PSR Showdown
Is Dave Wannstedt the Right Coach for Pitt?

Absolutely
By Bill Toth
WJET/WFXP-TV

Word on the street is that Dave Wannstedt is not a good head football coach and he is not the man to lead Pitt to the promise land. However, I think Wanny can consistently take the Panthers to a BCS bowl game.

Why? Well, many fans feel Wannstedt can't coach based partly on the fact that he failed in his two NFL coaching stints, one with the Chicago Bears and then with the Fish in Miami. But have failures at the NFL level indicated failures at the college level as well?

No.

I give you such prominent names as Lou Holtz (Jets), Steve Spurrier (Redskins) and Pete Carroll (Patriots AND Jets), who has created a dynasty at Southern Cal. Failures with the big boys didn't stop these three from achieving at the collegiate level.

Success at the college level is all about recruiting the best athletes and Wannstedt has done that. In his first three years on the job, his recruiting classes have been ranked at or near the top in the Big East. His 2006 class was ranked as one of the top 10 in the nation. That is something you never saw with Wannstedt's predecessor, Walt Harris. This is where his NFL experience has helped him, as most of the high school players he talks to feel that Wannstedt knows what it takes to get them to the pros.

Lastly, the Big East Conference. Now, the conference has gotten much stronger over the past couple of years but Pitt isn't dealing with national powerhouses when it comes to recruiting or playing on the field. Yes, Louisville is a good team as is West Virginia, but neither is Ohio State, Florida, USC etc. They are teams that Pitt can beat.

At one point, Rutgers was ranked in the top 10 in the country. If Rutgers can achieve that status with no tradition of any sort, then the Panthers can do it also. Let's not forget that Greg Schiano, Rutgers head coach, achieved an 11-2 record in his sixth season - Wannstedt is only in his third. As my old man used to say, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Bill Toth is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and serves as a sports anchor and reporter for WJET/WFXP-TV in Erie, PA.