Wannstedt weighing staff changes
After a second consecutive six-loss season, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is in a precarious position.
With his assistant coaches on the recruiting trail and the Panthers (6-6) awaiting word of a bowl bid - which is unlikely - Wannstedt is delicately balancing the decision of whether to make immediate changes to his staff.
"I've got to look at personnel, what we're doing coaching-wise, what you're doing in the training room and the weight room," Wannstedt said Wednesday. "You don't make a knee-jerk reaction. You do not make decisions on perceptions. You make decisions on what's real.
"If you're not careful, perception can become reality."
The perception of alumni and fans is that defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads deserves to be fired after a collapse in which Pitt lost its last five games of the season.
The reality is that, although Wannstedt has defended Pitt's defensive scheme, back-to-back seasons of poor defense and no bowl game could cause a staff overhaul.
Wannstedt didn't say changes were on the way, but he also didn't rule them out. Wannstedt praised Pitt's special teams play -- a good sign for Charlie Partridge -- but left room for interpretation that several holdovers from the Walt Harris regime could be subject to dismissal: Rhoads, linebackers coach Curtis Bray and strength and conditioning coaches Mike Kent and Darren Honeycutt.
"We're looking at everything," Wannstedt said. "It starts with me. We're going to look at players, coaches, trainers, recruiting -- everything."
For now, Wannstedt continues to preach patience for a young team in which injuries to four starters -- right guard John Simonitis, free safety Eric Thatcher and defensive ends Doug Fulmer and Chris McKillop -- devastated its depth. Wannstedt believes the Panthers are building the foundation for a program that should be nationally competitive by 2008 and years to come.
"I've got a very clear picture of where we're at," Wannstedt said. "We've got to bring these kids along. We've got to keep recruiting good. We know what we need to do to get better. My convictions on it happening haven't wavered one bit."
Even so, national college football analysts were more surprised by Pitt's five consecutive losses to finish the season than its 6-1 start. The Panthers were expected to take a step forward after going 5-6 last season. Instead of starting slow and finishing strong, they did the opposite.
"To me, in retrospect, the finish is more surprising," said Dennis Dodd, president of the Football Writers Association of America and CBS Sports Line's college writer. "I thought they'd bounce back after last season. It's puzzling. I thought 8-4 or 9-3. At one point, I looked at that schedule and said, 'Wow, West Virginia and Louisville have to play there to finish. That might be a stumbling block.' "
Instead, the Panthers stumbled into Heinz Field following a 22-12 loss at South Florida and a 46-45 double-overtime loss at Connecticut, then gave up a combined 1,140 yards in losses to the Mountaineers and Cardinals.
By then, Pitt had faded from the national spotlight.
"I was surprised," said Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com. "I was optimistic about them, but once they lost a couple, I took my gaze off them."
Maisel drew a parallel between Pitt and Missouri (8-4), which won its first six games but lost four of the next five after losing star defensive end Brad Smith to a hip injury. The Tigers, however, finished with a victory over Kansas.
Neither Dodd nor Maisel criticized Wannstedt for Pitt's sub-par records in his first two seasons, and both believe that it's just a matter of the Panthers adapting to playing in a pro-style program before they find success.
"I know he's got a lot of young talent," Maisel said, "and I suspect the transition of doing what he wants to do is going to take time."
