New Pitt coach promises fans will be on their feet

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Once Todd Graham started talking, and he didn’t stop for nearly a half-hour, he soon made it evident that Pitt football won’t be the same as it was last month.

Or even last week.

Graham, the former Tulsa coach who becomes Pittsburgh’s third head coach in a month, guaranteed Tuesday he would field major college football’s most productive offense. He all but said he will win soon and win big.

Graham also predicted Pitt fans would be so excited by their new offense, they won’t want to sit down in the Heinz Field seats that are normally filled only for Steelers games.

A lot of changes? For sure. A lot of offense? Apparently, that too.

As Pitt moved quickly to distance itself from former coach Mike Haywood’s short but embarrassing two-week stay, Graham said the Panthers will move rapidly away from the conservative pro-style system that was in place the last six seasons under former coach Dave Wannstedt.

“We’ll be the most explosive team in the country,” he said.

Graham is promising a no-huddle, fast-tempo offense that will pile up yardage and points as quickly as his Tulsa teams did.

The Hurricanes, 24th in the final AP poll, finished fifth in total offense this season, averaging 505.6 yards and 41.4 points. They led the nation in 2007 and 2008 with offenses that featured a 5,000-yard passer, three 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher.

“We’re a no-huddle football team,” Graham said. “We’re going to operate extremely fast — fast-tempo, high-octane, explosive. That’s our goal. But we’ll also be extremely efficient.”

Graham modestly called the system “innovative” and “very unique” but said it won’t require the widespread personnel changes necessary if he were implementing a spread offense. He said he successfully switched Rice from a wishbone to his offense in a single offseason.

Defensively, he will use a 3-4 front in which some defenders will stand up at the line of scrimmage instead of putting their hands down.