Ok. So how about never meeting expectations and constantly pissing away a weak conference? On paper Pitt should have won that league with ease but freaking uconn beat us over and over.
The Constant Chryst Bashing
- Thread starter Pittguy1980
- Start date
Ok. So how about never meeting expectations and constantly pissing away a weak conference? On paper Pitt should have won that league with ease but freaking uconn beat us over and over.
Pitt fans that think wanny or Chryst were actually good coaches are idiots. I don't differentiate between the two groups, instead I lump them into the same category of ignorance.
Given the dearth of talent the team had over the next several years, id say it was not an aberration.
I'd also say given the fact it was pretty clear wanny needed far superior talent just to be on level footing with inferior teams, that things were about to get much worse...see his first three years.
For the record, I don't think that Chyst's entire tenure at Pitt could be or should be described as good. His team did better than it should have the first season, about what should have been expected the second, and somewhat worse than it should have the third.
I agree with a lot of what both of you are saying, but I don't think Chryst deserves credit for much beyond the following:
1. Providing some stability and integrity in a time of major uncertainty;
2. Emphasizing O line recruiting and development;
3. Bringing in some talent at RB.
Even the stability part is questionable, as how much stability are you really giving a program when you leave after 3 years?
I agree that Chryst left the program marginally better than he found it, but what he did with the offense was almost offset by what he didn't do with the defense. After 3 years he left us with nothing short of a personnel crisis on the defensive side of the ball and at QB, where the new coaches had to scramble to try to find a serviceable P5 castoff just to be able to run the offense. As a result of Chryst's recruiting failures, will be a while before we have legitimate P5 personnel and depth on defense.
I don't dislike Chryst and I never called for his head, but I was skeptical of the hire from Day 1. When he left I didn't feel anything either way, which I guess says it all as to how I felt about him as Pitt HC. I simply viewed it as an opportunity to upgrade-and I think we did that.
Youngstown State.
Akron
Matt House
I think those two games and that one promotion is why, fair or not, people still dog him here. That, and the impression that he was only here to receive on the job training for Barry Alvarez.
I said it yesterday, Chryst just did barely enough to inspire hope for the future.
Akron
Matt House
I think those two games and that one promotion is why, fair or not, people still dog him here. That, and the impression that he was only here to receive on the job training for Barry Alvarez.
I said it yesterday, Chryst just did barely enough to inspire hope for the future.
That's not quite right. The single biggest reason Narduzzi took this job is because he likes where Pitt is situated in the college football landscape-in a P5 division that lacks a true consistent heavy or roadblock. Run that division and you're 1 win from a CFB playoff berth, college coaching royalty, and a huge contract at Pitt or somewhere else. I don't think he knew much or cared much what Chryst was leaving him when he took the job, and certainly once he and his staff assessed the personnel they expressed some major concerns about it in very tangible ways-immediately scrambling to find live bodies at QB, DE and WR. His first full class was QB, defense, defense, and more defense for a reason.
Very simply I think Narduzzi saw/sees Pitt as a good situation to eventually get to a P5 championship game and possible playoff spot.
Beyond that, it was the new administration's assurance that it wanted to commit to football that sealed the deal.
Yeah. I never really saw it. Everyone says he was a nice guy but not a great head coach. I agree. I dont think thats bashing
I don't disagree with this but I feel pretty strongly if Chryst hadn't been here for those 3 years and at least provided some stability and recruited well on the OL and with RB, Narduzzi would not have been so inclined to accept. In fact Narduzzi pointed out a few times after he was hired that one of the big reasons he took the job was because the cupboard was not empty. Narduzzi was in an enviable position - he had total job security as the DC at MSU (along with being very well compensated) who had already turned down other HC offers. There was no need for him to take the Pitt job at that time except he thought it was the right time for multiple reasons including the current state of the program which like it or not was a reflection of Chryst.
Meeting expectations or what Pitt should have done is not the issue. The issue is what is the best interest of the program going foward. It was a dumb decision and the last 5 years clearly proves it.
This board bashed Chryst all the time. His recruiting, his results, his PC's, his demeanor - I think your memory is a bit fuzzy.
Well - what was in Pitt's best interest is that Wannstedt should have relented and fired some of his assistants. He refused and the rest is history.
Wanny wasn't a great coach, but he was a good fit here. A well known alum, put together a good staff, decent recruiter, had his program competing at the top of the conference at a place that likes to operate on the cheap. Pitt was foolish to think they would do better than that at the time. Haywood, Graham, Chryst and 6 win seasons is what we got.
