Pittsburgh, PA -- (Sports Network) - Pittsburgh football coach Dave Wannstedt will receive a contract extension, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The University is reportedly expected to announce the extension, which would extend Wannstedt's current deal at least through the 2010 season, Saturday.

The Panthers are just 4-7 this season and heavy underdogs in this weekend's annual "Backyard Brawl" game against West Virginia.

Despite compiling a 15-19 record in his tenure at his alma mater, Wannstedt has the support of newly hired athletic director Steve Pederson.

"I am 100 percent committed to helping Dave in any way that we can," said Pederson. "We have a good man here and a guy that cares an awful lot about this program and this university, and a good coach. I'm not in a position to talk about [an extension] right now and I think shortly we will be in a position to talk about it."

Wannstedt played offensive tackle at Pittsburgh from 1970-73 and was a captain his senior year. He also began his 30-year coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Panthers in 1975.

This is Wannstedt's first stint as a head coach on the collegiate level, but spent 14 years as an assistant. He landed his first coaching job as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 1975 and was on the staff when the Panthers won the national championship the following year.

The Baldwin, Pennsylvania native moved on to Oklahoma State in 1979, then spent three years at Southern California starting in 1983. He left in 1986 to take the defensive coordinator position at the University of Miami-Florida, and the Hurricanes lost just two games while winning one national championship during his three years in Coral Gables.

In 1989, Wannstedt moved on to the NFL with Jimmy Johnson and became the defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys. After capturing a Super Bowl title in 1992 with Dallas, he was named the head coach of the Bears, who he coached from 1993-1998. He was also head coach of the Miami Dolphins for five- plus seasons before taking the Pitt job. Wannstedt has a mark of 82-87 as an NFL head coach.