Former Pitt head coach Paul Chryst wasn’t the only casualty of the Pitt football program Wednesday evening as Pitt announced that athletic director Steve Pederson has also been replaced. Per the University, Vice Chancellor Dr. Randy Juhl has been named interim AD. The firing ends Pederson’s second stint as the Pitt AD, a sting that began in 2007 and didn’t produce many positive results and now has the Panthers looking for their fifth head football coach since 2010. The football program ... Read More
Paul Chryst leaves Pitt for Wisconsin
Pitt head coach Paul Chryst is now the former Pitt head coach as Chryst has officially accepted an offer to become the new head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, ending days of speculation that a deal was done. Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez targeted Chryst, who has ties to the Wisconsin program, almost immediately when Gary Anderson left the Badgers to take the Oregon State job. Chryst is a Wisconsin boy, who now has the opportunity to return to his alma mater, but return home as well. He was a ... Read More
10 candidates to become next Pitt head coach
With Paul Chryst all but out the door as the Pitt head coach, as an official announcement is expected to be made Wednesday evening, it’s time to focus on filling the void on the Pitt sidelines. As the Panthers search for their fifth head coach since 2010, several names stand out as who should be considered serious candidates to land the job. With that being said, here’s a look at 10 strong candidates that current Pitt AD Steve Pederson should have on speed dial. Greg Schiano- I know for ... Read More
Steve Pederson should follow Paul Chryst out the door
Per sources, Paul Chryst bolting Pitt for the Wisconsin job is a done deal and will become official Wednesday night at a 7 p.m. EST press conference in Madison. With that news, Pitt chancellor Patrick Gallagher is presented with a golden opportunity, one that likely wouldn’t have come along if Chryst had stayed aboard. He can hire his own man. By that I’m not necessarily talking about a football coach, but more importantly Gallagher has the opportunity to start fresh with his own ... Read More
Paul Chryst ‘Decision’ leaving Pitt in limbo
If and when current Pitt football coach Paul Chryst accepts the job at Wisconsin, likely as early as Wednesday, the Panthers will have lost more than just a coach. They are also losing out on valuable time, not only in a busy recruiting period, but valuable time in hiring a new head coach as well. There’s nothing Chryst can do about the situation to help the Panthers, other than announce he is staying at Pitt, as the Panthers have been in limbo for close to a week now. During that time, ... Read More
Pitt, Penn State aren’t destination jobs
When people talk about sports, the line is often brought up that it’s just a game. However, I tend to disagree with this statement. Especially when I think about football in the state of Pennsylvania. Football is not only a game here, it is a part of our culture. It’s not something we do just to pass the time, it’s a way of life. If it were just a game, you wouldn’t see people out and about on Saturdays representing the Pitt blue and gold or the navy and white of Penn State. The two teams ... Read More
Paul Chryst to Wisconsin a strong possibility
With this week’s news that former Wisconsin football coach Gary Anderson has accepted the same position at Oregon State, all eyes and ears will be focused on Badgers’ AD Barry Alvarez’s search. And that search very well could lead to Pitt head coach Paul Chryst. If offered the job, for Chryst the decision should be a no-brainer. He should be on the first flight to Madison and not think twice about doing so. There’s nothing wrong with a coach like Chryst leaving Pitt for what is ... Read More
Pitt headed to Armed Forces Bowl
After qualifying for a bowl bid by winning at Miami (FL) last weekend to improve to 6-6, the Pittsburgh Panthers (6-6, 4-4 ACC) will represent the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, January 2 at noon against the Houston Cougars (7-5, 5-3 AAC). Houston was the fifth-place team in the American Athletic Conference, most recently playing Saturday in a 38-31 loss at Cincinnati. The Cougars played one ranked team this season, the BYU Cougars, who were ranked ... Read More
Penn State to face Boston College in Pinstripe Bowl
Penn State (6-6) will play Boston College (7-5) in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 27 in New York City at Yankee Stadium. The kickoff is set for 4:30 in the afternoon and will be broadcasted on the ESPN family of networks. This is the Nittany Lions’ first bowl trip in two years since participating in the TicketCity Bowl in January 2012, but they haven’t won a bowl game since January 2010 when they topped LSU 19-17. This will be head coach James Franklin’s fourth career bowl appearance. He ... Read More
Culture of athletics needs to change
As California University of Pennslyvania will have an external review of its football program, it's just a daily reminder that the culture of athletics needs to change. Cal's football program may have had a fairly successful season, finishing 8-3, but that's not what most people are talking about when bringing the program up in conversation. What they're talking about is all of the criminal charges that have been brought up on several occasions against Vulcan players. According to reports, at ... Read More