I don’t know about the rest of you, but this past Saturday was the last Saturday I expect to be doing house and yard projects or work until sometime in April. In just a few days, the season kicks off and Pitt is a big part of that start.

It should be one of the most hyped games of the week, but since it is on Versus rather than the Mouse Monopoly it is getting considerably less hype. Oh, well.

Papers keep running previews. Some  focusing on the Big East, and Pitt still is the favorite.

There’s an interesting theme I’ve been noticed, that didn’t crystallize for me until last night. I read this simple conference prediction rundown on DawgSports.

Pittsburgh. I have a special level of disdain for the Panthers—Georgia has a frustrating history with Pitt—and I have little inclination to repose faith in Dave Wannstedt, but Brian Kelly, Jim Leavitt, and Rich Rodriguez all are gone from what was never a deep league, putting the Panthers in a position to finish atop the conference.

Yeah. A frustrating history. Fun.

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School starts for my kids this week. Between trying to get all the last minute stuff finished before they go back. Not to mention get stuff together for the quick trip to NYC, it’s been a little hectic.

Today has the first set of game notes for the season (PDF), along with the 2-deep. was the first pre-game presser for Coach Wannstedt. Not sure that anything truly ground-breaking was revealed. It was normal stuff, but still fun to comb through.

Let’s do this.

“We are excited about this week. The game won’t get here soon enough. Any time I think it’s the opening game, it always carries a lot of end-of-camp, beginning-of-season attitude and there’s that dead time in between when you’re practicing and it’s almost like a bowl game mentality.”

Oh, hell yeah. You and everyone else.

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Paul Zeise makes some nice points that the Utah game is not the be-all, end-all game for Pitt. Winning or losing it does not make the season. Even replete with good examples from last year. It’s rational, reasonable and defensible.

It is a non-conference game. Even if Pitt loses, they can still make (and even win) a BCS bowl simply by winning the Big East. Just as Oregon and Ohio State lost their high profile early season non-cons and still went to the Rose Bowl.

You could make a good argument that what everyone ultimately uses to judge the success of the season would be how the team did in the bowl game. Cinci went 12-0 last year, were possibly a few seconds away from the BCS Championship game if Texas QB Colt McCoy’s pass hung a little longer, and lost their head coach before they went to the Sugar Bowl. That didn’t matter, getting pounded by Florida is all people think about with that Cinci team.

There are three major non-con games for Pitt: at Utah, Miami and at Notre Dame. If Pitt were to go 2-1 in those games, I think most Pitt fans would generally prefer the two wins came against Miami and Notre Dame. It isn’t that Utah isn’t as good or as important, it is that there is more history with the other teams and an impulse to want to see Pitt win those other games more.

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Ron Cook had a column this morning taking Pitt’s athletic director and football coach to task for the non-suspension of Jabaal Sheard.

If I’ve heard Wannstedt and athletic director Steve Pederson say it once, I’ve heard them say dozens of times that they want a strong program at Pitt — not just a strong team — and that they’re always going to do the right thing for the long term rather than overlook problems for short-term benefit.

Well, guess what?

Hey, I know that admirable policy isn’t always easy to follow. Wannstedt and Pederson wouldn’t have to swallow hard to suspend Sheard if he were a third-string defensive end or if Pitt’s opener was against New Hampshire at Heinz Field. Of course, it’s a lot more difficult in this case. But that doesn’t change the message Wannstedt and Pederson will be sending if they allow Sheard to play at Utah. They might as well tack up a sign in the locker room that says: “If you’re a good enough player and the game is really big, you can get away with bad behavior.”

I’ve already indicated my feelings on this, and that a suspension for the first game still would make more sense to me.

Today was the opening of Pitt’s training camp and Coach Wannstedt wanted to get out in front of all of this.

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Jock Sanders not withstanding,  Pitt was the overwhelming choice to win the Big East. That means, of course, that Coach Wannstedt needs to tamp things down.

“We’re younger this year and less experienced, so that’s my feeling.”

And then this:

“We’ve been together long enough now that the players understand we’re not going to overreact to anything good or bad. It really doesn’t mean anything at this point.”

