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April 2, 2010

There really is only so much to say about Coach Wannstedt’s extension. Coach Wannstedt’s value to Pitt is not questioned. At the same time, it is not like he is going anywhere. Wannstedt’s value to Pitt is probably greater than in the open market. Not by much, as he could probably earn near his salary as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. He wouldn’t, however, get to be the head coach at this level of college or the NFL.

Neither side has any desire for that, though. The additional years on the contract are for purposes of refuting any negative recruiting efforts of how long Wannstedt will be at Pitt. To provide tangible evidence of both sides commitment. The bump is salary is to make sure Wannstedt knows Pitt is not taking him for granted. There are no mysteries here.

“The contract extension is really an indication of a mutual commitment to one another,” Pederson said.

He declined to disclose the terms of the agreement or say whether the extension increases Wannstedt’s pay.

“We have always tried to compensate our coaches fairly and make sure that they’re competitive,” Pederson said.

He said this is not “earth-shattering news” — Wannstedt knew the university wanted to extend his contract…

The move, as such didn’t create huge ripples in college football, but it is spring, so the news cycle is a little quieter.

Q. Dave Wannstedt received a contract extension from Pitt. How do you rate the job he has done there?

Hayes: Wannstedt will be the first to say it’s all about winning championships. Pitt is close, and could’ve won the Big East last year if the defense could’ve held a big lead on Cincinnati in the last game of the season. That said, he and his staff have made a significant impact on the program: from recruiting, to player development to winning (20 of the last 27 games).

When he was first hired, Wannstedt talked about how returning to his alma mater was an important step in his professional life. I’m not sure he realized how much he’d grow to enjoy the college game. When a coach is invested like that at a place he truly enjoys, only good things can happen.

Curtis: I’m thinking a solid B. The lack of a Big East championship sticks out, especially in a league that lacks the traditional juggernauts each of the other five BCS automatic qualifier conferences features. Throw in the head-scratching losses, even last season to N.C. State, and Wannstedt can’t rank among the best. Still, he’s brought together a strong staff, and he’s shown he can both recruit and develop players on both sides of the ball. A hair more consistency in the fall, and Wannstedt jumps to another coaching caste.

As Chris Peak points out, this is happily part of a time of coaching stability and success in both football and basketball. A rarity for most programs.

Even in terms of Pitt history, Wannstedt and Dixon have become two of the longest-tenured coaches in their respective sports. Wannstedt’s five years served tie him for the fifth-longest coaching stint in the football program’s 120-year history, and if he serves the full duration of the current contract, he will have been Pitt’s head coach for 10 years, which would rank as the third-longest tenure behind Jock Sutherland (15 seasons from 1924-38) and John Michelosen (11 seasons from 1955-65).

Wannstedt, who has a 35-26 record in five seasons and in 2009 led the program to its first 10-win season since 1981, is also just one of seven head football coaches in Pitt history to serve at least five consecutive seasons. The program has had a total of 34 head coaches in its 120-year history.

The men’s basketball program has had more consistency. Dixon’s seven-year tenure is also tied for the fifth-longest in program history, but the Panthers had just four head coaches – George Flint, Doc Carlson, Robert Timmons, and Charles Ridl – in the 64-year span from 1911 to 1975. Since 1975, only two coaches have led the Panthers for at least seven years: Paul Evans (1986-94) and Dixon.

“You can look at the University of Pittsburgh and say, ‘I’ve got pretty good assurance about what’s going to happen next,” Pederson said Wednesday. “I’m going to go there, I’m going to get a great education at a great university, I’m going to play on a great team, I’m going to be coached by outstanding people, and I don’t have to worry every year about what’s happening next. I can go in and I can achieve everything I’m trying to achieve without worrying about all of this other stuff.'”

Good times.





Membership in the “Commonwealth System of Higher Education” seems like a real coup for schools like Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln. All the benefits of public funding without the hassle of strict oversight and disclosure policies.
I don’t care what Dixon and Wannstedt earn, but if I was a Pennsylvania tax payer, my interest might be piqued.

Comment by Dave in Orlando 04.02.10 @ 9:54 am

In a P-G article, Wannstedt called Ray Graham “the star of spring practice”. Last year Graham averaged 5.7 yards per carry, a few rungs above being a “slouch” player. Except for a couple of fumbles in fall camp, he, perhaps, could have been the starter. Against Cincinnati, Dion Lewis had 47 carries; Graham had 3. In the Bowl game, Lewis had 28 carries; Graham had 2. I am amazed that Graham didn’t become very frustrated. I am curious if DW will continue as a one running back coach like his being a one QB coach. Perhaps there is justification for it at the QB position, but, IMHO, there is little justification for not sharing playing time at running back when the back-up has so much talent.

BTW, if starters were named on high school resume’s alone, Chris Burns, perhaps, would be the starter.

Comment by BigGuy 04.02.10 @ 10:39 am

note that Graham was quoted in the P-G article “You’re going to see me catch a little more,” Graham said. “I’ll show you my Reggie Bush side.”

I don’t think there is any doubt that Graham will be a bigger part of Pitt’s offense this year. Hopefully Cignetti can offset the loss of Dickerson by creative ways of getting Graham the ball in open space. I believe it would also be prudent to lessen Lewis’ workload throout the season.

Comment by wbb 04.02.10 @ 12:01 pm

Maybe Ray can help fill the DD role?

Comment by Jester 04.02.10 @ 12:23 pm

Dave in Orlando, Note that the extension and a large part of the pay raises will not go in effect for many years from now .. and it is likely that what may appear to be as a substantial figure now may be prove to be negligible then.