I don't know specifically - but it was evident something was wrong and you know that too. His team QUIT on him by the WVU game. However it was pretty clear it was all about Wannstedt's own interests not Pitt's or he would have relented.
If you look at the average Pitt fan, his lack of understanding Presidents and AD's, how they help or hurt a program, shows you why we got 6-6 for years!
I other words, the fact that he was a yinzer who liked fish sammiches and Isaly's chip chop ham are more important than the fact that he was a mediocre head coach. And not just at Pitt, at every other stop in his head coaching career.
So, we should blame yesterday's loss on Barnes. Got it. I mean it appears Wanny's and Chryst's losses were about Pederson and Nordenberg, right?
Wannstedt also made it very clear that he did not want Pitt to succeed without him.
I never can fully understand why Chryst backers always want to credit him for not destroying the program. You're not supposed to destroy programs. Its like that Chris Rock joke about people bragging about never going to jail. "You're not supposed to go to jail you dumb ********."
Chryst inherited a 6-6 team and MAINTAINED a 6-6 record and for that we want to grant him sainthood. Narduzzi had to coach his @$$ off with 4 upset victories. The talent Chryst left us managed to get us labeled as underdogs in 8 of our 13 games last year.
Agree - my point was that Wannstedt was approached and told to rework his staff. He refused, so he was fired.
I mean, if you want to call being like a 3 point dog an upset, feel free. But Pitt really didn't win any games they shouldn't have last year. The improvement was they didn't lose a game they should have won.
Is that right? Was it the DC or certain position coaches? I do remember Wanny finally getting rid of his buddy Cavanaugh, who was a stiff as an OC, and hiring Cignetti, which resulted in instant offensive improvement.
The day Wannstedt was fired he was approached by Peterson and told to rework his staff. He refused and was fired.
I'm not making any statement if that was right thing to do or not, but that is what happened.
That refreshed my memory a bit-but I can't remember if it was rumor or confirmed fact. do you remember who the OC amd DC were at the time? I feel like Cignetti, who was a breath of fresh air, had already left and been replaced. Can't remember who the DC was at all.
Chryst first roster included Clemmings, Donald, Street, Grigsby along w/Rotheram and T. Thomas. The cupboard was hardly bare. I have no problem with Chryst, I think he was an upstanding guy, but Wiscy will be mediocre during his tenure. They beat what is a subpar LSU team, who barely beat Miss St. at home, which is what propelled them to #9. That's the issue w/early pools, they are frequently inaccurate.
Cignetti was still the OC. Came aboard in 2009.
Phil Bennett was the Dc. Came aboard I think in 2008. He also coached that bowl game.
Yeah but I dont think the same 5-10 that would criticize their own mothers count as bashing.
Seemed to me people criticize any coordinator we've ever had much more
It's like as if you don't remember what was going on at the time.
Which, I suppose, is not surprising.
Well of course Wanny should have listened to Steve Peterson. I mean Steve F'ing Peterson... What could possibly go wrong following his advice?!
Joe the Panther Fan logic: Firing Wanny set off a chain of events that was so bad, we should be thankful the whole damn program wasn't destroyed, but it was the right move. Yup. That makes perfect sense.
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Geez let it go, everyone bashes ex coaches just like everyone blames ex employees for problems in the office.
The guy had the personality of a wet dishrag and didn't like to recruit, maybe he wasn't a horrible coach but we had little chance to make a real run with him as HC.
The guy had the personality of a wet dishrag and didn't like to recruit, maybe he wasn't a horrible coach but we had little chance to make a real run with him as HC.
What? He inherited a 6-6 team with 6-6 talent. He inherited a schedule that subbed in Temple for WVU and Gardner-Webb for TCU.
Here's the deal. All the big picture problems that were also inherited were certainly an issue but Paul Chryst had the talent on the field when the ball was kicked off to win 6 games. I will give him a little credit for beating an good, yet overrated RU team but if you remember correctly, Pitt was actually FAVORED in that game to the surprise of many people. Pitt was a significant underdog to Top 20 at the time VT but that turned out to be a 6-6 VT team.
So he had home wins over VT and RU, 2 decent teams.
The other wins: Temple, GW, Buffalo, and USF aren't something he deserves credit for. YOU'RE supposed to beat those teams.
So, he beat 4 really really bad teams and 2 mediocre teams, both at home. Sorry, but he met the absolute minimum expectation for 2012.
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