defense than we’ll face all year, but with that I felt like we had more speed and getting those guys in space worked out for us.’’
H2Perimeter Plays
My apologies to Gertrude, please forgive my chauvinistic tendencies. She could very well be the woMAN.
@ Pittofdreams, sure enough, plenty of room on the band wagon for the newbies when we’re winning, and in those yellow seats at Heinz Field for that matter too. Anybody who is interested in seeing college football live, is lucky to have available such a great deal that is a Pitt game at Heinz Field. Dirt cheap to some other programs, that will remain nameless, by comparison.
Even if they don’t stick around for the bad, they’re still welcomed, IMO. The casual Panther fan is simply a fact that has to be accepted when you live in a metropolis that has such an array of professional sport options to chose from.
Us Pitt fan old timers sure have been lost in the desert like Moses forever though haven’t we? I’m just savoring every win, especially when they’re good comeback wins like we’ve seen recently.
I like this team, I like this coach, I like that they’re winning. Let’s hope they can keep it going for another five victories, at least, through the end of the season. Then my appetite will have been satisfied for this season.
Is that too much to ask?
stopping ONLY Conner may not be enough for Iowa. Voytik could still do some major damage with his FEET also, just like Tyler Murphy did against USC last week, even with an average passing day being apparent from him.
Once Iowa has committed to loading the box, play action fakes to Conner, with roll out options for end arounds by Chad, beating guys to the corners or better yet a simple toss to a releasing TE when they’ve seen that end around by the QB acouple times already working successfully.
Plus I’m still waiting for a few more jet sweeps from Tyler Boyd. That works just fine in my book when the box is loaded to stop the run game between the tackles. And that doesn’t even consider the double reverse, that I’m convinced is just being held back for the right time with Boyd being the decoy while Ronald Jones is firing up the afterburner to go in the opposite direction. That spells a big gainer IMO once a defense has been hurt by a couple of Boyd’s jet sweeps earlier in a game.
This playbook has been very vanilla up to this point. There’s plenty of room for more imaginative plays to be utilized by this talented offense of ours.
Comment by Dr. Tom 09.16.14 @ 2:29 pm
Wanny should have been kept, Cornhole should have been fired. And PITT would have not been the poster child for the college coaching carousel for 3 years.
All this while coaching upheavals and other things were going on at both Ped State & WVCC, our main recruiting rivals. Which caused PITT to lose out on maybe regaining being the most dominant kid on the block status.
That opportunity will never exist again.
As more than likely another thing that won’t happen again at PITT, a campus football stadium.
NOBODY TEARS DOWN FOOTBALL STADIUMS ON THEIR CAMPUSES in favor of basketball arenas, knowing that football is the engine that drives all the other college sports. With no plans to replace them. NOBODY !
Wanny didn’t just understand how truly tight, Cornhole and Nordy are/were. Which even transcends being a PITT Man, not only with Wanny but with most ALL out other former standout NFL PITT Men.
(none of course who even bother with the program, other than TD)
Or they leave the company they screwed up and somehow get hired by another large company. Belies belief but it happens over and over.
Similar to Cornhole leaving PITT and Nebraska taking him on. Screws their football program up royally. So what happens, his buddy at PITT rehires him. And a couple years later he screws ours up.
But still has a million/dollar/year job.
AMAZING !!!
And they had much more continued success over a 40 years period than PITT. Nebraska was Top 5 in continued success in college football.
So that really took an idiot to screw up that program.
Comment by notrocketscience 09.16.14 @ 11:27 am
Wanny led PITT to it’s most wins(10) in one season (2009) since 1981(11 wins). (28 years)
Wanny led PITT to it’s most wins (27) over a three year period, 2008-2010 since 1980-1983 (28 wins). (again 28 years)
And he didn’t have a Marino as his QB, but instead a Bill Stull and a tiny.
The facts suggest Wanny was a good coach. To suggest otherwise ignores the facts and suggests emotions are in play.
Wanny was also fine with his comments. He zapped Pederpan and moved on. My sense is that he won’t do that again unless Pitt’s on field performance suffers. If you are a Pederson apologist, just let me know which programs are better off after his arrival. Womens bball comes to mind as a cluster. No ad support. An entire year without a win in the conference, please. That was his hire. I do think we are in a good space with womens bball now and mens football. Funny how he got trumped on the FB hire.
As far as ACC matriculation goes, he was a non-factor in that. This is one area where the university reputation trumped athletic reputation. Seriously fellas, Pitt to the ACC athletically was like Maryland to the big10. Occasional bball runs, but not good football. At least Maryland has lacrosse and other good teams to boast about. Figgered by now upitt would have started a petition to impeach Pederpan. He needs to stop going on vacations with other AD’s that mock him. Best for him to keep his piehole shut because when he speaks….people realize that he doesn’t really get it.
Agree with you 100%. Wannstedt knows more about what’s going on in college football than Chas, Reed, Justin, etc. ever will. And the name that we dare not mention – Graham (who, by the way, is giving $500,000 to Arizona State University) cited issues with the Pitt administration.
I know the moderators of this board want to go ballistic and the mere thought of being rationale about one aspect of Graham’s departure, but again, Graham knew more about what was going on with Pitt athletics than the sponsors of this sports board.
We all knew he was gone after the stadium emptied out just before halftime during the Backyard Brawl. The fanbase most certainly had had enough.
There was no way that sending UCONN to the BCS would not have repercussions for the head coaches of Pitt AND WVU.
I agree with you as well. Is Cornhole interfering in HCPC’s running of the football program?
One possible indicator will be what Chryst does, and conversely what Cornhole does, when the football program goes up to the next level (a New Year’s Day six bowl).
Will the Pitt AD (God, let’s hope it’s not Pederson) pony up the cash to keep Chryst? Would Chyrst choose to stay even if the AD did?
“I feel like I have the support you feel and appreciate,” Chryst said. “Not just by Steve. I include him, but not just.”
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