Another quote from Dave Wannstedt on Steve Pederson

[Chris Peak]

I talked to Dave Wannstedt at length for the 13-9 series/book, and he gave me a lot of great quotes. One bit he gave me that didn't make it into the book was this little anecdote:

“Mark Nordenberg called me on Tuesday of that week and I remember sitting at my desk and he said, ‘Dave, let me ask you a question.’ And he said, ‘What do you know about Steve Pederson?’ I said, ‘I’ve met him, I don’t know him that well but everything I’ve heard about him is bad.’ That was my exact quote. And there was silence on the phone. They were holding the press conference two days later.”

I thought you guys might appreciate that.

 

[KanePA]

If you could boil the last 3 decades of Pitt football into one quote, that would be it.

 

[raleighpanther]

Most fans have issues with their team's AD, but seldom do you see such loathing from ex-coaches and other insiders as you see with Pederson. What a douche.

I loved how he was dismissed the minute that Chryst was announced as the new Wisky coach. No way he was going to be allowed to make the next hire.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

I laughed.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Most fans have issues with their team's AD, but seldom do you see such loathing from ex-coaches and other insiders as you see with Pederson. What a douche.

I loved how he was dismissed the minute that Chryst was announced as the new Wisky coach. No way he was going to be allowed to make the next hire.

He didn’t make that hire, either.

 

[HailtoPitt]

I wonder if Nordenberg and Steve were fixin to fire Wannstedt after that third mediocre season, but 13-9 happened two days after Steve was rehired and then they had to keep him. Then Wanny won 9 games and then 10 games the following two seasons, and they certainly couldn't fire him them. The 7 win season with the SI story game them adequate cover.

 

[HailtoPitt]

He didn’t make that hire, either.

Correct. Barry Alvarez did.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Most fans have issues with their team's AD, but seldom do you see such loathing from ex-coaches and other insiders as you see with Pederson. What a douche.

And it can’t be written off to fans being fans because he was also a flaming ahole at Nebraska as well. Same exact complaints there.

 

[Jakey_John]

I wonder if Nordenberg and Steve were fixin to fire Wannstedt after that third mediocre season, but 13-9 happened two days after Steve was rehired and then they had to keep him. Then Wanny won 9 games and then 10 games the following two seasons, and they certainly couldn't fire him them. The 7 win season with the SI story game them adequate cover.

There very well maybe something to this. People are still unhappy that it went down the way it did. Wonder if ol Mumbles and Wanny ever met/ get along.

 

[RaleighPittFan]

And it can’t be written off to fans being fans because he was also a flaming ahole at Nebraska as well. Same exact complaints there.

When Steve was at Nebraska, I met a guy through work who told me he was a BIG Nebraska fan. During our conversation I told him about my feelings toward the former Pitt AD. He got a wry smile on his face, and said, "If my Father-in-law has anything to do with it, Pederson won't be here (Nebraska) very much longer. And he has a lot to do with it. He's one of the school's biggest boosters, and rides the team plane to every away game."

I, of course, laughed at the thought of Steve getting fired at Nebraska. I had no idea that the bastard would come back to Pitt.

 

[OriginalEther]

I wonder if Nordenberg and Steve were fixin to fire Wannstedt after that third mediocre season, but 13-9 happened two days after Steve was rehired and then they had to keep him. Then Wanny won 9 games and then 10 games the following two seasons, and they certainly couldn't fire him them. The 7 win season with the SI story game them adequate cover.

Being that Wanny signed that contract before the Wvu, no
Wanny is a self serving jackass who has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t want Pitt to succeed without him

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I wonder if Nordenberg and Steve were fixin to fire Wannstedt after that third mediocre season, but 13-9 happened two days after Steve was rehired and then they had to keep him. Then Wanny won 9 games and then 10 games the following two seasons, and they certainly couldn't fire him them. The 7 win season with the SI story game them adequate cover.

Well, they extended him before that game-
So, probably not

 

[Sarge25]

Nordy and Steve. Two morons who together screwed Pitt athlwtics long term.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Nordy and Steve. Two morons who together screwed Pitt athlwtics long term.

Two guys who have nothing to do with basketball or football coaches

 

[Sarge25]

Two guys who have nothing to do with basketball or football coaches

2 disgraceful, selfish, morons who should be shamed from now till the end of time for anybody who asks about Pitt for their 20 year reign of stupidity. It’s a good thing they both went into hiding after what they did to the athletic department counting their millions they scammed out of the university. How sad.

 

[Pittx9]

Had wanny been under a different ad, he would've had even more success. I get why people are mad about what wanny did when he left, but I can't blame him at all. I would've been absolutely livid too and everything he's ever said was the truth. Pederson was a complete doosh and should've been the one to leave after 2010.

