Is anyone else growing tired of Narduzzi? I say this knowing that he’s been great for Pitt in terms of stability, consistency, and an ACC Championship, but I’ve honestly grown tired of his act. From him whining to the media, to giving his opinion about others like Deion Sanders and USC, it’s all just a bad look. Add to that, his inexcusable losses that happen every year, and while I’m not advocating they get rid of Narduzzi, but I think questions have to be asked. I think it’s also fair to question why he battles and hates successful offensive coordinators. It’s hard to argue Pitt’s offense had incredible success with Matt Canada and Mark Whipple, but Narduzzi threw shade at both long after they left. For the folks who like Narduzzi, I’m sure that 6-6, 7-5 and occasional 8-4 are perfectly fine for you. But 2021 gave us a taste of what this program could be.
Honest question about Narduzzi
- Thread starter NatronaHeightsPanther
- Start date
He won 20 games over the last 2 seasons. This year is going to be a step back year because we lost a bunch of guys to the NFL. Pitt is an 8-5 type program with a good coach.
Respect is earned. Perception is reality.
If you win a lot, you can run your mouth and just be considered to be outspoken.
If you don’t win a lot, and you run your mouth, you’re considered to be a buffoon.
If you win a lot, you can run your mouth and just be considered to be outspoken.
If you don’t win a lot, and you run your mouth, you’re considered to be a buffoon.
The guy has won 8 plus games more than he has won 6 or 7.
I don’t thinking losing to Cincy is an inexcusable loss. They are a good team. Now, how bad we looked in achieving the loss, that’s was pretty bad.
Nobody outside of a handful of people on this message board are real impressed by that.
I guess I have more realistic expectations for a program like Pitt. We aren’t a blue blood and never will be
This is how I feel. We had similar struggles in 2017 after we lost several starters to the NFL. There will be growing pains.
It should bother Heather than Cincinnati's program is heads and tails above Pitt's.
Pitt’s admin cares the least of anyone. They get / have gotten what they wanted from the football program.
Now if/when the conference collapses or whatever else happens down the line and the checks end (since we aren’t Big 2 thanks to our mediocre football), the leadership at Pitt at that time might be upset that the brass now and before them didn’t care. That loss of money will hurt.
But, until then, 5-7 every year would likely please Pitt well; not bad enough to crater attendance outright, but just bad enough to avoid nuisance bowl games that the school really doesn’t want to bother with.
I dont care at all about his "act." In fact, I like it. But I really dont care what he says or does. He just needs to recruit better and win.
Look, Narduzzi will never recruit better. He's been here 8 years. All we heard was that if we could only win the conference that would be the catalyst to much improved recruiting. It didn't happen. Narduzzi lands a lot of decent 3 stars and the occasional four star. He has recruited at the middle of the pack in the conference. That's not going to suddenly change. With this level of recruiting we're going to win pretty much at the level we have been. We'll win 7 or 8 games consistently and very rarely more. We'll also have a stinker season here and there. You know what you have with Narduzzi. If you're satisfied winning 7 or 8 games and losing at least one mind boggling game every year, then Narduzzi is your guy. If you aspire to a higher level, we'll never get there with PN.
Cruzer
He is pretty good at coaching and developing. Runs a clean program. Seems like a great person. He just is really terrible at recruiting. Despite this, he is good enough at coaching and developing to get us to 7-5 and if we are really lucky, 8-4. That's his ceiling though unless another global pandemic gives him a 1st Round NFL QB. We can certainly do worse than Duzz. But at some point, someone is going to have to make a difficult decision because if he keeps going 7-5, it may end up being something like 6 out of 8 seasons with 5 regular season losses or more.
As mentioned above it doesn’t matter if you, me, or any other fans are ok with 7 wins. All that matters is the Pitt admin is fine with it.
As I said, Pitt would actually prefer 5 wins a year because it doesn’t want to pay the drudgery and cost to go to the third rate bowl games that are forced upon us short of winning the entire conference.
Do any of us think they love cost and the hassle to send but just the team but… the band, cheerleaders, etc to El freaking Paso repeatedly? The deans and trustees and families? Interrupt their to spend a bunch of days in freaking Detroit?
No, 5-7 annually would suit them fine. As mentioned, a lot of them probably think he’s been TOO successful.
