Wannstedt Fired

According to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and ESPN, Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt has resigned.

Per the Post Gazette:

Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt resigned under pressure today, it was announced at an emotional press conference at the team's UPMC Southside facility.

According to multiple sources, it was not Wannstedt's decision to resign and he was forced out by the university administration.

An emotional Wannstedt, who will remain as the special assistant to athletic director Steve Pederson, addressed the media and had a written statement.

ESPN adds:

Wannstedt's tenure was marked by upset losses to teams such as Ohio University and Bowling Green and a failure to play in a BCS bowl -- something the Panthers did under lame-duck coach Walt Harris before Wannstedt took over in 2005. Wannstedt went 42-31 in six seasons, including a 26-12 mark from 2008-10 that is Pitt's best for a three-season stretch since 1981-83.


Pitt won only one bowl game under Wannstedt, beating North Carolina 19-17 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl last season.


Pederson, who returned to Pitt in 2007 after first serving in the job from 1996-2002, also was concerned about numerous no-shows at Heinz Field. The announced attendance often was far larger than the actual attendance, and the Panthers had few sellouts under Wannstedt. Pitt was 4-2 at home this season, with blowout losses to West Virginia and Miami (31-3).

This will be Pederson's first national coaching search since his failed hiring of Bill Callahan at Nebraska in 2004, a move that followed the surprise firing of Frank Solich following a 9-3 season.

Personally, I'm going to miss Wanny, although I have no idea what a special assistant to Pederson means.  Does that mean he's in charge of donuts and coffee?

More Offensive Recruits

Mike White of the Varsity Blog writes about Penn State's newest recruit, and our most recent offensive line recruit . . .

The younger Tom Ricketts, who will be a senior lineman at North Allegheny High School, made a verbal commitment to Penn State tonight. He called Bradley on the phone and made his commitment.Ricketts is the second top WPIAL offensive lineman to commit to Penn State in the past two days. Yesterday, it was Fox Chapel's Miles Dieffenbach.

Dieffenbach's decision was a slight blow to Pitt. The Panthers were his top choice until the past month, and the Panthers thought they had a good chance to get him. What hurt the most was Dieffenbach's tie to Pitt. His father, George, is Pitt's womens tennis coach.

Ricketts' decision might have been even a bigger blow to Pitt. Ricketts father, Tom II, was a standout lineman at Pitt in the 1980s. His mother, Sandy (Albright) Ricketts, was a standout swimmer at Pitt. The parents have season tickets to Pitt football games.

"Penn State has always been my secret favorite," Ricketts said. "Growing up, Pitt was a favorite, too. But just looking at the opportunities given to me, Penn State was the best thing for me. ... This past week - and maybe even a little less than that - I was pretty sure Penn State is where I wanted to go. The past three days, I said, 'This is where I need to be.' I love the campus, the coaching staff, everything about Penn State."

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said a few years ago that he wanted to build a fence around Western Pennsylvania and keep top recruits here. But there was no fence in the past, there is no fence now and there will be no fence in the future.

Personally, I'm not sure how a kid can compare Pitt and Penn State and not choose the school with a legendary coach, an on-campus stadium that is one of the largest in the country, and a fan base that actually attends games. Obviously there are a lot of variables including the education, the rapport with the staff, travel from home, etc. I'm kind of amazed at what recruiting Wannstedt accomplishes with a rented stadium, a lackluster Big East schedule,a nd that moustache of his.

Welcome aboard, Tom!