From that the players took their cue.

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Big East Media Day, the start of camp. Too much coming too fast to take my time getting to links piling up in my tabs. So I’m just going to pass along the links and let you do all the work.

Starting with remaining Terrell Chestnut stories.

Chestnut had a hard time deciding between Pitt and Rutgers, but ultimately felt more comfortable at Pitt.

He is looking forward to playing defensive back full-time when he gets to college — whether it is cornerback or safety.

While Chestnut appears more comfortable at cornerback, he said he’s willing to make a change if necessary. That, of course, bodes well for Chestnut, considering Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt routinely suggests some recruits switch positions in an effort to maximize their potential.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to play — and win,” said Chestnut, who has 17 career interceptions, including four in 2009.

Solid local paper article on Chestnut and his commitment. He is just happy to have made the decision to try and enjoy his senior year.

“I went out there and felt it was the best place for me,” Chestnut said. “I want to major in pre-med, too, and (Pitt) is one of the best pre-med schools in the country.”

“Right now, though, (making a decision) is a big relief. It’s just a lot of stress off my back.”

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Summer time. Summer camps. Some mornings go better than others to get them moving. No children died today, but emotional scarring may have taken place.

Chris McKillop, the older brother of Scott McKillop and a good player in his own right at Pitt, has been looking at getting into coaching.

The 25-year-old was brought aboard as a graduate assistant to coach the defensive line at Duquesne this year. Last season, he served as a football intern, assisting with linebackers, special teams, strength and conditioning and equipment management at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan.

“At a smaller, Division II school like that, every coach has a bunch of responsibilities,” McKillop said. “It was a good experience. I got to see what it’s like. Now, I see things from a different perspective.”

He’s also taking a graduate program in sports leadership. Something that can aid for the administrative side of things.

Relating to a McKillop, Scott has been in town to help out at some of the  camps Coach Wannstedt has been running this year. He was in for the 7-on-7 passing camps. As was D.J. Dinkins — who despite being a journeyman NFL player making the minimum — continues to work in whatever community he is based to help kids.

Current and former players were also involved with the youth camp, including D.J. Dinkins, backup tight end for the Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints and a former Panther.

“I think it’s great that these boys can come out and just run around and have fun,” Dinkins said. “Through all the publicity and hype that football gets, it’s still just a game.”

Scott McKillop, a more recent Pitt alumnus, also made an appearance at the camp. McKillop is now a reserve/special teams linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said of the camp. “Anytime you can start kids at a young age and get them exposed to football, and show them how fun it is, when they get older they’ll be a step ahead of other kids.”

Very, very interesting about these camps.

That’s why the Pitt coaching staff has changed its philosophy on the prospect camps this year. At a time when many college camps are seeing a decline in attendance because of the economy, the Panthers had almost 300 more players attend their June prospect camps this year than last.

The fix was simple. Wannstedt invited 65 to 70 coaches from more than 40 universities — from the Mid-American Conference, Division I-AA, Division II and Division III schools — to work with and scout players at the camp. As a result, more high school players had an opportunity to get recruited.

“We’d get 100 or 200 kids here [in camp] and, really, we might only be interested in four or five and maybe one we’d offer a scholarship,” Wannstedt said. “That just didn’t sit right with me. I thought we could make the experience better for the players and really make the camps something that could help more kids play college football.

“We can only take 15 to 25 kids every year but there are an awful lot of really good football players out there who we’d bring to our camps and I felt like we could do a better job to make the camps something that would be helpful to them and help them get a shot that maybe they wouldn’t get otherwise.”

Now, beyond the cool thing of simply making more kids available to be evaluated to other programs, this is a brilliant goodwill program in the area.

You not only make the camp more than just learning for the kids, and an opportunity to be seen. You have them going back to their high schools talking about it. How Pitt and the coaches gave them opportunities.

Then there is the goodwill with the lower 1-A schools that get to take part. They know Pitt and Coach Wannstedt are helping them, and saving them some vital recruiting budget money. They can get a chance to evaluate and review more possible kids without having to go out as much on the recruiting trail. They can hone in on others. That goodwill can only help Pitt when it comes to getting the non-con games on the schedule later.

