The Trinty Links To Think & Portend Wins To Come!

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

FIRST LINK TO THINK!
24 October 2014
TRIBLIVE:

Script is it: Classic Pitt Helmet Design To Return!

Worn by Tony Dorsett when he won the Heisman Trophy and Dan Marino when he set passing records, the Pitt script is coming back. The football team will wear the popular logo on its helmets Saturday when the Panthers play Georgia Tech at Heinz Field. Athletic director Steve Pederson said the team's colors will remain the same, but the script will change, with no plans to take it off.

“This is going to be the mark on the helmet from this day forward,” Pederson said. The change is only for the football helmets. The university's athletic teams are not changing logos or colors, he said. “This harkens back to the great days in the history of the football program,” he said. (Pederson Took Away Trying To Erase Those Days?)

The return of the script coincides with homecoming and an informal reunion of several players and coach Johnny Majors from the 1973-76 teams that won the national championship in '76.

Speaking for many of his teammates, Al Romano, an All-American defensive lineman in 1976, said, “We think it's about time.”“I have nothing but good thoughts about (the return of the script),” said Dorsett, who was catching up with several teammates Friday. “The Pitt script is it.” The logo was Pitt's unique mark for 24 seasons from 1973-96.

Pederson eliminated it in one of his first and most controversial decisions during his two tenures. He said that decision was borne out of a desire to create a rallying point.
(Pitt Fans Rallied The Pitt Script Just Needed New Coaches & Facilities!)

“When we got here in 1996, we were at such a low ebb, we needed a whole fresh outlook with the program,” Pederson said. “We were struggling in all sports. We needed two things: to become relevant and we needed everybody behind us.”
(Nobody Got Behind Pitt To Pittsburgh??? And Pederson Got Back in 2007 & Still Refused To Bring It Back Under 4 Coaches Upon Pederson's Alma Mater Banishment From Nebraska And Put DinoCat Everywhere After The "Pitt Return" by Jeff Long?, What Lame Excuse By Pederson?)

But the script had transcended football. The basketball team wore it on its jerseys during former coach Paul Evans' time from 1986-1994. Pitt Olympic sports also have worn it. (Plus Pederson Spent Millions On His Private Consultants to Change It?)

The football team wore it during a game in 2005, but it was not resurrected beyond that. When the news of the script's return was announced Friday, fans immediately posted gleeful comments on Twitter, ranging from “Holy Schnikes” by @SouthSideShirts to “It's about time!” by @JohnPataki.
(Looks Like All Fans Except South of Oakland & Pederson Loved The Script Return?)

Said @HayekandHockey: “This is the greatest thing ever.” Then there was this tweet from @JNadzen: “I may have to conceive another child after today! Wow is all I can say.”

Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/7027524-74/pitt-script-logo

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Second Link To Think!
17 December 2014
Triblive Article Link:

Pederson's 2nd Tenure As Pitt AD Comes To Abrupt End!

On a day when Pitt formally lost its football coach, it surprisingly also lost its athletic director. (Your Time Is Up!)

Steve Pederson's second tenure running the athletic department ended abruptly Wednesday when chancellor Patrick Gallagher announced a “change” in leadership, according to a university news release.

The announcement was made at 7 p.m., precisely when Wisconsin was introducing Paul Chryst as its football coach, officially ending his three-year run with the Panthers. (Good Timing Anytime!)

Pederson, 57, was let go with four years left on his contract, and the buyout will cost Pitt more than $2 million. Pederson made $577,083 in 2013 before signing a five-year extension in June 2013. Before the extension, he was Pitt's fourth-highest paid employee. (Now That Was Over Payments Based On Mediocre Returns?)

Pederson and Gallagher said the decision was “mutual.” “With major decisions to be made about the future of football, I thought it was in the best interest of the University of Pittsburgh for Chancellor Gallagher to assemble his own team,” Pederson said in a statement. (Looks Like Stevie Made It Look Like His Decisions But Everyone Knew It Wasn't?)

Pederson did not return calls seeking comment.

