Panther247 Board

Your post is a real bummer. Fact is that there are only about a dozen guys who are consistently good college head football coaches. There's no chance of any of those guys coming to coach at Pitt. Hence we roll the dice, and roll the dice, and roll the dice...

I wish Coach Chryst were a smooth talker like Todd Graham - and I'm not being sarcastic. I think the kids eat up whatever a coach like Graham tells them. One of the keys to public speaking - or really any speaking - is to be enthusiastic about your topic. Coach Chryst doesn't necessarily come across this way, but I do think that he will grow - somewhat - in this respect. You see some glimpses of a lighter personality and sense of humor, but I think it will take some time for him to feel comfortable enough to have it more on display...

On the staff, I really like the key players, like Huxtable, Hueber, Engram, Rudolph, and Bollinger. Thought he could have done better on some of the other positions.

I do think Coach Chryst's low-key approach is one that can be successful in the long run. Problem is, we don't tend to have "long runs" at Pitt. But if Chryst is here for several years, then his popularity with the local high school coaches should really start to pay dividends in recruiting.

It's not like we had a lot of choice on bringing in a big-time proven head coach (I knew they wouldn't do it, but I was actually hoping that Pitt would hire Mike Leach...)...

Go Pitt.

Chryst was offered the No. Illinois head coaching position but declined to stay at Wisconsin. Not sure of the year but it was the last time No. Ill hired a football coach.

Fixed.

Solid discussion points gentlemen. What makes me miserable? It's a fckin opinion....during a slow time on a football message board. I am not upset about anything or going to lose sleep. Miserable people are intolerable of opinions different than theirs.

I want nothing to do with a talker like HCTG. I do however like a talker like DW.

HCTG was all me, me, me, while DW talked about the kids and Pitt. Two good public speakers, but both had different agendas. Kids, parents and coaches saw right through that shit 6 months later.

As far as PC goes, I think he had the best resume out of what was available that would have considered Pitt. I would have loved to of seen what would have happened last year if he was chosen over TG. Do the majority of the DW recruits stay knowing they would still be playing in a 4-3 defense with a pro-style offense? Would last year's results have been better leading to Pitt having a ton of momentum this year? How much more would Tino have progressed rather than regressed?

I thank Steve.

Wh4p, clearly you're not happy with many things and you're certainly entitled to your opinion... as are others. You certainly share your "lack of love" enough to counter balance the "love".

I welcomed this change and I'm very happy with the addition of PC. I like his demeanor and I like his background. I wanted him over TG the year prior. I don't agree that you need some "persona" to sell a program. PC was dealt a queen / five at Pitt. Let's be realistic, it wasn't a very good hand to play this year.

Is the recruiting a bit puzzling? Maybe. But I'm willing to give the man a year to put a class together and actually coach a game. I don't have a problem with kickers getting offers. There are a lot of ships to be filled and I'm willing to wait and see how it pans out. I'm most upset / concerned that they didn't get Johnson, but that's about it.

Several months ago some were livid that we didn't have commits.... and now that we have them, they aren't good enough.

We'll know in a few years.

Let's wait. Acton speaks louder than words. Although I do have to say it's 50/50 right now. I'm betting on Tiny. Imagine that.

Good points all around and yes, Paul Chryst is a rookie HC and a relative unknown. That may be the quality PITT needs right now though.

You can say what you will about Walt Harris and Dave Wannstedt but the fact is that they both built the football program into what they envisioned it to be.

Obviously Paul Chryst is doing the same thing here that he saw done successfully while at Wisconsin. I don't have any problem whatsoever if he exactly replicates the Wisconsin teams. They won ballgames and played exciting football which is what any fan wants I think.

That takes time however and apparently time isn't what some people want to give Paul Chryst before they start declaring "wins and losses" to him - even before summer Training Camp opens. I'm usually pretty optimistic about PITT football but try to stay realistic also.

I scoffed at the 9+ win prediction last year and am very skeptical of doing it this year. But that doesn't mean Paul Chryst can't be successful with seven or eight wins on the season.

