Rhoads replaced already?

This come as no surprise but Dave Wannstedt has been talking to Greg Gattuso about becoming the new defensive coordinator. Wanny knew that Rhoads would be leaving when the right opportunity presented itself, so luckily he was prepared. The one great thing about Dave Wannstedt is all of his contacts he has due to the many years he has spent in football. Luckily enough we were able to get Gattuso to come here from Duquesne and he hasn't disappointed. Our defensive line was probably the 2nd worst unit on our team (behind the OL) when he came in. After last year, I think we can all agree they were the deepest, most talented, and most impressive unit on the field.

Wanny may interview a few people as a formality, but it shouldn't take too long until Greg Gattuso is named defensive coordinator. If and when he is promoted, it will be interesting to see what changes will happen to the defense. With Rhoad's departure, that leaves us without a linebackers coach and the move up of Gattuso would leave us without a DLine coach. Gattuso could coach the DLine and be the defensive coordinator like Rhoads did last year. Now with Chris Ball and Paul Rhoads gone, we could see 3 new assistants on staff. Jeff Hafley was promoted to DB coach already, and it will be interesting to see if we stay within again to find a linebackers coach or if we go outside of the program.

Gattuso loves playing a high pressure, physical defense so it should be quite interesting to see if we stick with the "bend, don't break" style or if we stay with the 13-9 smashmouth style defense that I feel we should be employing. Maybe now we won't have to hand out any more "Still Running" awards.

~ DPJ ~

Ed Orgeron

Well, there ya have it. This will be most likely the second coaching change for the Panthers this off season as Paul Rhoads is 99% sure to leave. I didn't really believe the reports at first, but as the day progressed more news kept coming out that made it seem much more likely that we would soon be in need of a new defensive coordinator. Greg Gattuso is the obvious and early favorite to take over for Rhoads. He has done an amazing job and is by no means under-qualified. I believe it was Jason Jones earlier in the season who predicted that he would eventually be promoted.

The second name that keeps popping up is Sal Sunseri. This would make many Panther fans happy as we would bring back another "Pitt" guy. It makes sense too as he could join his son and who knows what the Carolina Panthers are going to do with their staff.

Someone keeps mentioning Tom Bradley. It won't happen, will never happen, move on.

The last one is a very dark horse candidate. Ed Orgeron has worked with Dave Wannstedt in the past and would make a good replacement for Rhoads. Orgeron was not successful at all during his time at head coach, but we all see what he was able to do for USC. He was highly thought of enough to be assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator. If we can some how bring him in and pair him up with Wannstedt and Gattuso, we just may see the biggest impact recruiting trio in the country.

Realistically, the job should be Gattuso's. He's done an incredible job with coaching and recruiting. He has the full support of the coaching staff and the fans. We will keep an eye on the situation and hopefully all bodes well for the Panthers.

Alexander a Panther

I wish the Pete would have let me take my computer to the Pitt / Georgetown basketball game tonight so that I could have posted at half time about AJ Alexander committing. But oh well, we all find out eventually. AJ adds more speed and versatility to an already dangerous team.

For those of you at the game, you all probably saw despite the efforts of the Zoo and Cam Saddler himself, Terrelle Pryor really showed no interest in Pitt. My best guess is that he wanted a free ticket to a big game. So if a great atmosphere is what he wanted that is what he got.

Also Joe Trebitz committed today. He along with Justin Virbitzky could represent the last of the class. I'm sure if Holley still wants to come we will find a spot for him, but with these two plus Alexander, we are one ship away from filling our limit.

Congrats to the Panthers on a nice upset win today. That makes us 4-0 at home against top 5 teams at the Pete.

~ DPJ ~

Terrelle Pryor, Zeke Marshall, and Lamar Patterson

Well, this is a football blog, but tonight is huge as ESPN's Big Monday comes to Pitt. In addition to that, the #1 recruit in the country Terrelle Pryor has been confirmed (I spoke with the coaches) that he will be attending tonights game. In addition to Pryor, Zeke Marshall, a very good local kid who the coaches love will be here. Lastly Lamar Patterson who is already committed will be here.

The Oakland Zoo and THE REST OF THE FANS should do their part and help the team land these guys. If you think this really doesn't matter, just ask Shady McCoy. He said that the "Students reception blew him away and with out that he would probably be at UPS". He also talks about his visit all of the time, so with the right pitch, maybe we can land them.

~ DPJ ~

History repeating itself.

Pitt will be trying to recapture some of the glory of the late WaHa era by starting a new initiative to make sure that Heinz Field is packed for every game. This is priority number 1 for Steve Peterson who wants to make sure we are able to reach attendance levels like we had in the 2003 season. In addition to this, look for Pitt to go back to a new "old" look. Don't worry older Panther fans, it won't be the script so you can keep complaining about that to the athletics department. The first change you will see with the logo will be with the football uniforms, specifically on the pants. This is just a small secondary change, not a change to the block Pitt.

~ DPJ ~