Gallagher appointed Randy P. Juhl, vice chancellor for research conduct and compliance, to serve as acting AD. (Cost Far Cheaper & Knew More Anyway!)

Pederson's inability to find stability in the football program ultimately led to his ouster. Since firing coach Dave Wannstedt, a former Pitt player, after an 8-5 season in 2010, Pederson hired Michael Haywood, Todd Graham and Chryst. Haywood was fired two weeks after taking the job because of a domestic violence incident — the charge later was dismissed. His replacement, Graham, bolted for Arizona State after a 6-6 season. Chryst lasted three seasons, going 19-19, but was lured back to his alma mater Thursday. (Pederson Poison At Pitt Is Over!)

“I actually supported Steve when he got there, but over time his track record was bad,” said Bill Fralic, a Pitt All-American lineman during the 1980s and College Football Hall of Fame inductee. “He could not hire a good football coach. And he fired a loyal Pitt guy who averaged nine wins his last three years, and they haven't come close to that since. (Ain't That The Truth?)

“He meddled with everything. He was a control freak. Hopefully, we can recover from what he's done there.” Pederson was eight years into his second stint at Pitt. He left Pitt after six years in 2002 to return to his alma mater, Nebraska. (NU Saw It For 5 Years & Dumped Him Took Pitt * Years!

Citing a lack of progress by the Cornhuskers football program, Nebraska officials fired Pederson in October 2007, a move that cost the school $2.2 million to buy out the remaining years on his contract. (Not Bad Close To $5 Million For Failures?)

Pederson quickly resurfaced at Pitt, which had been searching to replace the departed Jeff Long. “It's tough to see friends leave, but Pitt will be fine,” said Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon, who joined the program in 1999. “Pitt will continue to battle and improve and get better.” (Only Howland Had Regrets!)

Dixon added: “I have never had any reason to question the character, leadership and integrity of the university, and that's a good feeling.”

During his first stay in Oakland, Pederson spearheaded the decision to raze Pitt Stadium, replacing it with Petersen Events Center. He also moved the football team to Heinz Field and placed the program's practice facility at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side. He hired basketball coach Ben Howland, Dixon's predecessor who brought Pitt to national prominence. (Sonny Vaccaro Told Him Whom To Hire In Basketball & He Missed Sean Miller?)

The highlight of Pederson's second tenure was navigating Pitt into the ACC during a period in which college football's landscape was changing and the Big East crumbling. “I am devastated,” said Suzie McConnell-Serio, a Pederson hire who is in her second season as Pitt's women's basketball coach. “Steve is the reason I am at Pitt, and I love working for him. He is an amazing person and leader, and I am really going to miss him.” (I Don't See Her Leaving?)

Pederson's interim successor, Juhl, has no sports administration experience. Juhl has been at Pitt since 1979, when he was hired to chair the department of pharmacy practice. In 1986, he was named dean of the School of Pharmacy. In 2002, then-chancellor Mark Nordenberg appointed Juhl to his current position. (Dr. Juhl Was Able to Attarct Narduzzi In Weeks Versus Pederson's Consultants Months?)

Gallagher said he will conduct a national search for a full-time AD.

Staff writers Kevin Gorman, John Harris and Karen Price contributed. Joe Rutter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.
http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/7401854-74/pederson-pitt-football

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Third Link To Think!
26 December 2015
Pitt Christmas Present!
Triblive Article!

New Coach Narduzzi Committed To Building Pitt Into National Power!

The man couldn't stand still. For a large portion of Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi's introductory news conference, he kept shifting his weight from left to right across his body.

Nervous? Perhaps. Who could blame him if he were? Narduzzi on Friday was named Pitt's 39th head coach and is charged with finishing the task left by predecessor Paul Chryst: rebuild the football program.

Yet it was more than that. More likely, Narduzzi couldn't wait to start channeling his energy toward the goal he revealed almost immediately after he was introduced by acting athletic director Randy Juhl. “I'm highly motivated to build this program into national prominence,” Narduzzi said.

Pitt, which has won 10 games in a season once since 1981, hopes Narduzzi is the right man to lead the team to such lofty heights. He never has been a head coach, but his resume otherwise is glowing. (Close To Doing It In His First Year!)