 

[bwh05]

Had wanny been under a different ad, he would've had even more success. I get why people are mad about what wanny did when he left, but I can't blame him at all. I would've been absolutely livid too and everything he's ever said was the truth. Pederson was a complete doosh and should've been the one to leave after 2010.

He had to fight tooth and nail about the budget every year with Cochran. Pitt definitely could have supported him more.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

2 disgraceful, selfish, morons who should be shamed from now till the end of time for anybody who asks about Pitt for their 20 year reign of stupidity. It’s a good thing they both went into hiding after what they did to the athletic department counting their millions they scammed out of the university. How sad.

You understand that nordenberg is still very active in the university, right?

Actually chatted with him at the ncsu game

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Had wanny been under a different ad, he would've had even more success. I get why people are mad about what wanny did when he left, but I can't blame him at all. I would've been absolutely livid too and everything he's ever said was the truth. Pederson was a complete doosh and should've been the one to leave after 2010.

Yep, it’s always someone else’s fault he fails.

I mean- we saw all the success he had under a different ad at pitt!

 

[Pittx9]

Yep, it’s always someone else’s fault he fails.

I mean- we saw all the success he had under a different ad at pitt!

No doubt wanny was a big part of blowing some big east title chances away. But literally everything bad that's recently happened to the football program is pederson's fault.

I don't even know how much credit you can really give him for getting us to the ACC. He made Pitt football as unattractive as physically possible for a conference and they still invited us. The only thing I can give him credit for is not catering fully to Jamie in that situation and actually not being dumb enough to let the football program burn by declining the invitation.

Not that wanny was a savior or anything, but the program was in good shape. And there's no question pitt is a much better environment to be employed in now than under pederson. Now if only Barnes never came around to ruin the hoops program....

 

[bobfree]

Being that Wanny signed that contract before the Wvu, no
Wanny is a self serving jackass who has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t want Pitt to succeed without him

Since Dave Wannstedts resignation (firing) who’s done more for Pitt you or him?

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

You understand that nordenberg is still very active in the university, right?

Actually chatted with him at the ncsu game

Did you two talk academics and UPMC hospitals? Because that is what we all think about on Saturdays when a football game is being played.

 

[PittGuy2000]

Did you two talk academics and UPMC hospitals? Because that is what we all think about on Saturdays when a football game is being played.

That would primarily be his job, no?

 

[CrazyPaco]

That would primarily be his job, no?

His job is government relations. He's chair of Pitt's Institute of Politics. He still attends more Pitt sporting events than many on this board, as he is a bigger fan, and and certainly more knowledgeable about college athletics, than many on these boards.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

No doubt wanny was a big part of blowing some big east title chances away. But literally everything bad that's recently happened to the football program is pederson's fault.

I don't even know how much credit you can really give him for getting us to the ACC. He made Pitt football as unattractive as physically possible for a conference and they still invited us. The only thing I can give him credit for is not catering fully to Jamie in that situation and actually not being dumb enough to let the football program burn by declining the invitation.

Not that wanny was a savior or anything, but the program was in good shape. And there's no question pitt is a much better environment to be employed in now than under pederson. Now if only Barnes never came around to ruin the hoops program....

I was more suggesting his three non-winning seasons in a row-
Under a different ad.

 

[PittGuy2000]

His job is government relations. He's chair of Pitt's Institute of Politics. He still attends more Pitt sporting events than many on this board, as he is a bigger fan, and and certainly more knowledgeable about college athletics, than many on these boards.

I like Nordy and that was what I was getting at (realized I phrased it poorly after my post)- he did a great job at his core duties.

Let’s be honest - Nordy didn’t ruin Pitt football. If anything, it improved dramatically during his tenure.

 

[CrazyPaco]

I like Nordy and that was what I was getting at (realized I phrased it poorly after my post)- he did a great job at his core duties.

Let’s be honest - Nordy didn’t ruin Pitt football. If anything, it improved dramatically during his tenure.

He is one of the primary reasons, if not the primary reason, that Pitt is still a power conference athletic program. People still don't realize, or forget, how bad things were, and how far behind Pitt was, in 1996, and how much time he spent salvaging the Big East as a power conference in 2003. If we had another J. Dennis type hired back then, we would be playing with Temple in the American right now.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Did you two talk academics and UPMC hospitals? Because that is what we all think about on Saturdays when a football game is being played.

Academics yes.
Upmc - no-

 

[Pittx9]

I was more suggesting his three non-winning seasons in a row-
Under a different ad.

I got that part. Like I said, wanny wasn't all that great. He inherited a better team than any recent coach here has by a long shot and was bad early on. I'm not even defending him, I'm just saying when push came to shove pederson should've been shown the door first. If someone else wanted to force wanny out, great. But to do it with absolutely no replacement plan in mind at all is textbook incompetency from your AD.

 

[Sarge25]

For being such a smart man, he sure loved to anchor himself to a 200lb braindead moron....not just once, but TWICE!!

