We hear it all the time. '
Maybe Sean Miller will come back to coach Pitt!' 'John Calapari might want to come back home and he got his break as an assistant at Pitt.' 'Bring Mike Ditka back!'
Pitt fans thought for a good while (and some still do) that Dave Wannstedt was going to be their guy. The desire for a former Pitt player or coach is even paramount for some fans. That would always be a plus but you can't limit coaching searches to Pitt guys for these openings. That does not mean I'm against bringing an alum back to give them an opportunity, but like most, I just want the best guy for the job. That being said, it's always a good feeling when someone with former ties comes back to the university.
That brings me to Scott McKillop, who was recently added to the football staff. It's really difficult to find a problem with bringing him back since he was a great player for the Panthers and seemingly has a ton to offer. I like the fact that Hank Poteat is also on the staff. Orlando Antigua has since left, but he was at Pitt and now Brandin Knight is on Jamie Dixon's staff. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this as I believe it can be a significant benefit. When you bring players back that have fond memories of the school and coaching abilities to offer, they can talk to recruits and current players about what made them successful and how Pitt helped them do that.
McKillop's return to Pitt and Poteat being on the staff made me wonder who else fans would like to see come back and coach. You will notice there are no options below. That is because this is a write-in vote. All are fair game. You can write in any athlete for any sport. I only have a couple of rules:
- The player must have finished his career at Pitt. If someone started at Pitt and then transferred, they cannot receive a vote.
- The player must not still be playing in the NFL or NBA. It's just not realistic. Larry Fitzgerald is not going to stop playing in the pros just to coach at Pitt right now.