The football coaching staff is once again changing as Bob Bostad, Pitt's offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, will head down to Tampa Bay to be a part of Greg Schiano's staff for the Buccaneers.

Before we start going all "Woe is Pitt", let's just stop that now. We already went through this with Bostad when Bostad was reportedly heading to Chicago Bears a few weeks ago so it shouldn't be surprising at all that when another NFL coaching gig opened up, Bostad was going to leave. And frankly, he couldn't have picked a better time to leave Pitt.

Before he even had much time to really make an impact, after National Signing Day and before spring camp, he's gone. Now Paul Chryst can find a coach that wants to be here and the staff can move forward into spring camp.

As a result of the departure, Joe Rudolph has been promoted to offensive coordinator and tight ends coach while Jim Hueber, the former tight ends coach, will now coach the offensive line, where he has spent the majority of his career. Pitt now must find a quarterbacks and running backs coach.

There was another one of those unscientific polls out on ESPN recently. This one had to do with the ability of Pitt and Syracuse to contend in their respective ACC divisions. Let's just say the nation isn't all that sold on the two programs' chances.

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Darnell Dinkins - In the words of Obi Wan in Star Wars Episode IV, "That's a name I've not heard in a long time."

You might not remember Dinkins since he hasn't worn a Pitt uni in more than ten years, but he played at Pitt before beginning an NFL career that lasted about a decade. Dinkins even won a Super Bowl ring with the Saints a few years ago.

He's now headed to Rutgers to join new Kyle Flood's new staff.

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A few weeks back, I mentioned that Ohio State fullback David Durham was looking elsewhere and transferring from Urban Meyer's program. That move is official now as Durham is headed to Pitt.

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More than a year later, the legal fiasco regarding former Pitt coach Michael Haywood's charges have finally been resolved as the charges were dropped. Now, don't mistake that for innocence. The charges were dropped as a result of pre-trial conditions that were met (counseling and community service). Haywood complied and the judge dropped the charges.

While the legal side may be over, this doesn't mean that the Haywood situation is entirely finished when it comes to Pitt, though.

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Spring isn't here yet and with the cold weather returning this week, it could still be a while. But Spring football doesn't seem that far off. Pitt kicks things off on March 15th with practices and the Spring game is a month later on April 14th.

I don't know if the hype will be as much as it was last year with folks wanting to line up to buy false goods see Todd Graham's high octane offense last year (the attendance wasn't actually that great with bad weather), but you can still get your first look at Paul Chryst's offense. The rumor that Chryst is going to literally run the ball on every offensive snap cannot be confirmed or denied at this point.

Equally as important, obviously, is that you can get your first look at Rushel Shell and Chad Voytik ... as well as sit by plenty of fans who will no doubt be calling for Tino to be benched after his first incompletion.

Fun days are ahead.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt football and basketball.

File this in the 'Thank God' category - Pitt offensive lineman Chris Jacobson was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Now, I know that they've got things to do, but it's more than a month after the season ended. I still remain amazed that these types of decisions aren't made earlier, but who am I to complain? The news that he'll be back is obviously welcome for the program as the line was in shambles and is already losing Lucas Nix, the team's best lineman.

Jacobson will help solidify a line that wasn't very good last year - let's be honest. ESPN.com Big East blogger says they were the worst in the Big East and it's hard to argue that. But hopefully the young guys get better and someone like Tom Ricketts, who transferred from Penn State last year, can come in and provide some depth there as well.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt football and basketball.

Over the weekend, Kevin Gorman of the Trib wrote a good piece about football administrators Chris LaSala and Bob Junko, and the huge role they played in keeping this year's impressive recruiting class intact during the coaching turnover. I've always been a fan of the two, knowing they were loyal Pitt men who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the program go. I was unaware, however, of how special they really are.

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