May 20, 2007: Wanny Aid

To drink or not to drink, that is the question all Pitt fans are asking themselves this week. It seems that there are three distinct camps among Pitt fans regarding their opinion of the current tenure of Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt: patient, doomed, and not so sure yet.

And the Dawg will flat out say it right now; I'm in the last group...for sure.

But it's the first two camps that have clearly defined and debated this argument heavily this week. It's obviously a slow week, but nonetheless, this dialogue has been the constant one to inspire extremely long debates and emotion every time it's brought up. As I see it, somehow an analogy of life is unearthed, practically uncovered every time Dave Wannstedt’s prowess as a head football coach is brought up. And that's whether the argument is in Pittsburgh, Miami, or Chicago. Fans seem to look at his lukewarm results as a head coach and either be utterly convinced that the guy is just a flat out failure, while many others look at them and see promise and hope for the future. And nowhere is this analogy more observant and passionate than in Oakland. To Pitt fans Wannstedt is not just another NFL assistant thrown onto the head coaching trash heap. He's a favorite son of not only the program, but of the entire area, mainly for being a decent, warm hearted, friendly, and completely admired legend of a human being. Hence why the debate is more passionate, more well rounded that the typical assertions that he is an abysmal failure of coach you hear from so many outsider fans.

So, among Pitt fans, it appears most look at the results and either feel that this will be life under Wannstedt in perpetuity or that the program naturally bottomed out as a result of the Harris regime and that the current coach is suffering the effects of this while he methodically rebuilds the program in his image.

But there is that small group I personally fit into still to consider: the not so sure one. And I realize how wishy-washy that last sentence really seems. But like almost everyone, I truly believed a new era had dawned for Pitt football that eventful day over two years ago when Dave Wannstedt accepted the head coaching position vacated when Walt Harris took the Stanford head job. Unfortunately, that new era still hasn't started, no matter how much some of us want to believe it has, at least not on the field. The results have just not been there to proclaim Wannstedt's hiring a total success, not yet anyway. So like the first group, I am disappointed with the results. I don’t buy the idea that Pitt was so far in the dumps that not getting to a bowl game was inevitable

But I don't think most of the Wannstedt supporters would want anyone to think that they are happy with the results on the field either. But, they also believe that better results are only a matter of time. And there is validity to their opinion. Wannstedt has dramatically improved the talent level. Mainly because he has lent out a hand and healed many of the relationships Walt Harris had burned at the local high school level as well. Wannstedt has also crafted a very strong and positive image of a program that has struggled at times with its public persona in the past.

But where I differ with this group is there desire to stand by the head coach regardless of how long it takes to see the results. I think somewhere along the line a higher outcome has to be expected. Despite the amount of youth and inexperience on the current roster, there is enough talent to win seven games this year. And somewhere along the road, Wannstedt’s Panthers must figure out how to beat a team that is favored against them. All great coaches have to demonstrate this at least a few times during the tenure. Walt Harris certainly did. And unlike some of the other coaches mentioned who needed more time than two-three years to have a winning season, Wannstedt was brought in to take the program higher than it had been under Harris. A tall order, when you consider that the Panthers had not missed going to a bowl game in half a decade.

So, the Dawg’s point is simple. Wannstedt has come a long way in restoring some lacking elements to the program, especially in regards to talent and public image. But somewhere along the way the results have to follow. And if they don’t soon, the head coach has to be culpable. I’m willing to wait, especially since Wannstedt has shown so much promise. But if Pitt doesn’t make a bowl game this year, then 2008 has to have consequences. He must be coaching to keep his job. If not, than the program will be stagnating and worse off than it was when he took over. And that’s not something any head coach, even one as admired as Dave Wannstedt, can expect to keep their job over.