Football: Familiar face joins Wannstedt’s staff

Dave Wannstedt filled the vacant position on his coaching staff with a familiar face. On… Dave Wannstedt filled the vacant position on his coaching staff with a familiar face. On Friday, Wannstedt and the Panthers announced the decision to hire Bernard Clark Jr. as Pitt’s linebacker coach for next season.

Clark, a native of Tampa, Fla., played linebacker at the University of Miami from 1985-89, which includes a couple years from when Wannstedt was a defensive coordinator for the Hurricanes (1986-88).

As a Hurricane, Clark was a member of two national championship teams. He then spent three years in the NFL after being a third-round selection of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Most recently, Clark was the defensive coordinator at Hampton University in Virginia.

One thing that brought Clark to Pitt was a familiarity with Wannstedt’s system and style of defense.

“I love the way they do things here because it’s basically the same scheme we ran when I played at the University of Miami under Coach Wannstedt,” Clark said.

When meeting with reporters on Friday night, Clark stressed that Pitt has created a program and not simply a good football team.

“It’s a program that’s built on tradition, built on history. You’ve got a lot of great players that have come through here,” Clark said. “I really want to help Coach Wannstedt build this thing to even greater situations.”

It’s expected that Clark will help recruiting efforts in the state of Florida. Previously, Florida had been a major focus of Pitt’s coaching staff, but recently commitments have come from more local areas. The most recent Panther recruiting class does not contain a single signee from the Sunshine State.

Clark, a former car salesman, said he enjoys the negotiating process that occurs during recruiting.

“The most important thing that I tell [recruits] is, ‘The thing I’m trying to do is help you become a better man, a better husband and a better father,’” he said.

Clark has experience coaching linebackers. He spent three years at Liberty University as a linebackers coach after beginning his coaching career as a defensive ends coach at James Madison University in 1998.

He then made a return to Florida, coaching at both Florida International and South Florida, filling positions on their defensive staffs.

Now, Clark will work with a linebacker corps that returns starters Max Gruder and Greg Williams, along with freshman standout Dan Mason.

The opening of linebackers coach was created when former Pitt staffer Joe Tumpkin accepted the defensive coordinator position at Central Michigan University.

Tumpkin is one of two coaches, the other being former receivers coach Brian Bossard, to leave Wannstedt’s staff this offseason. Bossard was replaced internally by Scott Turner, who was previously an offensive assistant.

Clark’s resumé has a distinctive Southern feel to it, which is why one of his biggest adjustments will be to the Pittsburgh weather.

“The thing that I have to get acclimated to is this cold. I’m used to seeing white, and it’s white sand not white snow,” Clark said.