There was an article on another graduate assistant. He isn’t listed in the media guide so I didn’t notice the addition of Taylor Mehlhaff as a Special Teams Graduate Assistant.
Mehlhaff was a very, very good kicker for Wisconsin. Briefly got some time in the NFL before the Saints cut him before their Superbowl run.
“He was a guy that I admired and respected a lot when he was playing, just the mental toughness that he had,” Chryst said of Mehlhaff. “It’s great having him around. He’s a sharp guy, he brings good energy.”
“When [Chryst] found out I was looking to go somewhere, I think he was pretty excited to get me here,” Mehlhaff said. “I had a couple opportunities to go to some other places, and I felt good about this. With the group of guys that I know here, it’s more of a family-type feel. It’s a close-knit group.”
Now Mehlhaff is on the Pitt staff as a special teams graduate assistant. He is assisting in a variety of special teams areas, but his focus is on working directly with the kickers and punters. That’s particularly helpful for Pitt, since the Panthers will have two scholarship specialists on the roster this season in kicker Chris Blewitt and punter Ryan Winslow.
It’s a perfect role for Mehlhaff and one Pitt can benefit from.
“In a lot of places, that’s a neglected position, and Taylor has really, really good knowledge of the kicking part,” Chryst said.
The one thing missing from the story is that Mehlhaff’s brief time in New Orleans paid off in other ways. He is engaged to a former Saints Cheerleader (and 2012 Miss Louisiana, 4th runner-up).
Comment by Upittbaseball 08.19.13 @ 9:39 am
I don’t know if it’s a big deal yet, but that is exactly what I was thinking reading this.
Big ups to Mehlhaff though. A kicker with that last name pulls of a bomb shell, smoke show fiance? He’s doing something right, and definitely winning.
We really need someone with a tie to South Florida. WVU has it in the old QB Seiler…Who recruits great in South Fla.
Or is the thought that not enough outside ideas will be filtering in? Chryst seems pretty set on his philosophy. I think he is going to win or lose with it regardless of whether there are outside influences on his staff or not.
If it is just a matter of wanting a coach that will recruit a specific region, that is a different argument that has nothing to do with making family hires.
It should be about hiring the best person for the job. Not the best person that Chryst has worked with in the past.
I’m trying to refrain from using too much hyperbole, but when you limit the pool of potential candidates to “only someone Chryst has an established relationship with”, you’re basically disqualifying the entire industry of football, sans Wisconsin, Oregon State, the San Diego Charges, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and anyone Jeep might speak highly of.
If Blewitt turns out to be solid… Melhaff will certainly deserve some of the credit and Chryst for bringing him in.
WARNING! Clicking could prove costly!!!
Just 2 recent examples: I have no idea what connection Jeff Hafley had to Pitt, and Ron Gattuso, although local, was a PSU grad and a Duquesne coach. These 2 turned out to be pretty good finds.
But, just like we have to give 2-3 years to see how some of these commits develop, same goes for these coaches.
Again — just because Paul Chryst knows them somehow makes them a less qualified coach? That is what I am gathering from your argument. There’s got to be more to it than that.
@Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 12:36 pm
I didn’t say, or even imply, that having a previous relationship with Chryst makes anyone less qualified. It’s just ridiculous to make that a prerequisite to coach at Pitt.
To say, “I don’t care who you are, or what you prior experience is, or how qualified you are, if I don’t know you, or haven’t worked with you, you are not going to coach here.”
That’s just so incredibly arrogant and irresponsible and reckless and naive. And for the record, I never even said that that is the policy. It’s just a little curious so far, and something to pay attention to.
I believe Chas wrote a blog back in January (or so) that identified a large handful of qualified DC candidates … some more than others, and a few that even had Wisc ties (Todd Orlando.) I’m not sure if Matt House, who has just a couple of years in as a defensive asst was even listed.
PC’s main criteria seems to be someone he knows well … which is usually not the best criterion.
@Comment by JCE 08.19.13 @ 5:32 pm
That wasn’t my intention. It’s just bad business practice to only higher people inside you existing network of contacts. If he’s only going to hire people he knows, than he’s not even considering hundreds, or even thousands, of other coaches who may be more qualified. And that’s bad business, it’s just not a smart way to run any organization. He should be looking for the best coaches, and if one happens to be from outside of his network, then it’s his responsibility to pick up the phone and make some calls and find out what kind of guy he is.
It’s probably a bad example, but maybe Bud Foster from Va Tech was sick of Beamer and wanted something new, so he reached out in a call to Pedersen to see about the vacant DC position. If Chryst were to just summarily dismiss Foster because he doesn’t know him and never worked with him, and promote House instead… Then that’s just not smart. I know it’s not a great example, because Foster would never do that. But that’s kind of the point I wanted to make. It has nothing to do with Chryst’s network of contacts being less qualified because they know Chryst. It’s about him potentially ignoring more qualified people simply because he doesn’t know them.
Much ado about nothing and people are overlooking the fact that our special teams have been pretty bad over the last few years.
Chryst is changing that by giving kicking scholarships and now a GA to focus those players. And yes, Blewitt is the #1 kicker and doing very well so far in camp – he’s got a big and accurate leg.
Good job IMO.