Also have to love how Coach Wannstedt puts all the money to the assistants rather than his own pocket.

Finally, congrats to Nate Byham for signing a deal with the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers have signed rookie tight end Nate Byham to a four-year deal.

The team announced the deal with its sixth-round pick Monday. Byham is the fourth of San Francisco’s eight draft picks to sign a contract.

Newest Pitt verbal Lafayette Pitts may have been listed as an athlete or running back on recruiting sites, but Pitts makes no bones about where he wants to and likes to play.

Pitts made a verbal commitment to Pitt Satuday at its team passing camp, where he shined in showing off his coverage skills.

Pitt was the first to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot, 185-pounder, who picked the Panthers over Buffalo, Illinois, Iowa, Kent State, Maryland and West Virginia.

“I bring a little bit of toughness to the cornerback spot because I like to press,” Pitts said. “I want to stay close to home and they all feel like family here.”

Pitts played receiver and running back last season for the WPIAL Class AAAA champions, and also starred in the secondary and as a kick returner.

“He’s like the Energizer Bunny – he’s always on the go,” Woodland Hills coach George Novak said. “He can do a lot of things but he’s very natural at defensive back. He’s very competitive for the ball and a good tackler.”

No question Pitts is a solid player for Pitt and as a DB, fills a need spot. This is recruiting, though, and nothing ever occurs in a vacuum. Everyone wants to see whether this effects other players.

But perhaps, most importantly, Pitts’ commitment could swing a couple other Woodland Hills’ prospects — LB Ejuan Price and DL Quinton Jefferson – to stay closer to home and choose Pitt as their school. Both Price and Jefferson are piling up the scholarship offers — Price has nine offers to date and Jefferson 10.

“That’s what we’re hoping (that Pitts committing to Pitt helps keep Price & Jefferson local),” said Woodland Hills assistant coach Joe Lafferty told me prior to the Wolverines’ first scrimmage Saturday morning against Findlay.

Pitts said he committed to the Panthers to stay closer to his family and to home. He also said Pitt was always his favorite program.

“Pitt has a great program and Dave Wannstedt is one of the top coaches in the nation,” said Woodland Hills head coach George Novak. “Pitts is a very versatile athlete and is one of the best in the WPIAL and the entire state.”

Unanswered (or asked) is just how close Pitts is to Price and Jefferson. That would offer more insight into how much his decision holds any sway. Jefferson might decide on Pitt, but it may have as much to do with 2010 commit and his cousin Brandon Ifill.

Like Pitts, the other two are solid 3-star prospects. All of three of them recevied offers from Iowa and WVU. Price has offers from Michigan State and Ohio State as well. Jefferson holds offers from Illinois, Maryland and Wisconsin.

As a sidebar, you can bet that fans/alum of other schools are less than thrilled to read Gateway coaches openly hoping their players go to Pitt and any fawning given to Coach Wannstedt.

Speaking of fawning. Here’s a solid puff-piece on Coach Wannstedt. Native Pittsburgher. Check. Worked iron mills. Check. Great recruiter. Check. Pro style offense run. Check.

Still, Wannstedt believes he’ll take the Panthers to the Promised Land again. “Nothing has changed since that press conference,” says Wannstedt, whose team finished No. 17 in the final BCS poll last season. “In fact, enough things have happened recently to reaffirm what I said then.”

There is evidence to support Wannstedt’s beliefs. First, Pittsburgh is winning regularly. After three seasons in which the program went a combined 16–19, the Panthers went 9–4 in 2008, then produced that 10–3 mark last season. The Panthers were seconds away from the Big East title and a BCS bowl berth in the regular-season finale, but a one-point loss to Cincinnati foiled those hopes. That setback was followed by a victory over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Small steps, yet vital, according to one college football historian. “I thought 2009 confirmed that the program is moving forward,” says Beano Cook, the venerated analyst. “Now, the question is: Can they go from this point to a national championship? It would be difficult, but feasible. Things are more challenging today because they don’t have the high school players in Pennsylvania that they used to have. And, Pitt has to play a tough non-conference schedule. That’s imperative. And, to their credit, they are playing tough non-conference games.”

