Dave Wannstedt often delivers a jovial one-liner or two during or after an interview, and it is usually somewhat self-deprecating and almost always designed to get a laugh out of the audience.

But the one he delivered this day was different because, although it drew a chuckle, it was profound.

"When you see some of the things that are happening [with regards to coaches getting fired] around the country, if our chancellor would have responded like some of these other guys do, I'd either be back coaching the NFL by now or be golfing in Naples," Wannstedt said with a smile, as he sat, drenched with Gatorade, and discussed the Panthers' season-ending win at Connecticut in the visiting team interview room Dec. 6.

Wannstedt added, "That's what separates our chancellor from others. ... and that's what makes [Pitt] special."

He was referring, of course, to the contract extension he received late last year -- before the season-ending upset of West Virginia, even though the Panthers were finishing off a third consecutive non-winning season.

It came at a time when college football coaches with much more success than Wannstedt were being pushed out by administrators with unrealistic ideas of what their program should be or by impatient boosters and alumni.

Clearly, Wannstedt's extension raised some eyebrows, but as chancellor Mark Nordenberg explained it, Wannstedt had a plan and a clear vision of the program's future, and his value to the program went beyond wins and losses.

"Loyalty is a two-way street and, when you look at it, Dave is here at Pitt because he loves this university, he loves this city and he is fully committed to the personal, academic and athletic development of his players," Nordenberg said. "He is perfect in that role as an ambassador for our university and he is a wonderful role model for our student-athletes -- and I say this with a lot of confidence -- everyone around here wanted to see Dave succeed, and I felt like he deserved a fair opportunity to do just that so it didn't at all seem like a stretch to me to give him an extension.

"I felt, actually I knew, we'd be giving our program and our student-athletes the best chance to be successful."

Nordenberg's faith in Wannstedt was rewarded this year as the 18th-ranked Panthers were 9-3 and will play No. 24 Oregon State (8-4) in the Sun Bowl Dec. 31.

Wannstedt said he wasn't as surprised as some that he was offered the extension because Nordenberg is very engaged in what is going on in athletics, on and off the field.

Still, he was a little nervous when he met with Nordenberg to discuss his future..

"I don't think you ever really know if your boss is following all the little details of the things you do on a daily basis until you are in a situation like I was in last year when things weren't going well," Wannstedt said. "When I came in here, I talked about making Pitt a Top-10 program again, one that we can all be proud of and that is what, deep down in my heart, drives me so hard.

"But, in doing so, we had to make some changes and we had to make some sacrifices and, sometimes, things take a little bit longer than we all hoped, but we knew all along that we were putting a solid foundation in and, once a few of our younger players matured, it would translate to wins, and that's what we've seen."

One of Wannstedt's first priorities when he arrived was to add academic-support people and focus on graduating players.

He also changed the offseason program, hiring Buddy Morris as the strength and conditioning coach two years ago and changing the areas of geographical emphasis in recruiting.

These changes have had a positive effect. The Panthers' entire senior class has graduated or is on track to graduate in May. Furthermore, the offensive and defensive lines are better and physically stronger than they had been before he arrived. The team is mentally tougher -- five of nine wins came after the Panthers trailed in the fourth quarter. In addition, the Panthers have been at the top of the Big East's recruiting rankings every year since his arrival.

"Wins are the most important thing, that gets it going," Wannstedt said. "But I think all the great programs around the country have many of these ingredients, and this year, [athletic director] Steve Pederson did an unbelievable job of getting fans to Heinz Field, and that's something we can build on for next year.

"So, it is more than wins; it is about academics, about facilities, about fan support and offseason programs. And, when I sat with the chancellor last year, those are the things we talked about.

"There was never a conversation about, 'You have to win eight games next year,' or anything like that at all. He was as concerned about all the little things in the program as wins and losses and he knew we were making strides in all those other areas."

Wannstedt said he understood the program was at a crossroads this year. It was time to either move forward or move on. Although the Panthers fell one game short of one of their goals -- to win a Big East championship -- they will return as many as 16 starters and, if dynamic sophomore LeSean McCoy doesn't jump to the NFL, Pitt should be the odds-on preseason favorite to win it next year.

Pederson, who arrived the day Wannstedt's contract extension was announced but had no input on the decision, said that Wannstedt's plan has the Panthers positioned to become an annual contender in the Big East as well as a nationally respected program.

"Years ago, when I first got to Pitt, Dan Rooney and I were talking, and he said to me, 'If you have the right person, doing the right things, you should probably give them a chance to finish the job,' " Pederson said. "That always stuck with me and, looking at this situation from afar, it was clear to me that, knowing Dave, he had a good vision of what he wanted to do and it was up to us to help him succeed.

"It seemed that this program needed stability and, as long as it was moving in the right direction, which it was, I was in full support of the chancellor.

"He has been working his plan since he got here and, beyond this season, the most heartening thing is you don't just want to have a good team, you want to build a good program and he's building something of substance here."

Nordenberg added: "Dave has very high values himself, and that's what is so exciting about our program because it is a reflection of him. Our players are graduating, he is running a clean program, he is recruiting players with high character to our team. Those are the things that go into a decision and also what makes this season's success so wonderful."

For Wannstedt's seniors, players such as middle linebacker Scott McKillop, offensive lineman C.J. Davis and defensive tackle Rashaad Duncan, the past three years have been rough because they have had to be building blocks and they endured some tough losses. And then there were those no-bowl winters.

But they say they never lost faith in Wannstedt, 25-22 in four seasons as Pitt's coach, because, like Nordenberg, they saw things happening behind the scenes and knew short-term pain would yield long-term success.

"Given all the trials and tribulations we've been through, this season has been special; it means a lot for all of us," Duncan said.

"It was good for us to go out and represent [Wannstedt] because he always represents us and people complain about him for things we didn't get done. It was nice for us to be able to show [in winning this year] our gratitude for bringing us here."

"We're like his sons, we were like his little babies and we have grown up now and we knew it was time for this to take off and that's what it did this year."

Wannstedt is 56 and has been coaching for more than 30 years -- an eternity given the profession's demands on coaches, their families and those around them.

He says he is as hungry as ever to get Pitt back on top. He doesn't see himself stepping aside anytime soon because there is much to be done before they can return to national prominence.

"We have a very solid foundation right now," Wannstedt said.

"I read some quotes from C.J. Davis who said they learned so many lessons about life off the field here. That made me as proud as any win I've had because, if a player has been around me for four years and left here and didn't feel like I made an impact on his life, helped him become a better person and gave him direction and dealing with adversity, then I would be highly disappointed.

"I know in my heart we can and will get to where we want to go. The thing I like about college is you get a new group of kids in and all the stories are different and you have an opportunity to touch each one of them, and that keeps my energy up. As long as I feel like we're moving forward and my health is good, I don't really have a time table."