Dave Wannstedt eager to greet old Pitt pals, tell current players what Backyard Brawl means to him
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The Backyard Brawl will be contested Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium, but its significance – and the game’s outcome – will resonate far beyond the North Shore.
You’d have a hard time convincing Dave Wannstedt otherwise.
The former Pitt player and head coach has been designated the Panthers’ honorary captain when they play West Virginia in the 2022 season opener. He’ll speak to the players at their pregame meal, hoping to convey what playing for Pitt – and defeating West Virginia – means to him and other Pitt grads.
“When we beat West Virginia (13-9, in 2007), these guys were 5, 6 years old,” Wannstedt said Monday night from his home in Chicago. “There’s a fine line between the old history and what’s at stake and what’s starting up for these kids today.
“I have to come up with something so I can bridge (the gap) and so it will make sense to them. Hopefully, something they’ll remember.”
Wannstedt, 70, understands that ACC and Big 12 games are what will truly matter as the season progresses for players on both teams.
“These (Pitt) players are thinking we have to beat Clemson. West Virginia is saying we have to beat Oklahoma,” Wannstedt said. “But on an every-day basis, for the faculty and the alumni and the guys down on the South Side, in Oakland, who own the bars and restaurants, this West Virginia game is really important. Because it’s an opportunity for them to get a win and talk about this all year long with people they see all the time.
“In some terms, it’s a bigger game for the alums and the fans and the past players than it is maybe for the current players.”
Wannstedt was Pitt’s coach on the night of Dec. 1, 2007, when the Panthers — 28 ½-point underdogs – ventured onto Mountaineer Field and claimed an iconic victory.
“I remember during warmups, the people from the Big East were there, the commissioner, (Mike) Tranghese. They had the banners ready and they had the (Big East) trophy sitting on the sideline. It was an intimidating place.”
Pitt spoiled West Virginia’s national title hopes that night, and launched the program in the right direction, Wannstedt said.
“Sometimes, big wins in these rivalry games will make the difference in turning the program one way or another if you win or if you lose the game,” he said.
“There were 12 recruits on the sideline and I think we got eight of them. That was a turning point for the direction our program was going. We got cut short (when Wannstedt was fired in 2010 after winning 26 of the next 38 games), but that was the turning point. The arrow was up. Everything was starting to fall in the right direction.”
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi chose Wannstedt to speak to his team for the simplest of reasons. In Narduzzi’s favorite two words, Wannstedt is a “Pitt man.”
And he’s not afraid to tell you.
“I’ve always said it: There’s nobody who knows more about Pitt football and has lived it than me,” Wannstedt said. “I said that and kind of laughed, but I sat in those staff meetings as a player when we were turning it around (in the early 1970s). And I sat in those meetings four years later as an assistant coach for coach (Johnny) Majors when we won the national championship.
“I was in there with Jackie Sherrill when we recruited Hugh Green and Rickey Jackson and Jimbo Covert and Dan Marino.
“I didn’t just read about it in a book. I lived it from the worst times to the best times.
“It’s important to me. I was born there in Pittsburgh, played high school football there in Pittsburgh (Baldwin), grew up a Pitt fan, went to Pitt, coached there as an assistant, as a head coach.”
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He said the Pitt administration’s current commitment to football – from chancellor Patrick Gallagher to athletic director Heather Lyke – is at an all-time high.
“From me, standing in the hallway having my assistant coaches stand on the coffee stains when a recruit would walk down so they wouldn’t see the carpet, to where they’re at now, it’s a huge commitment,” he said.
“Pat knows what it takes to win. It’s a head coach saying, `You want to win a championship? This is what we need.’
“And the athletic director to support you and the chancellor to say, `Yes, we can do it.’ That’s what it takes.
“Pitt hasn’t had that. The closest probably that they had it was when coach Majors was there with (athletic director) Cas Myslinski and Chancellor (Wesley) Posvar. In my era, that was the last time they had the commitment on all three levels.”
Wannstedt said he has been invited back previously by Narduzzi and Lyke, but his TV commitments in Chicago and nationally wouldn’t permit it.
“This all worked out well,” he said of this week’s game. “I’m excited to get back and see what’s going on, see some friends. I’ll hit a few tailgate parties, see some of my old Pitt buddies.”
He visited once — unofficially one summer when no one was around — but that was before the most recent renovation of the South Side practice facility.
“I’m anxious to see it, what they’ve done to keep up with the times,” he said.
“They’re in the conversation, in my opinion, nationally right now. Pitt’s a darn good job and they’ve made it a great job, but it’s not an easy job. Pat and his staff have done a fabulous job of getting quality players there in all phases.
“I’m excited to get back there and get amongst them.”