A pleasant enough read.

The time when coaches and key members of the athletic department are throughout the state for Pitt-events and dinners, etc.

This week took Coach Dave Wannstedt and Coach Jamie Dixon and others into central PA to York for an alumni golf event. Guess what they were asked about?

“I really haven’t commented on it much for one reason: It really isn’t going to change my job day-to-day,” said University of Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt, addressing the speculation that the Panthers may be a potential target in Big Ten expansion.

“We have to go out and try to recruit the best players that we can,” Wannstedt added. “Regardless of who we’re going to play and when we’re going to play them.”

Both Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson and Pitt men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon stuck to a similar mantra when addressing the idea of potential conference changes on Thursday afternoon. The three men, along with Pitt wrestling coach Rande Stottlemyer, were in York for the University of Pittsburgh Sports Banquet and Golf Outing. The event was held at the Out Door Country Club.

I guess if you want to read between the lines a bit you might note that Coach Dixon is no longer saying much about conference realignment. Going more with the whole not commenting on things like this

/on snark

Much like when his name is mentioned for other jobs.

/off snark

But that is stuff covered ad nauseum (and will continue to be) even as Pitt and all other schools stick to the official “no comment” policy.

Meanwhile the visit to York allowed local reporters to ask about local players.

Asked for an update on York High graduate Greg Gaskins, Wannstedt, 57, started by stating that his offensive line will need a new center and two new guards because of graduation losses.

That means that Gaskins, a redshirt junior who saw action in all 13 games last year, will have a shot to distinguish himself.

“Greg Gaskins will get his opportunity this year,” Wannstedt said.

The Pitt coach also said that Gaskins will compete for time at right guard after he was a backup right tackle last year.

In the post-spring practice depth chart, Gaskins was listed ahead of Ryan Turnley at Right Guard. That is one of the spots that isn’t solidified and Turnely could well supplant Gaskins in the summer.

Coach Wannstedt was also asked about Jack Lippert. Coach Wannstedt praised Lippert’s work in school and in the weight room.

“He’s probably put on close to 40 pounds in one year’s time and it’s all good weight.”

Lippert made the move during the Panthers’ spring practice sessions after some concerted lobbying by the Pittsburgh offensive line coaches.

“[It was] because of a need,” Wannstedt said.

“He has progressed extremely well. I think he’s going to be a heckuva player for us on the offensive line. You know, he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s athletic.”

“We were looking [for] some depth at center,” Wannstedt continued.

“So we said, what player could possibly be smart enough, No. 1 and athletic enough, No. 2, and have a chance to get over there and develop down the road and be a two or three-year starter?”

“Jack was a guy that our offensive coaches wanted. He had a very good freshman year even though we redshirted him.”

They also spoke well of another local recruit, WR Salath Williams.

And Pitt’s 2010 recruiting class includes another McDevitt big-play threat – 6-4 wideout Salath Williams.

“Salath’s got a lot of talent,” Wannstedt said.

“He’s a little bit raw but he’s got speed, he’s got size and he’s got skill.”

In Dauphin County, former Pitt running back LeSean McCoy held his first annual “Shady’s Community Day.”

Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy signed autographs, footballs and jerseys for kids and adults, while kids played games and had plenty of activities going on the entire day. Also, a basketball tournament was held for kids and adults. Some of McCoy’s teammates committed to make an appearance and meet the fans. Overall, it was great to see as McCoy gave back to the community.

“It’s a great turnout … it’s a good thing to see them [kids] out there,” said McCoy, a former Bishop McDevitt High School and University of Pittsburgh star. “The reaction has been great and special. It’s all about giving back to the community.”

There was also a silent auction for the Pennsylvania ALS Foundation for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Something McCoy’s grandmother unfortunately is suffering from.

This bit from Brian Bennett has been sitting in a browser tab for nearly three weeks.

Actually, Pittsburgh could have won the last the two Big East titles. The Panthers have arguably had the most overall talent in the league, but they couldn’t beat Cincinnati either year.