This is reminiscent of this issue raised last year about Calhoun’s salary at UConn, a stae school. You may remember that Calhoun’s salary was actually a small percentage of the revenue that the basketball program brought in. My guess is that the same goes for the Pitt coaches.

Comment by wbb 04.02.10 @ 3:39 pm

wbb – agree on the hope that they find more ways to use Graham. He is a dangerous runner that can quickly take advantage of a mistake by the defense. He may be less powerful than Lewis, but he seems to find ways to elude defenders. He’s a bit small for a traditional h-back role, so I don’t know that we’ll see him and Lewis at the same time, but he could be a real weapon.

Comment by Pantherman13 04.02.10 @ 4:47 pm

DW and staff are going to work Graham more this season for a few reason – first that he’s a very good back and is a great relief valve for Dion Lewis.

But as importantly IMO they are going to keep him happy and get him ready for 2011 when he may well be the featured back in our offense. The last thing the staff wants is for Graham to start looking around at places where he could be the starting RB when there is a good chance Lewis may take the money and run after this season.

Comment by Reed 04.03.10 @ 5:22 am

Reed I could be wrong but I don’t think Lewis can bolt after this season, I don’t think he had that EXTRA year of prep ball like Shady, Fitz, etc.

Comment by jason 04.03.10 @ 8:05 am

Actually , the Post-Gazette ran a story last season about this issue. I do not have the link (sorry). the NFL has not addressed his issue yet. He did not have an extra year of prep like Shady BUT the NFL rule is about 3 years since the graduation of the high school class you started with as a freshman in high school. Something about Dion’s path in high school that was open to interpetation and no one was commenting on it.

Comment by Bowling Green Panther 04.03.10 @ 9:14 am

Bowling Green is correct about the wording of the rule – I also remember the P-G article, but don’t have a link to it either. I believe Lewis took 4.5 years to graduate high school, so if the rule is strictly interpreted, he might be able to leave for the NFL after next year.

I think this is really going to turn on whether Lewis wants to leave or not. I don’t think the NFL wants to get into a court fight over this rule unless they are sure they will win. I don’t think such an outcome is assured, particularly with a “model citizen” type such as Lewis on the other side. My personal feeling is that if Lewis wants to go pro, and handles it behind the scenes (much the way Larry Fitzgerald did, and in contrast to Maurice Clarett), the NFL will be highly motivated to find a way to accommodate him.

Comment by Pantherman13 04.03.10 @ 11:22 am

Interesting speculation: what would be the stats and playing minutes (and transfers) if Shady stayed for all four years?

Comment by BigGuy 04.03.10 @ 11:30 am

and BigGuy, doesn’t that say something about Wanny’s recruiting when they lose Shady and LSH but reload with Lewis and Graham?

Wanny may certainly not be the perfect coach, but I believe this program to be in its best shape since the early 80s.

Comment by wbb 04.03.10 @ 11:49 am

Folks – he can leave if he chooses to do so. It’s not just my ‘take’ on this – a pretty experienced sports attorney i know is who pointed it out to me in the middle of last season.

Lewis spent an extra JR year at Blair Academy after he already spent a JR year at his public school which means that 2011 is three years after the year his class he entered HS with (in his public school) graduates. The fact that he left prep school early in January doesn’t figure in as that only impacted his getting in practices earlier – not getting to PITT a whole season earlier.

In addition, recruit RB Jamaal Poteat was specifically quoted on Scouts.com as saying the PITT coaching staff told him that they wanted him onboard and ready to play in 2011 as Lewis was eligible to leave after 2010 – and LeSean McCoy then told Poteat that McCoy believed Lewis would go after this season.

Here is the actual quote from the NCAA Eligibility memo dated October 19, 2009:

“1. What is the NFL’s Draft eligibility rule?

The NFL and NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement states that a player may only apply for eligibility in the NFL Draft three years after his graduation from high school or graduation of the class with which he entered high school, whichever is earlier.
If a player chooses to enter the draft after only three NFL regular seasons have begun and ended following his high school graduation or graduation of the class with which he entered, he must apply for early eligibility, i.e. “opt in.” The early-entry deadline for underclassmen this year is January 15, 2010.”

link to ncaa.org

The NCAA puts that same memo out every year as guidance to the college players, agents and lawyers looking at whether a player is eligible or not.

There is no need for any ‘interpretation’ from the NFL on this as the issue is clear and Lewis doesn’t have to petition for anything – it is essentially the same eligibility clause that McCoy and others have used – just that for Lewis the years are counted from the front end of entering HS instead of his actual graduation.

Of course – whether he will or not is up for consideration, the fact that he can if he chooses isn’t.

Comment by Reed 04.03.10 @ 5:10 pm

Just for some more background here is the SI article where it states Lewis completed a second junior year…

“Lewis enrolled at Pitt last January, in time for spring practice, and he immediately impressed coaches with his work ethic. “He was always watching film on his own,” says Hafley. “It was like he’d been here three years.” Lewis attributes his businesslike approach to the fact that he’d already been living away from home for two years. A native of Albany, N.Y., he transferred to Blair after his junior season to increase his exposure to recruiters. Blair asked Lewis, who was due to graduate at 17, to commit to playing two seasons, so he repeated his junior year. “It was good for him physically,” says his mother, Linda. “And it really helped him learn how to study.”

link to images.si.com

Comment by Reed 04.03.10 @ 5:23 pm

BTW – Dixon won another Coach of the Year award.

Comment by Reed 04.03.10 @ 5:24 pm

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