He has an NFL head-coaching pedigree, specializes in defense and comes back to college football at a tradition-rich program ripe for a return to glory.

The scenario describes new Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt. But it could have also described Pete Carroll when he was hired as Southern California’s head coach five seasons ago.

If Wannstedt’s return to the Panthers sounds similar to Carroll’s story at USC, it’s no coincidence.

The recent trend for college football coaching hires is to take NFL cast-offs. It worked at USC, where Carroll has won two national championships. It’s working at Virginia, where Al Groh has the Cavaliers among the top programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pittsburgh is hoping it works in the Steel City, too, where Wannstedt is trying to transform Pittsburgh from the top of the Big East standings to the top of the college football rankings.

The Panthers entrenched themselves among the top teams in the conference over the last half decade under former head coach Walt Harris. They won the Big East Championship last season, but never made the leap into the nation’s elite. With the arrival of Pittsburgh native and former Pitt letterman Wannstedt, the no. 23 Panthers are already garnering widespread attention.

While the anticipation is bubbling for their nationally televised debut against Notre Dame on Saturday night, the 54-year-old Wannstedt is quick to instruct to hold off before making any Carroll comparisons.

‘I haven’t coached a game,’ Wannstedt said. ‘I’ve talked to (Carroll) about making the transition. It was a very good conversation. It was a very informative conversation. He talked about some things he did good, and some things he probably would have changed. I just hope that we can get our program in the next couple of years into the top 10 in the country where we can compete with a USC.’

He understands the comparisons. He said he’s implementing some of Carroll’s philosophies, especially a strong emphasis on recruiting. But he’s wary to put his name into Carroll’s category until he actually coaches a game.

That shouldn’t shed the optimism, though. The transition from NFL to college is undoubtedly working. Even NFL coordinators, like Louisville head coach and former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, experience success. Across the sideline from Wannstedt on Saturday will be former New England Patriots offensive coordinator and current Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, the architect of the offense that won three of the past four Super Bowls.

The coaching grind and businesslike approach of the NFL gives coaches like Wannstedt, Carroll, Petrino, Weis and even Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson a unique perspective when they return to campus.

‘When you come back, you enjoy it a little more because you coach players in search of their dream,’ Petrino said. ‘It’s not just entertainment business. You come back and you really work hard on developing relationships with your players and help them understand what they need to do to accomplish what they want.’

A 30-year coaching veteran, Wannstedt was most recently head coach for the Miami Dolphins for five seasons. He also coached the Chicago Bears for six seasons. Before the Bears, Wannstedt served as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator for three seasons, including their 1992 Super Bowl run.

For all his success, he hasn’t coached in college since 1988 when he was the defensive coordinator for Miami, and he’s never been a head coach at the college level. Wannstedt is already seeing major differences. As he prepares for Saturday night, he doesn’t know exactly what to expect.

‘You don’t have a real good feel for your team because you haven’t played anyone yet,’ Wannstedt said. ‘In the NFL, we had the four preseason games. Even high schools around here had scrimmages at least once before they opened up their season last weekend. So that’s the unknown of this whole college experience that I’m still trying to figure out.’

UC Football Disregards Huggins’ Firing

Cincinnati athletics made headlines last week, but it had nothing to do with its football program. Iconic men’s basketball head coach Bob Huggins resigned under pressure from the administration on Aug. 24. Football head coach Mark Dantonio insists that the resulting attention won’t distract the football team.

‘We’ll see how it all shakes with the general public, but I think the people will not associate the two sports and still support the football program,’ Dantonio said. ‘People need to be able to solve that problem in their own way. So there are repercussions. But our team, we try to stay focused, and not became distracted. We can’t allow that to happen.’

The Bearcats became conditioned to fending off distractions. They spent their preseason in an NFL training camplike environment in West Harrison, Ind., 30 minutes outside Cincinnati. Dantonio said the focus of the trip was simply football and spending time with each other. The isolation helped Dantonio get acclimated with the young team, allowing the coach to reach out to his players beyond the practice field.

‘I played ping-pong with a few of the players. It was things like that to let them to know you a little more as a person,’ Dantonio said.

Game of the Week

Notre Dame at (23) Pittsburgh, Saturday, 8 p.m., ABC

With respect to Syracuse and West Virginia, the top Big East game this week takes place in Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The highly anticipated Irish-Panthers duel will give fans a chance to see Weis’ renowned offense open against Wannstedt’s rugged defense. Last season, Pittsburgh outlasted Notre Dame, 41-38, behind a five-touchdown performance from quarterback Tyler Palko. ESPN’s College Gameday will televise live from the Steel City at 10 p.m.

Around the Conference

UConn opens against Buffalo on Thursday night and the Huskies should hope their team is in better condition than their playing field. Rentschler Field hosted a Rolling Stones concert last Friday. The field is chewed up from the west end 10-yard line through the nearby endzone. The visitor’s sideline is also damaged. … When Rutgers plays Illinois on Saturday, the Scarlet Knights might know the Illini personnel better than the Illini. Rutgers’ new running backs coach, Robert Jackson, spent the past four seasons as receivers coach/recruiting coordinator at Illinois. Most of Illinois’ players were recruited by Jackson. … When it comes to recruiting, seldom does Louisville have a weekend more important than the Battle of the Bluegrass State. Two of the past three ‘Mr. Football’ recipients in Kentucky have gone to the Cardinals, winners of five of the last six Louisville-Kentucky games. … South Florida visits Penn State on Saturday as a double-digit underdog. USF head coach Jim Leavitt said the starting quarterback spot is still undecided. Sophomore Courtney Denson is seeking to unseat junior Pat Julmiste. Denson, a superb athlete, would give the Bulls speed and playmaking ability behind center, but Julmiste has experience working in his favor as they head to Happy Valley.

Published on August 29, 2005 at 12:00 pm