Stability is needed

The coaching carousel continues at the U. of Pittsburgh. This is hard to fathom, but Pitt may be setting a NCAA Division 1A record for the number of Head Football Coaches it has had in the past 13 months. Let's start with Coach Dave Wannstedt who finished off his stay at Pitt in early December, 2010, then came Coach Mike Haywood who lasted less than 3 weeks. Then Pitt had an interim coach, Coach Phil Bennett(who is now an assistant at Baylor), to coach the Bowl Game last January. Next Pitt hired Coach Todd Graham from Tulsa, who bolted Pitt within 11 months of signing his contract. Now Pitt is going to have Coach Keith Patterson, an assistant to Coach Todd Graham, direct the bowl game in Birmingham, AL on January 7, 2012. And coming up shortly, Pitt will hire another coach to take Pitt into the future. That is 6 Head Coaches in 13 months(of which 2 were interim). With all this going on, the U. of Pittsburgh left the Big East and joined the ACC. I know some of the coaches that the Pitt administration is interviewing, but I have no idea who the Pitt Panthers should hire. I know one thing, the U. of Pittsburgh football program needs stability. The coach that they do hire needs to remain here for some period of time. Is playing at Heinz Field a problem for the program. Many experts say NO and some say Pitt needs its own on campus stadium. The administration really needs to hire the correct coach for this Head Football Coaching Position. They cannot be hasty with this hiring. The Atlantic Coast Conference(ACC)football is no walk in the park so the Pitt Panther Football Program needs to be stabilized.

Look at drafting a Quarterback

Injuries are piling up this season at a rapid rate. When the NFL has a physical 16 game schedule and a 4 game pre-season schedule, numerous injuries are going to occur. Big Ben Roethlisberger is very fortunate that he did not suffer a torn ACL or a broken ankle after a Cleveland Brown defensive player rolled up into his leg area. What a tough guy and a team player Big Ben is, coming back into the game last Thursday after this injury and basically playing on one leg. This is Roethlisberger's 8th NFL season and he will be 30 years old this Spring. There is a lot of gas left in his tank but I think the Steelers should draft a quarterback in the April 2012 NFL draft to be brought along at a nice pace to replace Big Ben down the road(similar to what Green Bay did with Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers). Big Ben would be an excellent teacher for this young QB if he is drafted next April or the April after, but the Steelers need to develop a young QB. Roethlisberger's back up QB's now are Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, and Dennis Dixon. Batch is near retirement and has the potential to be a real good quarterback coach for someone. Former #1 draft pick Byron Leftwich and also Dennis Dixon have the ability to play but have injury histories. Do you spend a #1 draft pick on a quarterback? That is a good question? The Steelers may need to address their offensive line issues at the number 1 slot in April because they have had multiple injuries to their O-Line. Then the next question, can you find a QB later on the draft? I like a quarterback out of Texas A&M named Ryan Tannehill. Does Ryan Tannehill have the ability to be a #1 selection next April. Maybe or maybe not. Tannehill may slip into the mid-rounds especially if Andrew Luck and USC QB Matt Barkley become early entries. The Pittsburgh Steelers draft in the past years under Kevin Colbert have been productive especially in the first and mostly in the second rounds. But in my opinion, the Steelers need to start looking at a young quarterback.