The program has steadily climbed under Dave Wannstedt, reaching the Top 10 last November, winning 10 games for the first time in more than a quarter of a century and beating North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. But the Meineke Car Care Bowl is a long way from the BCS. And with the Bearcats going through a coaching change this season, the timing couldn’t be better for a breakthrough year.

“We’re a team that expects to win the Big East,” quarterback Tino Sunseri said. “We know what it’s like to see Cincinnati celebrating on our field. We understand how close we’ve been and what we need to do to go the extra step.”

There aren’t many excuses for Pitt this year. Lewis, the Big East’s reigning offensive MVP and rookie of the year, returns after running for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman. Romeus, the Big East’s co-defensive MVP last year, decided to wait on the NFL draft and come back for his senior year. Jonathan Baldwin, a 6-foot-5 athletic freak who had 1,111 yards receiving last year, should challenge for the Biletnikoff Award this season.

“If you look all around the country, you can’t think of too many teams that last year had a receiver go over 1,000 yards and a running back go over 1,700 yards,” Baldwin said. “Teams don’t know what to expect, whether we’re going to pound the ball down your throat or throw it.”

Everyone is saying that Pitt has the most talent — not just concentrated at some skill position, but across the board. The point being, Pitt and Coach Wannstedt are the favorite to win the Big East this year.

1. Pittsburgh: The Panthers have some questions, notably on the interior offensive line. But they’ve also got Dion Lewis, Greg Romeus and Jonathan Baldwin and more answers on both sides of the ball than any other Big East squad.

There is a reason that so far in early top-25s. Pitt is the Big East team ranked the highest.

13. Pittsburgh Panthers With former Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly moving to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh might be the team to beat in the Big East. The Panthers were close to winning the last two Big East championships, but they couldn’t beat the Bearcats. With tailback Dion Lewis and receiver Jonathan Baldwin coming back on offense, and end Greg Romeus returning to harass opposing quarterbacks, Pittsburgh might be poised to clear the last hurdle. Tino Sunseri beat out Pat Bostick for the starting quarterback job during the spring, and he’ll replace departed fifth-year senior Bill Stull. The Panthers play an aggressive nonconference schedule, including a Sept. 2 opener at Utah.

Andy Staples at SI.com, has Pitt at #16. It is a safe bet to see Pitt ranked anywhere from #12 to #25 in the various preseason polls and mags.

Greg Romeus and Jason Pinkston were named to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watchlist for best lineman.

Romeus, Pinkston along with Dion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin were named to the NationalChamps.net All-American team. More than any other program, period. Not just in the Big East.

Yes, there are questions about the secondary, the middle of the O-line and QB, but unless those spots absolutely fail, that shouldn’t be enough to derail the team.

That puts the pressure on the team to meet expectations. The pressure especially falls on Coach Wannstedt.

We’ve all seen the brain fart games. We’ve seen the games where Pitt took the foot off the gas and go conservative. We’ve seen the failure to adjust.

There was a big step towards Pitt and Coach Wannstedt starting to overcome the perception of underachiever and just not winning the big games. Yet the perceptions remain when you look at the 3 losses last season.

The NC State game showed poor game planning for the QB, the offense letting up after building a lead, and then not able to get it back.

The Backyard Brawl had a disturbing lack of intensity, focus and poor execution.

And the Cinci game. Simply not able to make the key stops.

Yes, these are oversimplifications. I am talking perception, though.

These games fit a narrative of a head coach and Pitt team — regardless of the coach — that don’t get over the hump and spit the bit when they have the chance.

Think of how most view, say Virginia Tech. A team that has talent, a very good coach, great defense and special teams. Yet, they almost inexplicably blow at least a couple games every year.

This becomes one of those seasons that can alter perceptions or confirm them.

Coach Dave Wannstedt and Joe Paterno were in the same room together with the media present. Naturally nothing was said of any consequence with relation to Pitt, PSU or Big Something expansion. It was pure Sgt. Schultz.

“There are a lot of rumors out there as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I don’t have any comment on that. That is for the chancellor [Mark Nordenberg] and the higher ups to discuss.”

