Wannstedt shakes up staff on defensive side of ball

Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt announced last week a shake up of his defensive… Pitt head football coach Dave Wannstedt announced last week a shake up of his defensive coaching staff, letting two coaches go and realigning defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads.

Rhoads will still be the defensive coordinator, but will replace former coach Curtis Bray as the linebackers coach. Bray and strength and conditioning coach Mike Kent were dismissed.

“Having been a coordinator for a significant part of my career, I know the advantages of having your linebacker coach, who is involved in defending both the run and the pass, also serve as defensive coordinator,” Wannstedt said in a press release.

“Having Paul make this positional switch will better serve our entire defensive unit and help us put more emphasis on our rushing defense.”

The Panther defense was anything but stellar in its last three games, surrendering a total of 139 points to Connecticut, West Virginia and Louisville. The Panthers also allowed more than 1,500 yards of offense in those three games combined.

Because Rhoads will be relocating to coach the linebackers, that leaves the Panthers’ secondary without a coach, the unit Rhoads has taken care of since 2000. To fill that and the strength and conditioning vacancy, Wannstedt plans on wasting no time to find replacements.

“In addition to hiring a secondary coach, I anticipate we will be making additional appointments on our strength and conditioning staff,” Wannstedt added in the release.

“I plan on interviewing strength coach candidates this weekend and expect to have someone in place by Christmas. This will enable our off-season program to begin full-speed when our players return the first week of January.”