How about a program like aaaah Cincy! TCU, Iowa, Michigan st. And others. Just sayin
That's really not the way college football recruiting works. It's certainly not the way it works in today's game, and tbh, it hasn't really ever worked that way. Recruiting isn't going to improve in any way that really moves the needle no matter who they have roaming the sideline as HC.
Today, boosters shell out a lot of money just to secure visits and make certain "cuts" for top recruits. The top schools sometimes spend several thousands on guys that end up signing elsewhere.
Winning the conference as a "catalyst" to improved recruiting was always a myth. It doesn't work that way at all. Cincinnati is pretty much a case in point here. They were in the playoffs 2 years ago. Their current class is ranked 43rd with 20 commitments for an average star ranking of 2.95. TCU, fresh off their national championship game appearance, currently has the 45th ranked class with 17 commitments and an average star ranking of 3.06.
A lot of coaches have come and gone in the ACC since 2015. Only one coach not named Dabo has won the league in that time frame.
Exactly. Those are all good examples of programs that will never be blue bloods. Those programs found their ceiling and they all found out that it isn't anywhere close to the college football blue bloods. Fickell & Saban both bailed for places with deeper pockets that take signing talent a bit more seriously.
He is literally the second most winning coach in the ACC since he took over at Pitt.
Its like people are completely unaware of Pitt football's history over the four decades.
en.wikipedia.org
Its like people are completely unaware of Pitt football's history over the four decades.
List of Pittsburgh Panthers head football coaches - Wikipedia
I’m on the fence on this. I do think Cincy is better than they were projected to be. But to lose, at home, to the same coach you lost to last year, on a completely different team that had a ton of turnover, in year 9… is frustrating. Now maybe we make too much out of a single loss and this staff has a good track record of bouncing back after losses, so I’m not going scorched earth just yet.
My god this sub is delusional when it comes to anything Narduzzi related.
Were you tired of Narduzzi when we won the ACC championship a yeah and a half ago?
Yes, Narduzzi had said some VERY out-of-touch and questionable lines, but he has shown he is not either of those things.
If this Cignetti/Phil combo fails miserably (which my god that was an embarrassment last week), he’s still earned himself the time to fix it, and his track record indicates that it will, even if that doesn’t happen until the following season.
Were you tired of Narduzzi when we won the ACC championship a yeah and a half ago?
Yes, Narduzzi had said some VERY out-of-touch and questionable lines, but he has shown he is not either of those things.
If this Cignetti/Phil combo fails miserably (which my god that was an embarrassment last week), he’s still earned himself the time to fix it, and his track record indicates that it will, even if that doesn’t happen until the following season.
This is just ridiculous.
Over 9 years had this HC built a program or not…or is is it a house of straw? He lost 4 games last year, 2 to lousy teams. This year he returned 6 linemen on both sides of the ball who are in their 5th and 6 th years; he returned 3 of his top 4 backs, 2 of his 3 starting LBs; he returned his top 3 corner backs. Your suggestion that this year was inevtibaly expected to be a step back doesn’t hold water.
You want the reasons for this year’s start and the bad losses the last 2 years, here they are: poor skill position recruiting and development; a weak offensive staff,
particularly the OC; a lack of real play makers on both sides of the ball; and a clear failure to recruit and develop QBs. As good as Pickett was his 5 th year, the truth is he struggled until his last year.
No reason Pitt can’t be a nationally relevant and a top 25 program. Those arguing otherwise are just whistling in the and in denial.
Your criticisms of Narduzzi are mostly valid, but Pitt IS nationally relevant and a top 25 program under Narduzzi, so your overall point is not acccurate.
Since Narduzzi took over, this team has finished as follows: #23, #22, unranked, #24, unranked, #21, #13, #17.
Literally the definition of a top 25 program.
Not saying Cincy is a Top 25 team. They are a 6-8 win team from a P5 conference with a recent history of success and rankings. Losing to them 27-21 is not "inexcusable" as many stated, even with their turnover. We are a 6-8 win team ourselves this season (hopefully lol) and lost to a similar team. It's not like we lost to Ball St or James Madison. However, how unprepared and disorganized we looked when actually saw the game (vs the final score) certainly is concerning.
Cincinnati was certainly better Saturday night. Overall, not so sure about that. Cincinnati is a very similar program that has been completing in the AAC. Not exactly a fair comparison.
TCU had a nice season last year. At the end of the day, fair or not, 65-7 is what the 22 Horned Frogs are going to be known for. They didn't even win the Big 12 as a consolation prize.
