Head football coach Dave Wannstedt still has some empty fingers on his hand.

As a graduate assistant coach for the Panthers during the 1976 season and the defensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes in 1987, Wannstedt earned two collegiate championships in addition to a Super Bowl ring he earned as the assistant head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1992… Head football coach Dave Wannstedt still has some empty fingers on his hand.

As a graduate assistant coach for the Panthers during the 1976 season and the defensive coordinator of the Miami Hurricanes in 1987, Wannstedt earned two collegiate championships in addition to a Super Bowl ring he earned as the assistant head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1992.

With three rings, he still has room for a couple more.

Wannstedt’s spent years trying to bring those extra titles back to the ‘Burgh. He became Pitt’s head football coach after the conclusion of the 2004 season. He came close to a Big East Championship last year, and his teams have become national and conference contenders.

Perhaps he tries so hard because he has decades-long ties to the city.

“His roots are here,” said Bob Palko, who coaches at West Allegheny High School about 20 minutes west of the city. Palko has sent several players to Pitt, including one of Wannstedt’s first big recruits, Dorin Dickerson. He also sent his son, Tyler, who played quarterback for Pitt from 2002 to 2006.

Wannstedt attended Baldwin High School and, upon graduation, came to Pitt as an offensive tackle where he was eventually named captain of the 1973 Panthers.

He remained at the University as a graduate student coach while he earned a master’s degree in education in 1976 and stayed on as a receivers and special teams’ coach until 1978.

He bounced around for the next 26 years, as he took positions with three different collegiate programs and three NFL teams, most recently as the 2004 head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Wannstedt returned home to Pittsburgh in December 2004, when he was named head coach of the Panthers, following the departure of Walt Harris.

“This opportunity is something I have dreamed about since my early days at Pitt,” Wannstedt said after he was hired. “I wouldn’t want to do this job anywhere else.”

Since that time, he has worked tirelessly to build a football program at Pitt that could compete for a national championship, as his 1976 team successfully did.

With two consecutive nine-win seasons and a Bowl victory last year, Wannstedt has succeeded in putting his Panthers back on the collegiate football map.

Part of the reason for Wannstedt’s turn-around is his ability to heavily recruit talent to Pitt using his own experiences and enthusiasm for the University and its football team.

“It’s really easy to sell the University of Pittsburgh,” Wannstedt said. “I lived most of the great stories here and I am able to talk about those times from first-hand experience.”

Wannstedt’s first recruiting class, the freshmen arriving for the 2005-06 season, included quarterback Bill Stull, linebacker Mick Williams and defensive lineman Gus Mustakas, all key players in last season’s successes as redshirt seniors. Two of those players signed with NFL teams this year: Stull with the Chiefs in August and Williams with the Jets shortly after the draft in April.

Perhaps the greatest addition to the Panthers under Wannstedt has been running back phenom Dion Lewis, who came to national attention after a stellar 2009-10 campaign.

“I think he’s done a tremendous job,” Palko said. “It’s nice to have someone who isn’t looking for a job anywhere else. This is not a stepping stone for him.”

Palko said that Wannstedt has hired a great team of coaching assistants around him for recruiting purposes, and that Wannstedt is the “perfect guy to come in and close the deal.”

“He’s a Pittsburgh guy,” Palko said. “What he says is what he means.”

Recruiting is certainly a strength of Wannstedt’s, but without proper coaching of his players upon their arrival to the team, progress is difficult.

Wannstedt has been able to show such progress on as well as off the field as his teams are beginning to become consistent contenders for the Big East Championship and bowl eligibility.

Not many players know this better than former Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn.

Gunn came to Pitt during the Walt Harris era, but spent several seasons with coach Wannstedt.

“I came in as a freshman and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life,” Gunn said. I wasn’t doing the greatest (in school) and then once coach Wannstedt came in and transformed the program and put an importance on that, it didn’t just help make us better football players, but better people.”

“I ended up finishing with my master’s degree while still playing football,” he said. “He really cares about us not just as players, but as people and young men.”

As preparations for the 2010-11 season took place in training camp, Pitt has captured the attention of both Panther fans and the national media.

With high expectations, including being selected by the coaches to win the Big East and a No. 15 national ranking, this season’s team might be Wannstedt’s best.

“This is probably the most exciting preseason we’ve had for our football team,” he said, in regard to early national predictions. “We have a group of kids that are getting some recognition and they deserve to enjoy that experience and everything that goes along with it.”

In addition to Lewis, who has been heralded as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate, several other returning players will add to the excitement surrounding the upcoming season.

Junior wide receiver Jon Baldwin and senior defensive lineman Greg Romeus, both Wannstedt’s recruited talent, will serve as leaders for a Panther team that will lack that veteran quality at the quarterback position.

Nevertheless, Wannstedt has faith in his young arms, particularly that of Tino Sunseri.

“This is Tino’s time,” Wannstedt said in the opening days of training camp. “You combine his intangible assets with his athletic ability and intelligence, Tino is going to have a good year.”

Wannstedt’s commitment to his players is another quality that allows him to continue to grow the Pitt football program year after year. That allegiance extends even off the field, as Wannstedt urges his players to immerse themselves in all that Pitt has to offer.

“The first and most important goal we have for our players is for them to earn their degree from this outstanding institution,” Wannstedt said. “Your Pitt experience will continue to influence and inspire everything you do as a person, professional and citizen.”

Few people seem to understand that better than Wannstedt himself, and no one has more of a commitment to producing a winning Pitt football program — a goal that would bring home rings for his players’ bare fingers.

Sports Editor Alex Oltmanns and Assistant Sports Editor Tony Jovenitti contributed to this report.