Not surprising that there was nothing said. The coaches were there out of pure self-interest to promote spring practices for high school football. Have the kids focus more on the sport that football coaches want them to play and not take notice of other sports. Not to mention put more wear, contact and abuse on their bodies earlier. Just like they do in Texas, Florida, and other states that are football first.

Curious about some of Coach Dave Wannstedt’s perceptions of his time in the NFL? Well, here’s a two-part story on Coach Wannstedt looking back on his time in the NFL. Part One:

OF COURSE, Wannstedt never anticipated being in the NFL to begin with.

He worked for Johnson at Oklahoma State and the University of Miami – interrupted by a stint as defensive line coach at Southern Cal.

He was there when the Hurricanes won a national title under Johnson and remembers a fateful weekend.

“After we won (the national championship),” Wannstedt recalled, “Jimmy called me in and said, ‘Remember that friend of mine from Arkansas, Jerry Jones? Well, what’s weird is,  he’s about to become owner of the Dallas Cowboys. And, you know what’s really weird? I’m going to be the head coach.’”

So started Wannstedt’s NFL career.

Part two is more interesting. It gets into his version of why he resigned in mid-year from the Dolphins, defends his time in Chicago and Miami (hint, it involves the lack of a QB). But things seem to be as much about his closeness with Jimmy Johnson.

The two became friends on the staff of former Pitt coach Jackie Sherrill after Johnny Majors left for Tennessee.

It didn’t take long for Johnson to be offered the head job at Oklahoma State and he asked Wannstedt to come along to Stillwater.

“The easy thing would have been to stay at Pitt,” Wannstedt admitted, :but I thought that, from a career standpoint, if I was going to make a living at this, I needed to get away from Pitt.”

The only time the two separated was when Wannstedt served a three-year stint as defensive line coach at USC.

But they rejoined at the University of Miami when Johnson had an extraordinary run.

“Our relationship was that he knew he could trust me,” Wannstedt said. “It’s very important to have two or three guys on your staff who have an understanding what your philosophy is, think the same way that you do and can put out a lot of fires for you

“We played golf and went to the islands and enjoyed our off-the-field time as much (as coaching).”

At least one of his investments turned out really poorly.

Seems Coach Wannstedt held some stock in Orion Bank in Naples.

There are 405 “holders” of private stock identified on Orion Bancorp’s registration list. Some names are repeated two or three times, with a different number of shares, indicating multiple holdings.

…

The five other directors of Orion Bancorp’s board – Earl Holland of Fort Myers, Brian Schmitt of Marathon, James Torok of Sarasota, Alan Pratt of Vero Beach and James Aultman of Marathon – were big investors in the holding company. In the group, Holland had the most shares – 273,136 – making him the second-largest individual shareholder after Williams.

Dave Wannstedt, a former coach of the Miami Dolphins and head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh, owned 71,008 shares.

The bank was one of the largest privately held bank in Florida.  It got shut down by the FDIC back at the end of September. The shareholder list just surfaced.

Ouch.

But, at least his name isn’t surfacing with failed real estate development deals and some banned booster named “Clegg.”

There really is only so much to say about Coach Wannstedt’s extension. Coach Wannstedt’s value to Pitt is not questioned. At the same time, it is not like he is going anywhere. Wannstedt’s value to Pitt is probably greater than in the open market. Not by much, as he could probably earn near his salary as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. He wouldn’t, however, get to be the head coach at this level of college or the NFL.

Neither side has any desire for that, though. The additional years on the contract are for purposes of refuting any negative recruiting efforts of how long Wannstedt will be at Pitt. To provide tangible evidence of both sides commitment. The bump is salary is to make sure Wannstedt knows Pitt is not taking him for granted. There are no mysteries here.

“The contract extension is really an indication of a mutual commitment to one another,” Pederson said.

He declined to disclose the terms of the agreement or say whether the extension increases Wannstedt’s pay.

“We have always tried to compensate our coaches fairly and make sure that they’re competitive,” Pederson said.