Narduzzi, 48, has been the defensive coordinator under Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio for the past 11 years, the past eight with the Spartans, the previous three at Cincinnati.

Michigan State is the only school to rank in the top 10 in total defense and rush defense in each of the past four seasons. Last year, he won the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant.

“He has both the track record and the personality and the fit for Pittsburgh,” Juhl said. “I can't judge the X's and O's, but I've been recruiting people to Pitt for a long time, and we do look for that fit. We want someone who's excited to be here, and he's that.” (Guess It Is Not That Tough After All Like Pederson Made It Out To Be At NU & Pitt?)

Executive vice chancellor Jerry Cochran said Narduzzi, a Youngstown, Ohio, native, was at the top his nine-man list of candidates from the moment the Wisconsin job opened Dec. 10 and Pitt officials knew Chryst would take it.

Cochran, the head of the search committee who also was part of the hiring process for men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon and former football coaches Chryst and Todd Graham, said Narduzzi has been on his list for the past five years. Cochran added that he and chancellor Patrick Gallagher had several long discussions with Narduzzi, including one late-night session. Long enough that it wasn't until after 11 o'clock when I got home, well past my bedtime,” Cochran said. (Funny, Cochran Got It Right After Pederson Gone?

His father, Bill Narduzzi, a former Pitt freshman coach from the 1960s and later the head coach at Youngstown State, instilled a committed work ethic in his sons, Pat Narduzzi said.
For Narduzzi, his first head coaching job is more than a lifetime dream. It's a calling that is part of him. “You better not come home at 11:01 if your curfew is at 11,” said Narduzzi, who played for his father at Youngstown State in 1985. He transferred to Rhode Island the following year when his father was dismissed.

Now after 25 years as an assistant and 12 as a defensive coordinator at three schools, Narduzzi has matched his father career-wise. “I got goosebumps,” he said. “It's a goal you had since you were a little kid. You watch your dad become a head coach, going from school to school with him. “I've done what he's done, and it's amazing.”

Next up for Narduzzi is flying to Dallas. H e was scheduled to meet with Pitt players Friday night. There, he will resume leading the Michigan State defense toward its Cotton Bowl date Thursday against Baylor.

It's the same procedure followed by Chryst three years ago when he coached Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl after he was hired by Pitt. For Narduzzi, the bowl game is an important final step in his previous position.

“It's unfinished business,” he said, acting almost surprised at the question. “I'm a loyal guy.” He said he may meet up with the Panthers in Fort Worth, Texas, where they will play Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2.

Meanwhile, fans are free to wonder how long Narduzzi's Pitt tenure will last. The three previous coaches stayed 16 days, 11 months and three years, respectively. (Pederson Poison Stayed 8 Years?)

Cochran said he's not worried, even though Dantonio, 58, previously mentioned Narduzzi as his possible successor. “The (Michigan State) athletic director (Mark Holis) thinks Dantonio is going to be around for another seven to 10 years,” said Cochran, who said he received recommendations for Narduzzi from Holis and Dantonio. “Pat has ties (to Michigan State), but he has more ties here than he has in East Lansing. This is home. “If Pat moves on, it will be for different reasons than he looks at Michigan State as being home.”

The difference is Narduzzi, who used to attend Steelers games at Three Rivers Stadium with his father, has stronger ties to Western Pennsylvania than former coaches Michael Haywood, Graham and Chryst. (And Pederson Too!)

More importantly, Narduzzi has recruited this part of the country throughout his career. “That's another reason I came here,” he said. “I have recruited Pittsburgh full time three or four years, northeast Ohio 15 years, New Jersey the last 11 years and Maryland four or five years.

“We're right in the middle of everything I've been involved with.” Asked if he knows most of the high school coaches in those areas, he said proudly, “In another year, there will be nobody I don't know.”(That Has Come True!)

Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/7451492-74/narduzzi-coach-pitt

HAPPY THANKSGIVING LINKS TO THINK FOR PITT FANS, MUCH TO BE THANKFUL AND MORE TO COME!