Let’s start this off by first suggesting you go over to Cardiac Hill and read Anson’s observation on Pederson having to go to the assistant coaches and apologize for essentially ignoring and blowing them off for nearly a month. I read the same piece and it just never clicked to me that Pederson was that stupid.

Right now, the fans are crying for Pederson’s head as well over this debacle. Predictably, you have media people defending him. It is a bit of bull since the defense consists  primarily based on the work he did the first time as AD at Pitt. That’s nice, but that is like defending Johnny Majors in the 90s for the work he did at Pitt in the 70s.

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The Pitt News sports blog had a fine liveblog of Dave Wannstedt’s press conference to announce “The Decision.” Er, no, that’s been done.

Here are some of the highlights:

“I am a Pitt guy. I am a Pittsburgh guy. I always have been and I always will be,” he said, his voice rising. “There have been a lot of coaches before me and there will be a lot of coaches here after me, but I can assure you . . .none of them will love Pitt as much as I have.”

I believe that, but it sure looks like his own personal pride came before Pitt in the past couple weeks.

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Not that anyone seems to have remembered or cared, but Pitt still has a bowl game in less than a week.

We will find out officially sometime around noon, but it now appears that Dave Wannstedt won’t coach a final game.

Pitt defensive coordinator Phil Bennett will be named interim head coach for the Panthers and coach them in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., against the University of Kentucky, according to a source.

Former Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt informed his staff this morning that he will not coach in the game, the source said. Wannstedt was forced to resign from his job Dec. 7, but remained with the university as an assistant to Athletic Director Steve Pederson.

Wannstedt scheduled a noon news conference today to discuss the coaching situation. The souce said Wannstedt has not informed Pederson or Chancellor Mark Nordenberg of his intentions as of this morning.

And by “coaching situation,” he means his own and who is coaching on the 8th. Not the programs.  He is not planning to answer any questions about the mess that is finding his replacement.