Dave Wannstedt
Offensive tackle | |
NFL draft: | 1974 / Round: 15 / Pick: 376 |
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Career history | |
As a player: | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
As a coach: | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Career NFL statistics | |
Head coaching record | |
Regular season: | NFL: 82–87 (.485) NCAA: 42–31 (.575) |
Postseason: | NFL: 2–3 (.400) NCAA: 1–1 (.500) |
Career: | NFL: 84–90 (.483) NCAA: 43–32 (.573) |
Player stats at NFL.com | |
Coaching stats at PFR |
David Wannstedt (born May 21, 1952) is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team from 2005 to 2010.[1] He also was a long-time assistant to Jimmy Johnson with the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Hurricanes, and Oklahoma State Cowboys as well as an associate of Johnson when both were assistants at the University of Pittsburgh.
Early years
Wannstedt was born in
Coaching career
Assistant coach in college
In 1975, Pitt coach
Wannstedt served as
Dallas Cowboys
When Johnson was hired as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, Wannstedt joined Dallas' staff as defensive coordinator. The Cowboys defense was considered one of the best in the NFL under Wannstedt's leadership and he became a prime candidate to become an NFL head coach. When Chuck Noll retired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 1992, Wannstedt was one of the finalists for the job, but was ultimately edged out by fellow Pittsburgh-area native Bill Cowher.
Chicago Bears
On January 19, 1993, he was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears replacing legendary coach Mike Ditka, another former Pitt Panther. Wannstedt's tenure at Chicago was tumultuous. He led the Bears to only one postseason appearance in his 6 years at Chicago and compiled a 41–57 record. After Wannstedt posted back-to-back 4–12 seasons and a 1–11 overall record against long-time rival, the Green Bay Packers, Bears owner Michael McCaskey fired Wannstedt on December 28, 1998, a day when five NFL head coaches – one sixth of the league – lost their jobs. Four of those coaches—Wannstedt, Ted Marchibroda, Ray Rhodes, and Dom Capers—were fired within one hour, while Dennis Erickson was fired later that day.
Miami Dolphins
In 1999, Wannstedt again joined coach Jimmy Johnson's staff—this time, as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the
Wannstedt resigned as head coach midway through the 2004 season, with the Dolphins' record standing at 1–8. Less than two months later, he agreed to return home to fill the head coach vacancy at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. Wannstedt finished his tenure in Miami with a 42–31 record and to date, is the team's last head coach with prior NFL head coaching experience. Wannstedt has served longer than any other coach in Dolphins history except Don Shula.
Pitt
When University of Pittsburgh head coach
Wannstedt said that recruiting would be a top priority under his leadership. Harris had been roundly criticized during his tenure for not recruiting top high school talent, especially in the crucial and talent-laden western Pennsylvania area. Wannstedt retained some of Harris' staff including Paul Rhoads, the defensive coordinator, but made several key changes including bringing in former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh to run his offense. Cavanaugh was Pitt's starting quarterback in 1976 and 1977 when Wannstedt was a graduate assistant coach.
2005
In his first season, Wannstedt inherited a Pitt team that won a share of the
Wannstedt's recruiting prowess led Scout.com analysts to rate the Panthers' class of 2006 the eleventh best in the country.
2007
Wannstedt followed his touted 2006 class by bringing in the #28 recruiting class in 2007. The class included blue-chip players such as RB LeSean McCoy, QB Pat Bostick, and OG Chris Jacobson. On December 1, 2007, just days before an upset win at West Virginia, Wannstedt was given a contract extension through 2012;[3] he had previously been signed through 2009. The 13–9 upset win in the annual Backyard Brawl denied the Mountaineers a chance to play in the BCS National Championship Game and was the start of a turnaround that subsequently lifted Coach Wannstedt and the Panthers to a 9–4 season in 2008.
2008
The Panthers started the 2008 season ranked in the top 25 for the first time under Wannstedt's leadership (although the Panthers were ranked #25 in the pre-season before Wannstedt's first game in 2005). Starting 0–1, Pitt soon defeated Buffalo and then beat Iowa with a 21–20 victory. On Thursday, October 2, 2008, the Panthers scored an upset win over the then-ranked and undefeated #10 South Florida in a game nationally televised by ESPN. Then on Saturday, October 18, 2008, the Panthers easily defeated Navy. Upset by Rutgers, however, Pitt rebounded with a 36–33 overtime victory the following week at Notre Dame. The game, which lasted four overtime periods, was the longest game ever for both Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. After a 41–7 rout of visiting Louisville, the Panthers improved to 7–2 and were bowl-bound for the first time under Wannstedt.
