Dave Wannstedt Dave Wannstedt ( born May 21 , 1952 ) is an American football coach . He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League . He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team from 2005 to 2010 . 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 in the 1970s . Early years . Wannstedt was born in Baldwin , Pennsylvania and attended Baldwin High School . He earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh playing offensive tackle and blocking for future Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett . After a successful career with the Panthers , he was chosen in the fifteenth round of the 1974 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers , but spent his only NFL season on the injured reserve list with a neck injury . Coaching career . First college coaching career . In 1975 , Pitt coach Johnny Majors hired him as a graduate assistant coach . He was on the staff when the Panthers won the 1976 NCAA Division I - A national football championship with a victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the 1977 Sugar Bowl . In 1977 , Jimmy Johnson joined the staff of the Pitt Panthers and the two would forge a long lasting personal and professional bond . When Johnson left to become the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 1979 , he invited Wannstedt to join his staff . Wannstedt served as defensive line coach for the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the 1979 and 1980 seasons and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1981 , a spot he held for two seasons . He moved on to University of Southern California in 1983 to coach the Trojans and served as the defensive line coach for three years . In 1986 , Wannstedt became defensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes under friend and mentor Jimmy Johnson , where they won a national championship in 1987 . 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 , 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 Miami Dolphins . When the then - 56 - year - old Johnson announced his retirement suddenly on January 16 , 2000 , Wannstedt was the obvious choice to replace him , and he was immediately named Johnson ' s successor . Under Wannstedt , the Dolphins regular season record was 42 - 31 , with playoff appearances in his first two seasons . 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 . University of Pittsburgh . When University of Pittsburgh head coach Walt Harris was forced to resign , Wannstedt , with NFL experience and a proven college recruiting record , immediately became a candidate to replace him . As a Pittsburgh area native , former Pitt player ( offensive tackle from 1971 – 73 ) , Pitt graduate ( B . S . in 1974 ; M . Ed . in 1976 ) , and previous graduate assistant coach at the university under Johnny Majors and Jackie Sherrill ( 1975 – 78 ) , Wannstedt had strong ties to both the university and the city . Wannstedt was initially interested in the job but pulled back over salary issues and concerns about his ability to keep a quality staff . After working out several issues with the Pitt athletic department including pay raises for assistant coaches , Wannstedt agreed to Pitt ' s offer and was named head coach on December 23 , 2004 . 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 . In his first season , Wannstedt inherited a Pitt team that won a share of the Big East Championship and played in the Fiesta Bowl the previous year under Harris , and was ranked 21 in the first AP Poll of 2005 . However , defeats by Notre Dame and Ohio University ; and a last second loss ( by a score of 7 - 6 ) to Nebraska kicked off a disappointing 5 - 6 season that also saw Pitt get humiliated 45 - 13 by arch rival West Virginia . This campaign was Pitt ' s first losing record since 1999 . Wannstedt ' s recruiting prowess led Scout . com analysts to rate the Panthers ' class of 2006 the eleventh best in the country . Wannstedt followed his touted 2006 class by bringing in the # 8 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 ; 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 . 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 University of 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 Bearcats 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 . The Oregon State team that defeated USC in 2008 had remarkably shut out the Pitt Panthers for only the first time in twelve years . In 2009 , Wannstedt led Pitt to a 3 - 0 start before losing on the road to North Carolina State in the fourth quarter . Wannstedt ' s Panthers then won their next 6 games , raising Pitt ' s record to 9 - 1 and the team cracked the Top 10 in the rankings , their best mark since the Dan Marino led team in 1982 . The Panthers faltered in their final two games , however , losing to both West Virginia 19 - 16 and Cincinnati 45 - 44 in the Big East Championship game to fall to 9 - 3 . After the regular season , Pitt went on to defeat the North Carolina Tarheels in the Meineke Car Care Bowl to finish the season with 10 wins for the first time since 1981 . On March 30 , 2010 , Wannstedt received a two - year contract extension through the 2014 season . 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 . With his resignation , Wannstedt was offered a position as Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at the university . 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 . He was promoted to defensive coordinator on January 2 , 2012 . He was dismissed , along with the entire Bills coaching staff , on December 31 , 2012 . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Wannstedt was hired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers special teams coach on February 1 , 2013 . In being hired by the Buccaneers , he was joining the staff of Greg Schiano , who was an assistant under Wannstedt when he was the head coach of the Chicago Bears during the mid - to - late 90s . 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 . He was let go by the Buccaneers at the end of the 2013 season .