 

[CrazyPaco]

I got that part. Like I said, wanny wasn't all that great. He inherited a better team than any recent coach here has by a long shot and was bad early on. I'm not even defending him, I'm just saying when push came to shove pederson should've been shown the door first. If someone else wanted to force wanny out, great. But to do it with absolutely no replacement plan in mind at all is textbook incompetency from your AD.

You are probably right. The worst thing you can do as an AD though is meddle in your coaches' programs. And that caused Pederson to burn a lot of relationships with his coaches. But when you have a subordinate going against his superior, the superior wins most of the time. That's the dynamic that was forced by attempt to circumnavigate the chain of command. But certainly after the Haywood debacle, Pederson probably should have been canned, and I still find it ridiculous that he retained his job after Graham bolted. But there were things going on behind the scenes with conference realignment and that ultimately that could have trumped all of that because having stability in athletic leadership that was dealing with various conference leaderships was absolutely paramount and necessary during that time. Pederson had a lot of connections in athletic circles. Nothing was more important than finding a suitable landing place.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

You are probably right. The worst thing you can do as an AD though is meddle in your coaches' programs. And that caused Pederson to burn a lot of relationships with his coaches. But when you have a subordinate going against his superior, the superior wins most of the time. That's the dynamic that was forced by attempt to circumnavigate the chain of command. But certainly after the Haywood debacle, Pederson probably should have been canned, and I still find it ridiculous that he retained his job after Graham bolted. But there were things going on behind the scenes with conference realignment and that ultimately that could have trumped all of that because having stability in athletic leadership that was dealing with various conference leaderships was absolutely paramount and necessary during that time. Nothing was more important than finding a suitable landing place.

Wanny needed meddling .

How do we forget cav as our coordinator?

 

[CrazyPaco]

Wanny needed meddling .

How do we forget cav as our coordinator?

I believe that you should let your coaches run their programs the way they see fit and support them as best as you can in those endeavors. Of course there are limits, like standards on discipline issues and real world budget restraints that lead to head butting between coaches and administrators at every single institution. But as far as strategic philosophies and how you staff your program, that should be left to the man or woman in charge that has devoted his professional career to understanding the sport. You can provide advice in conversations, but if they are determined to crash the program into ground, you move on to the next guy. Meddling seldom works, and even if it does, it results in piss poor working relationships. And word of that gets around when you are trying to hire the next guy.

 

[bobfree]

Ya I mean Matt Cavanaugh never got a job in football again, what an idiot.

Wonder what he is up to these days?

 

[vegasgreed]

Souf is a frequent poster in a Smiley thread, not surprised. He constantly claims he doesnt care about him. He does.

 

[TD_istheman]

I talked to Dave Wannstedt at length for the 13-9 series/book, and he gave me a lot of great quotes. One bit he gave me that didn't make it into the book was this little anecdote:

“Mark Nordenberg called me on Tuesday of that week and I remember sitting at my desk and he said, ‘Dave, let me ask you a question.’ And he said, ‘What do you know about Steve Pederson?’ I said, ‘I’ve met him, I don’t know him that well but everything I’ve heard about him is bad.’ That was my exact quote. And there was silence on the phone. They were holding the press conference two days later.”

I thought you guys might appreciate that.

Pederson really hurt Pitt, almost as bad as he did Nebraska, the second time he was hired

Nordy showed me how he was not the brightest either when it came to sports, you never hire a woman, I mean AD back, who left you for another man, I mean job. Pitt and Nordy showed how important football was to me back then, it wasn't much

 

[Jpripper88]

Pederson really hurt Pitt, almost as bad as he did Nebraska, the second time he was hired

Nordy showed me how he was not the brightest either when it came to sports, you never hire a woman, I mean AD back, who left you for another man, I mean job. Pitt and Nordy showed how important football was to me back then, it wasn't much

And then Nordy gave Steve a golden parachute. He should be vilified and not allowed anywhere near Pitt. He threw away millions of dollars Pitt desperately needs.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Souf is a frequent poster in a Smiley thread, not surprised. He constantly claims he doesnt care about him. He does.

I don’t.

I chimed in regarding nordenberg
Who was a smashing success

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Pederson really hurt Pitt, almost as bad as he did Nebraska, the second time he was hired

Nordy showed me how he was not the brightest either when it came to sports, you never hire a woman, I mean AD back, who left you for another man, I mean job. Pitt and Nordy showed how important football was to me back then, it wasn't much

I can't name many back to the future hires that have ever worked anywhere in sports

 

[OriginalEther]

Since Dave Wannstedts resignation (firing) who’s done more for Pitt you or him?

Well, I don't badmouth Pitt every time I get the chance to on national television, nor have I ever whispered in the players ears to not buy into what the current coach is teaching.

So by default, I've done more.