Students react to Wannstedt resignation

About an hour before head football coach Dave Wannstedt officially announced his resignation at… About an hour before head football coach Dave Wannstedt officially announced his resignation at a press conference in the South Side yesterday, students were already discussing his departure across campus and on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Many were happy with the news that Wannstedt would not return for a seventh season. Many were not.

Tom Crowther, a sophomore, heard the news at Market Central while watching ESPN. He said that at one moment, it was announced that Wannstedt would meet with Pitt officials, and then “10 minutes later, it was like boom — he’s out.”

“I think it’s sad. He was an ambassador to the University and a good recruiter,” Crowther said.

Crowther believes the Pitt football team lost some games it shouldn’t have, but there might be instability now that Wannstedt is out. The football team’s record this season was 7-5 overall, 5-2 in the Big East.

“He was the best coach we had in the past 20 years. We finally won 10 games last year — he’s made us relevant again,” Crowther said.

Josh Sallmen, a freshman, was more reluctant to praise Wannstedt.

“It is time for a change,” Sallmen said. “When you have that much talent, you can’t let it go to waste.”

Carlan Crombie, a sophomore who was studying in Posvar wearing a navy Pittsburgh Panthers shirt, said he heard the news after his father and roommate sent him a text message.

“I was shocked, and then laughed,” he said. “I had a lot of fun last year, went to all of the games. This year I went to probably half.”

Crombie said he is interested in seeing “if Baldwin will stick around, and how our recruiting turns out these next couple years.”

Hayley Boske, a senior, learned of the breaking news from her Facebook newsfeed. She said Wannstedt seemed like a good team leader, and that she watches and attends as many games as she can.

“I think it’ll definitely be a loss on our part,” she said.

Kaylie Springer, a freshman and Pittsburgh native, wasn’t aware of the resignation but says it will make a lot of people happy.

“As with any change in management, this will change the dynamics of the team, but it will bring about anticipation for next year,” she said.

The Panthers still have one game left this football season, the BBVA Compass Bowl against Kentucky on Jan. 8. It is unclear whether Wannstedt will coach the game, though Athletic Director Steve Pederson said Wannstedt has the option to coach it if he’d like.