Pitt Chancellor, AD Still Silent 48 Hours After Loss To West Virginia

To Pitt fans in the lunatic fringe, a misnomer now that it encompasses all Pitt fans except for a small, defeatist group of apologists, the message from Nebraska fans is loud and clear:

First eradicate the cancer.

The cancer is Pitt A.D. Steve Pederson, and Coach Dave Wannstedt, whose popularity is sinking by the minute. Chancellor Mark Nordenberg cheers them on from the sidelines.

Pederson has put Pitt in a deep, dark hole. With little fanfare from the Pittsburgh media and at great risk to the university, he extended coach Wannstedt's contract not once, but twice.

Wannstedt is secure at Pitt until 2014, or whenever Pitt can pony up the $6 million required to buy out his over-extended contract. Pederson gambled away the future of Pitt football with Nordenberg's blessing.

Pederson must be held accountable his poor judgment in handling Wannstedt's contract.  Who better than Pederson, the beneficiary of a contract extension at Nebraska, to orchestrate this lock box?

When Pederson was fired by Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman in 2007, Perlman paid Pederson a cool $2.2 million to make him disappear (journalstar.com, Oct. 14, 2007).

The overwhelming majority of Pitt fans want Pederson to fire Wannstedt now.

After all, Miami, responsible for drubbing the Panthers 31-3 this season, fired head coach Randy Shannon less than 24 hours after the 'Canes lost to South Florida.

It's been almost 48 hours since Pitt imploded at home against rival West Virginia. Pederson and Nordenberg have said nothing, feeling no need to address disheartened and angry fans.

The Pittsburgh media should have already posted look-outs at every possible place they guys could be hiding. They should begin a campaign of public excoriation until the Pitt leaders explain why they are supporting their loser of a coach.

Fans have already begun the process of removing the cancer, although the results might not be evident until late spring or early summer.

Publicly threatening to cancel season tickets and regularly lambasting the administration and coaches are the only way to eradicate the cancer plaguing Pitt football.

It's an ugly process, but fans who want a winning Pitt football program that is ranked regularly in the Top Twenty-Five with Top Ten seasons in the mix must see it through.

Nebraska fans demonstrated three years ago that the process works.