Bossard hired as receivers coach

Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt filled another hole in his coaching staff on Friday, hiring… Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt filled another hole in his coaching staff on Friday, hiring Bryan Bossard as Pitt’s wide receivers coach.

“Our receivers are going to benefit tremendously from Bryan’s experience and teaching abilities,” Wannstedt said in a release. “I feel very fortunate to bring him to the University of Pittsburgh.”

A graduate of the University of Delaware, Bossard coached receivers at University of Maryland for the past three seasons, but was fired almost immediately after the team’s loss to Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl – a game in which the Terrapins’ receivers dropped numerous passes.

He replaces Aubrey Hill, who recently left Pitt for the same job at Miami.

Bossard, who has focused specifically on wide receivers and defensive backs his entire career, worked under Wannstedt twice as a summer coaching intern for the Chicago Bears in 1996 and 1997.

He’ll inherit another group of talented Pitt receivers, including Pitt’s top recruit, Jonathan Baldwin. The Panthers return star receiver Derek Kinder after Kinder took a medical redshirt for the 2007 season. Kinder tore his ACL during training camp in the summer before the season kicked off. Also returning are Kinder’s replacements Oderick Turner, Cedric McGee, T.J. Porter, Marcel Pestano, Aundre Wright and Maurice Williams.

Now entering his 17th season coaching full-time, Bossard started his career as a graduate assistant at Delaware. He then bounced around between smaller schools before becoming an assistant at Army.

After a year at Army, he coached defensive backs at Wyoming for two years before heading back to Delaware from 2002-04.

Aside from Bossard, Wannstedt named Scott Turner and Greg Williams graduate assistants. Turner, the son of San Diego Chargers coach Norv Tuner, will work with the offense, while Williams will focus on the defense.

Wannstedt is left with one more coaching vacancy to fill after special teams coordinator Charlie Partridge resigned late last week to become the defensive line coach for Wisconsin.