If he gets the team to give 100% effort every play, every series, every quarter and every game he'll be ahead of what we've seen in the past two years. If he gets the team to be competitive in scoring up to the final gun in each game I'll be satisfied as I will if he wins all the games he 'should' and wins or almost the games when we are underdogs.

To me the most important issue with Paul Chryst's first year is to stop the downward trend - and contrary to some fan's beliefs there has been a marked trend south and not just in wins and losses. Our program has suffered through numerous issues in the last two years that most programs may not go through in decades.

The off the field issues have to be fixed and I don't mean just the player's problems. I mean the circus show that has accompanied each of the last two seasons ranging from the poor decision making by the HC in 2010 to the firing/hiring fiascoes, to the bitch slapping right through to the abrupt disappearance of Todd Graham.

This is what Chryst is faced with rectifying - 24 months of very negative press and blows to the reputation of the program. What we have become in the recent past is to be the butt of jokes about what has happened within our program.

If he can put together a decent recruiting season, solid camps and a positive regular football season without the drama we have seen lately he's done the first thing PITT wants him to do. We just need to show future recruits, our fans and the media that we are on track to fixing what has been broken.

As far as deciding whether or not Chryst has been a success? I'll wait until February of 2014 to make that grand proclamation. Until then I can say whether or not he's been successful at certain things but not as a blanket statement overall. I'm wary of things just as WH4P is although maybe not as much. My measuring stick for PITT football has always been more than just how many wins and losses we have.

Fix what needs to be fixed right off the bat then those numerous wins we want will follow. I truly believe that.

The only negative thing chryst has done in recruiting is losing johnson and thats not over. Would i like some commits with a bit more hype? Yea and theyll come.

Chryst has an unenviable task of bringing some stability and creating a positive aura around the program heading into the acc. The good news is pitts schedule is a joke. Ive said it before and ill continue saying it, with this schedule there should be no less than 8 wins. If chryst wins 8 games and meets depth needs recruiting wise, ill be greatly excited for our first year in the acc with what should be a great battle for the starting qb spot between chad voytik and tom savage and maybe even chapman because of his great athleticism.

I agree completely with you. The only blessing PC may have is the schedule. Personally I think PC will have a lot of struggles in his first year. He really has stepped into one of the most difficult coaching challenges/situations I can remember in a long time. If PC can get 7 or more wins in his first season I will be thrilled. If he only wins 5 or 6, I will not write him off at all. As much as we all love Pitt football, PC has his work cut out for him.

He will have rough moments in his first HC job. I just hope the fans will give him time to learn from those mistakes because I think PC has the skills to become an excellent coach. PC strikes me as a thinker and strategist. As Pitt wins some games PC will be able to start getting better skill players than he ever imagined while at Wisconsin. When he does, I think Pitt will bounce back strong.

I'll clairify a little, I think he will be a thinker in terms of the X's and O's of the actual game. I also believe he will be a better motivator than some think. He seems to have a personality that the players enjoy, but I also get a sense they know they better perform well or else they won't be getting PT. In a perfect world, you would have what your looking for which is a great recruiter, a great game day coach, and a great coaching staff. I'm not saying those things are impossible, but those types are not going to be coming to Pitt anytime soon.

However, one thing that has me excited about the ACC is it should elevate the quality of coaches that would like to come to Pitt. I hope PC works out and my gut tells me he will. IF he doesn't ( I want to stress IF), I feel much better about the next coaching search being affiliated with the ACC and the increased $ the ACC will bring to Pitt than I did with Pitt being in the BE.

Nobody knows how PC will do as a HC, but I also think some are being way to negative about the DJ recruiting situation. It sucked we didn't get him, but we just have to wait and see these recruits in action. If Pitt lands Foster, I think it will ease a lot of the sting of losing DJ.

Goadie - I like how you think and I agree. It takes time to do things right and lay a firm foundation...we're on our way IMO.