Maybe it was Pete Carroll who helped pioneer the failed-NFL-coaches-succeeding-in-college movement, but what Dave Wannstedt has done at Pitt cannot be overlooked. Why, you could even give some credence to the struggles his first three years — 5-6, 6-6 and 5-7 records — because despite the losses, he was kind of revolutionizing the program.

The Panthers would move away from so-called conventional college systems and players and recruit a different demographic. They’d rely on the city and the western part of the state to get players who fit a mold and then gradually allow them to grow into a system that more mirrors the NFL.

Right now, the Panthers are 9-1 overall and 18-5 since winning 13-9 while developing a dropback passer, an I formation running back, a gritty fullback, a versatile tight end and an enormous line and emerging as an effective rarity in the college game. 

“We’re definitely in the minority with what we are doing here. We’re dinosaurs,” Wannstedt said. “There are very few college teams using a fullback like we use him. We’re running a pro-style offense. That’s one comment that we get after playing opponents, that their defensive coaches express to our coaches afterwards, that they don’t see our offense week in and week out.

“It is different, playing against a power attack. It all sounds good, but very few people are committed to it like we are.”