Thursday, December 23, 2004
Jumping off the ledge: I am annoyed, frustrated and generally disgusted (wow, that has a nice rhythm to it...). Pitt hired our buddy Wanny to coach the football team. How could they have let this happen? Say goodbye to Pitt football's elite status.
Now, I am originally from Pittsburgh and my father is a Pitt grad so I have some attachment to the Panthers. I grew up listening to stories of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino and even Da Coach (Mitt Ditka is also a Pitt man). The 1976 National Championship team added to the aura of the city (the Steelers had just won their second of four Super Bowls in six years and the Pirates were a perennial playoff contender with another World Series title on the way).
Wanny may be a Pitt man and available right away -- the other candidates had NFL responsibilities and likely could not start recruiting until late January -- but Wanny has proven he cannot produce a winner on his own. I don't know after watching his fall from grace with the Dolphins and his complete destruction of the Bears how any big time football player would want to go to Pitt now. Walt Harris brought a big time offense. Wanny is a defensive coach and I just don't see him succeeding there. Has he ever had to recruit players before? The Fiesta Bowl appearance is not going to grab big players forever, and it already is tough to get players from western Penn. to stay close to home with big-time programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and I dare say West Virginia and Penn State not far away.
Maybe this is what Joe Paterno needs to get the Nitnany Lions back to prominence. Pitt had been beating them up lately.
TJ is right -- at least he didn't go to IU.
Now, I am originally from Pittsburgh and my father is a Pitt grad so I have some attachment to the Panthers. I grew up listening to stories of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino and even Da Coach (Mitt Ditka is also a Pitt man). The 1976 National Championship team added to the aura of the city (the Steelers had just won their second of four Super Bowls in six years and the Pirates were a perennial playoff contender with another World Series title on the way).
Wanny may be a Pitt man and available right away -- the other candidates had NFL responsibilities and likely could not start recruiting until late January -- but Wanny has proven he cannot produce a winner on his own. I don't know after watching his fall from grace with the Dolphins and his complete destruction of the Bears how any big time football player would want to go to Pitt now. Walt Harris brought a big time offense. Wanny is a defensive coach and I just don't see him succeeding there. Has he ever had to recruit players before? The Fiesta Bowl appearance is not going to grab big players forever, and it already is tough to get players from western Penn. to stay close to home with big-time programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and I dare say West Virginia and Penn State not far away.
Maybe this is what Joe Paterno needs to get the Nitnany Lions back to prominence. Pitt had been beating them up lately.
TJ is right -- at least he didn't go to IU.