A loss to eventual Big East champion Cincinnati eliminated the Panthers from BCS contention. However, Coach Wannstedt stayed upbeat, and worked with defensive coordinator Phil Bennett to devise a gameplan to defeat West Virginia for the 2nd time in four years in the annual Backyard Brawl. Pitt defeated West Virginia 19–15 on the day after Thanksgiving in a national telecast on ABC. The following week the Panthers won at UConn to improve to 9–3 on the season and clinch a bid to the Sun Bowl. Dave Wannstedt improved his record at Pitt to 25–22.
On December 31, 2008, Pittsburgh was defeated in the Sun Bowl by Oregon State 3–0 in a defensive struggle.
2009
In 2009, Wannstedt led Pitt to a 3–0 start before losing on the road to
On March 30, 2010, Wannstedt received a two-year contract extension through the 2014 season.[4]
On December 7, 2010, Wannstedt resigned as head coach, reportedly under pressure following a disappointing 7–5 regular season and having failed to advance to a BCS bowl during his tenure.[5] With his resignation, Wannstedt was offered a position as special assistant to the athletic director at the university.[5] He did not coach the 2011 BBVA Compass Bowl.
Buffalo Bills
On January 21, 2011, it was announced that Wannstedt was joining the Bills staff as assistant head coach/linebackers coach under Chan Gailey, who served as Wannstedt's offensive coordinator in Miami in 2000 and 2001.[6] He was promoted to defensive coordinator on January 2, 2012. He was dismissed, along with the entire Bills coaching staff, on December 31, 2012, after the Bills finished the season with a 6–10 record.[7]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wannstedt was hired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' special teams coach on February 1, 2013.[8] He joined the staff of Greg Schiano, who was an assistant under Wannstedt with the Chicago Bears during the mid-to-late 1990s. The special teams coaching job with the Buccaneers is the first special teams coaching job Wannstedt has taken during his NFL coaching career, although he did manage special teams while head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.[citation needed] He was let go by the Buccaneers at the end of the 2013 season.
Television career
Wannstedt has been a FOX Sports football studio analyst since 2014, appears on FOX NFL Kickoff Sunday mornings during the NFL season, and was an analyst for the Chicago Bears preseason game broadcast on August 29, 2019.[9] As of 2023, he is currently a host of Pro Football Weekly on NBC Sports Chicago.
Head coaching record
NFL
Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
CHI | 1993 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th in NFC Central | — | — | — | — |
CHI | 1994 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4th in NFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to San Francisco 49ers in NFC Divisional Game |
CHI | 1995 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in NFC Central | — | — | — | — |
CHI | 1996 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in NFC Central | — | — | — | — |
CHI | 1997 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 5th in NFC Central | — | — | — | — |
CHI | 1998 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 5th in NFC Central | — | — | — | — |
CHI Total | 40 | 56 | 0 | .417 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||
MIA | 2000 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Oakland Raiders in AFC Divisional Game |
MIA | 2001 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC wild card game |
MIA | 2002 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in AFC East | — | — | — | — |
MIA | 2003 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in AFC East | — | — | — | — |
MIA | 2004 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | (Resigned) | — | — | — | — |
MIA Total | 42 | 31 | 0 | .575 | 1 | 2 | .333 | |||
Total[10] | 82 | 87 | 0 | .485 | 2 | 3 | .400 |
College
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pittsburgh Panthers (Big East Conference) (2005–2010) | |||||||||
2005
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Pittsburgh | 5–6 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
2006 | Pittsburgh | 6–6 | 2–5 | 6th | |||||
2007 | Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 3–4 | T–3rd | |||||
2008 | Pittsburgh | 9–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | L Sun | ||||
2009 | Pittsburgh | 10–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd | W Meineke Car Care | 15 | 15 | ||
2010 | Pittsburgh | 7–5 | 5–2 | T–1st | BBVA CompassA | ||||
Pittsburgh: | 42–31 | 24–18 | |||||||
Total: | 42–31 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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- ^A Wannstedt resigned before Pittsburgh's 2010 bowl game.
References
- ^ "Wannstedt Announces Resignation From Pitt" (Press release). University of Pittsburgh. December 7, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- ^ "University Times » Wannstedt Named Football Coach".
- ^ Pitt Football Coach Wannstedt Gets 3-Year Extension, bloomberg.com, accessed December 2, 2007
- ^ Bennett, Brian (March 30, 2010). "Pittsburgh Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt has contract extended". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ a b Associated Press (December 7, 2010). "Dave Wannstedt resigns at Pitt". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- Foxsports.com. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ^ Gaughan, Mark (December 31, 2012). "Bills make it official: Gailey is fired". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- ^ Hill, Josh (February 1, 2013). "Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hire Dave Wannstedt as Special Teams Coach". ThePewterPlank.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- ^ "Bears announce preseason broadcast team". chicagobears.com. August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "Dave Wannstedt Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 16, 2012.