If you were a Bearcat or TCU fan, I'm sure you would find lots to complain about.
Ummm these look wrong. I don’t think we finished ranked in 15, 16, 18, or 20?
TCU and MSU ended up falling so far they ran out the coaches that at least one of them built a literal statue for.
Fans think that, if you have this relatively small window where some of your 3* recruits turn out to be better than the recruiting rankings said, the powers on your schedule are down, and you get a lot of luck, then that’s something you can repeat over and over again.
But it isn’t.
Boise State, Paul Chryst, Mike Gundy, Gary Patterson, Mark Dantonio.
These are the coaches/programs over the last 10 years that everyone pointed to and said, “that’s what you can be with great evals and recruiting guys that fit the system and development.”
Gundy is the only one still around. And Gundy’s seat is warming up.
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I just reviewed your research and looked at the final coaches and AP polls for the last 8 years. Where are you getting those rankings from…they are plain wrong. They have been ranked 2 out of 8 years, and not once in the top 10. Is that clear evidence of their being nationally relevant? The fact that they ended in the top 25 the last 2 years and were not ranked in the preseason Poll this year and ranked in the middle of the ACC preseason polls says a lot about Pitt’s current national reputation and the level of respect they are accorded. Interconference games significantly impact a team’s national reputation. Pitt’s record the last 9 years in inter-conference games( including bowl games) has been poor…no denying it. After Saturday’s debacle, they are in a huge hole as regards national recognition. Do they have the talent to atone themselves the rest of the year? It starts Saturday night.
So what's the solution? No big name coach is coming here and the money isn't there even if there was
The program is more stable than at any time post- Wanny. I'd love consistent 10-11 win seasons. Probably
not happening without a) better recruiting and b) less aggresive scheduling.
The program is more stable than at any time post- Wanny. I'd love consistent 10-11 win seasons. Probably
not happening without a) better recruiting and b) less aggresive scheduling.
correct, the only two ranked seasons were 21 & 22. Which hasn't been achieved in a very long time (back to back ranked seasons).
I agree with the poster above. If it doesn't work out, Narduzzi will pull the plug on Cignetti at the end of the year. I still don't think Cignettit is that terrible and I liked the increased productivity in the run game last year. But Saturday was a bad day all around for Cig, the QB, WR's, everyone.
Narduzzi isn't without his warts - but the real question is: Are the odds so high that we could get a better coach, that its worth moving on from him? I think the answer is a resounding "No" at this point.
The fact is, a lot of P5 games are toss ups--even in year 9--unless you are a blue blood (which begs the question why we bother to play 11 P5 games when most teams play only 10). The fact that Narduzzi's conference record is as good as it is shows that he is a very solid coach.
I mean, I’d rather try to find a guy that might catch lightning like TCU last year than a guy that will max out at 8 wins unless he literally has two of the best players in school history.
That’s my problem with pat. It’s the old Neil Huntington trade value deal. He has a fairly high floor but also does not have a high upside. I think that if he allowed more freedom on the offensive side to push things, with a more uptempo system that is spread based, he would have more upside, but I think it’s clear he won’t let that happen. I mean the wrinkle on Saturday was running hurry up into a power formation between the tackles which was so dumb.
And 2021 should have been our TCU year. Losses to WMU and Miami were ridiculous.
These are all fair points. The whole “Year 9” line I said does need more context… given he did win 20 games and finish ranked the last 2 years, not to mention having lost a bunch of players who are NFL or practice squad caliber, yeah it was natural for there to be some drop off this year, especially breaking in a number of new starters in their first real test of the season.
lol, so you believe in the whole white knight riding in to save the day theory? That's a good one. You realize that a new coach would still have to deal with an admin that won't cut any corners and drop ties with someone like Dior Johnson in a heartbeat. They would also have to deal with recruiting to a stadium with 20K empty seats each week (46K isn't bad ACC attendance, but looks terrible in the current stadium).
The new coach would also have to deal with a shrinking local talent pool, and the talent that is in the area is in high demand from about 5 schools within a 6 hour drive that are also in P5 conferences with boosters funding NIL.
And if by some chance this white knight does exist, most likely an SEC school that is struggling would swoop in like vultures to hire him away, as there aren't any Pitt alum coaches in the pipeline so most likely this new guy has no connection to the university.
Unless the bottom totally falls out (3 straight losing seasons), you stick with what you have, but hopefully changes are made to the staff before it gets to that point.
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