He said this is not “earth-shattering news” — Wannstedt knew the university wanted to extend his contract…

The move, as such didn’t create huge ripples in college football, but it is spring, so the news cycle is a little quieter.

Q. Dave Wannstedt received a contract extension from Pitt. How do you rate the job he has done there?

Hayes: Wannstedt will be the first to say it’s all about winning championships. Pitt is close, and could’ve won the Big East last year if the defense could’ve held a big lead on Cincinnati in the last game of the season. That said, he and his staff have made a significant impact on the program: from recruiting, to player development to winning (20 of the last 27 games).

When he was first hired, Wannstedt talked about how returning to his alma mater was an important step in his professional life. I’m not sure he realized how much he’d grow to enjoy the college game. When a coach is invested like that at a place he truly enjoys, only good things can happen.

Curtis: I’m thinking a solid B. The lack of a Big East championship sticks out, especially in a league that lacks the traditional juggernauts each of the other five BCS automatic qualifier conferences features. Throw in the head-scratching losses, even last season to N.C. State, and Wannstedt can’t rank among the best. Still, he’s brought together a strong staff, and he’s shown he can both recruit and develop players on both sides of the ball. A hair more consistency in the fall, and Wannstedt jumps to another coaching caste.

As Chris Peak points out, this is happily part of a time of coaching stability and success in both football and basketball. A rarity for most programs.

Even in terms of Pitt history, Wannstedt and Dixon have become two of the longest-tenured coaches in their respective sports. Wannstedt’s five years served tie him for the fifth-longest coaching stint in the football program’s 120-year history, and if he serves the full duration of the current contract, he will have been Pitt’s head coach for 10 years, which would rank as the third-longest tenure behind Jock Sutherland (15 seasons from 1924-38) and John Michelosen (11 seasons from 1955-65).

Wannstedt, who has a 35-26 record in five seasons and in 2009 led the program to its first 10-win season since 1981, is also just one of seven head football coaches in Pitt history to serve at least five consecutive seasons. The program has had a total of 34 head coaches in its 120-year history.

The men’s basketball program has had more consistency. Dixon’s seven-year tenure is also tied for the fifth-longest in program history, but the Panthers had just four head coaches – George Flint, Doc Carlson, Robert Timmons, and Charles Ridl – in the 64-year span from 1911 to 1975. Since 1975, only two coaches have led the Panthers for at least seven years: Paul Evans (1986-94) and Dixon.

…

“You can look at the University of Pittsburgh and say, ‘I’ve got pretty good assurance about what’s going to happen next,” Pederson said Wednesday. “I’m going to go there, I’m going to get a great education at a great university, I’m going to play on a great team, I’m going to be coached by outstanding people, and I don’t have to worry every year about what’s happening next. I can go in and I can achieve everything I’m trying to achieve without worrying about all of this other stuff.’”

Good times.

Really not much to say. I don’t have a real problem with it. It seems like the kind of formality to make it clear that he is going to be here a while — on the off chance someone wanted to negative recruit against Pitt that Wannstedt could be on his way out. We all know he isn’t going anywhere.

The extension in terms of years is only two more. He is now under contract until 2014. Presumably there is a bit of a bump in salary to keep him among the upper-part of the conference.

Just caught the second half of the press conference, where Coach Wannstedt was wrapping up talking about his love for Pitt, how the recruiting has improved, depth is much better, that there is stability in the program and kids know Pitt is not a stepping-stone for coaches.

Then the floor was opened to questions including spring practice. Yes, the topic of QBs just happened to be discussed. Coach Wannstedt remains steadfast that this is still a competition.

He said that Bostick is getting just as much work as Sunseri — just to different players. Yes, he said it with a straight face.

When talking about the two, it is clear that he sees much more potential in Sunseri at this point. He used the term “upside.” Mentioned how he can make throws and can move around so well.

Then it was time to say good things about Bostick.”Pat. Well, Pat is Pat.”

Yes that is what he said. I am reasonably certain that is an exact quote. He went on to say that he has confidence that Bostick could step on the field now and get the team in the endzone. If you had any further doubt about the depth chart at QB. This answered it.