Multiple reports and sources claim that the Pittsburgh Panthers have quickly moved to name a new head football coach, as Michigan State Spartans defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi may be on the job as soon as this Friday.
What makes the story remarkable is that Pitt is also searching for a new athletic director after firing Steve Pederson last week. Randy Juhl is currently filling in as interim athletic director.
The coaching vacancy came up after Paul Chryst announced that he was leaving Pitt to become the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. Chryst served three years as the Pitt head coach and was the sixth head man that the program has had in the last six years.
As we had mentioned here earlier in the week, the Pitt program has been a revolving door for head coaches and that has served to damage the program and its credibility.
The Right Fit?
There is potential here as Narduzzi has built one of the best and toughest defenses in all of college football at Michigan State. The Spartans are well regarded for their physical and punishing stop unit that was at its nastiest against hated intrastate rival Michigan. The past two years, Narduzzi’s defense violently tossed the Maize and Blue around like helpless rag dolls much to the delight of their fans. Pitt had a strong tradition of being a physical team in its glory days under head coaches Johnny Majors and Jackie Sherrill and their lack of toughness in recent years did not reflect the program’s self-identity and culture.
No Record of Job Hopping
Narduzzi has been the defensive coordinator at Michigan State for the past eight years as he followed Spartans head football coach Mark Dantonio from Cincinnati where he served as DC for three seasons. In 2013, Narduzzi was promoted to assistant head coach where he was one of the highest paid assistants in the country. Narduzzi made $905,033, which ranked seventh in the country for college football assistants. Narduzzi turned down Connecticut last year stating that he wanted a top job in a top conference as a head coach. This record of stability is a key element in what may have made him an attractive candidate for the Pitt Administration. The revolving door of coaches has been tiresome for a program that has lost much of its luster and identity.
A Record of Excellence
Narduzzi is highly regarded among his coaching peers for his outstanding defenses that he put together at Michigan State. His defense has ranked in the top ten nationally for the last four consecutive seasons. This season the Spartans led the nation in turnover margin as they picked off 17 passes and recovered 16 fumbles. In 2013, Narduzzi won the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football.
Compatible Roots
Narduzzi grew up as a coach’s son in Youngstown, Ohio, which is just an hour’s drive north of Pittsburgh. That pedigree and service at Cincinnati and Michigan State should give him impeccable recruiting connections. Pitt recruiting ranged from solid to great in the Dave Wannstedt years and Narduzzi may reach out to the former Panthers coach and alum for help now that Pederson, the man that fired Wannstedt, had to resign in failure.
Job One
While a full blitz of recruiting is mandatory upon taking the job it will be just as important for Narduzzi to work towards establishing an identity for his program. Pitt has been about as generic of a football team as can be imagined for the past couple of decades and the coaching turnover has meant mixed messages as far as establishing just what Pitt football is supposed to mean.
Underachieving For Decades
Pitt is in the midst of one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country. The move from the former Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference helps with credibility and more attractive opponents to sell. It also opens up other recruiting hotbeds in the south such as the state of Florida.
There have been too many empty sections and Heinz Field for too long. In a pro town that features the NFL Steelers, MLB Pirates, and NHL Penguins the Pitt Panthers will need a full return to consistent top 20 relevance if they are to reignite the passion of their fans and alums that have become fatigued to the point of ambivalence.
