I can't say I'm totally caught off guard that this is sort of the path or direction they went in with these hires. Once Narduzzi committed to a 31-year old OC from an FCS school in Kade Bell, I think he had to embrace all that would come with it and I think he is showing he is willing to change it all. I think Narduzzi is really trying to flip the script and the energy on that side of the ball. I mean, the offense finished 114th in yards and and scoring last year. It needed blown all the way up and we all pretty much understood that well before the season ended. Getting rid of 4/5 offensive coaches was definitely the right call after a 3-9 season.
But I'm also not surprised at the response in the initial thread made by Chris. I know everyone wanted a Chris Beatty-type hire or two, and I get that. But I think there is some good value in all the hires made, at least on the surface. I don't know if they'll work out, but I get the logic that if you are already committing to the young OC, give him the type of staff that would kind of match his personality and style, and I think this fits that.
I kind of think these three guys all sort of have similar profiles to Brennan Marion, Cory Sanders, and Ryan Manalac. I think they all have shown they weren't or haven't been in over their heads. Sanders is one of his best coaches and has produced a lot of NFL guys, Manalac has been doing a nice job and the LB recruiting looks pretty good recently, and obviously Marion is a talented coach, whatever you think of his time here. Looking at their previous stops before Pitt looks a lot like the three new coaches.
A quick thought on each.
I think I really like the hire of Lindsey Lamar a good bit from a recruiting standpoint. Actually I like it a lot. He is from the Tampa area, played at Hillsborough High (a school that produces D1 players a good bit) and plus Pitt likes to recruit Tampa in general, so I think his ties of being from there, working and playing at USF (under Charlie Strong, a plus I'd say), then he should be able to help there. Also working at Howard could definitely help in the DMV. Howard is able to walk into any big-time high school in the area, so he should have connections there. I checked his twitter and notice he follows a lot of the same recruits Pitt is already recruiting, and they follow him. HBCUs definitely have gotten a little more attention lately and so again, even though he was at an FCS school, Howard recruits a lot of the same players so while he doesn't have FBS coaching experience, he does hae experience recruiting against power-five schools and should be able to hit the ground running.
I think the thing with Jacob Bronowski that stands out is the special teams acumen he should bring. Miami has been excellent both years he has been in charge there. Like quick example, Miami was 7th nationally in punt return defense, while Pitt was 105th. Pitt's special teams have been pretty disastrous the past two years, so hiring STC of one of the best special teams units in the country seems like a useful move. I wonder about the TE coaching aspect like you all do as well, but he has done it before. But again with recruiting. Pitt recruits Cincinnati/Columbus a good bit, and so does Miami. Think of it this way. Any good high school football player in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan all start with getting a bunch of MAC offers then the Michigans, Penn States, Pitts, Kentuckys, Purdues all get involved. But the point being, going back to Twitter (X), I noticed he again follows a lot of recruits I follow that Pitt has already offered. MAC schools don't win recruiting battles over P5 teams, but they still are recruiting and identifying the same group of players. So again, he should have some Cincinnati connections right off the bat.
Jeremy Darveau obviously brings a familiar face to the staff, so that makes sense for Bell's perspectice. They worked together at Western Carolina and Darveau has been coaching under Kerwin Bell for since 2018. He has been around him and worked with him for a while. Obviously Chris posted his name earlier in the week, but the attraction there would be he does have produce a good amount and has a lot of accolades, albeit at a smaller level (25 all-conference players, five All-Americans, and produced eight NFL offensive linemen according to his Western Carolina profile). I do like that he has P5 playing experience though, so he's been around this level of football.
But I'm also not surprised at the response in the initial thread made by Chris. I know everyone wanted a Chris Beatty-type hire or two, and I get that. But I think there is some good value in all the hires made, at least on the surface. I don't know if they'll work out, but I get the logic that if you are already committing to the young OC, give him the type of staff that would kind of match his personality and style, and I think this fits that.
I kind of think these three guys all sort of have similar profiles to Brennan Marion, Cory Sanders, and Ryan Manalac. I think they all have shown they weren't or haven't been in over their heads. Sanders is one of his best coaches and has produced a lot of NFL guys, Manalac has been doing a nice job and the LB recruiting looks pretty good recently, and obviously Marion is a talented coach, whatever you think of his time here. Looking at their previous stops before Pitt looks a lot like the three new coaches.
A quick thought on each.
I think I really like the hire of Lindsey Lamar a good bit from a recruiting standpoint. Actually I like it a lot. He is from the Tampa area, played at Hillsborough High (a school that produces D1 players a good bit) and plus Pitt likes to recruit Tampa in general, so I think his ties of being from there, working and playing at USF (under Charlie Strong, a plus I'd say), then he should be able to help there. Also working at Howard could definitely help in the DMV. Howard is able to walk into any big-time high school in the area, so he should have connections there. I checked his twitter and notice he follows a lot of the same recruits Pitt is already recruiting, and they follow him. HBCUs definitely have gotten a little more attention lately and so again, even though he was at an FCS school, Howard recruits a lot of the same players so while he doesn't have FBS coaching experience, he does hae experience recruiting against power-five schools and should be able to hit the ground running.
I think the thing with Jacob Bronowski that stands out is the special teams acumen he should bring. Miami has been excellent both years he has been in charge there. Like quick example, Miami was 7th nationally in punt return defense, while Pitt was 105th. Pitt's special teams have been pretty disastrous the past two years, so hiring STC of one of the best special teams units in the country seems like a useful move. I wonder about the TE coaching aspect like you all do as well, but he has done it before. But again with recruiting. Pitt recruits Cincinnati/Columbus a good bit, and so does Miami. Think of it this way. Any good high school football player in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan all start with getting a bunch of MAC offers then the Michigans, Penn States, Pitts, Kentuckys, Purdues all get involved. But the point being, going back to Twitter (X), I noticed he again follows a lot of recruits I follow that Pitt has already offered. MAC schools don't win recruiting battles over P5 teams, but they still are recruiting and identifying the same group of players. So again, he should have some Cincinnati connections right off the bat.
Jeremy Darveau obviously brings a familiar face to the staff, so that makes sense for Bell's perspectice. They worked together at Western Carolina and Darveau has been coaching under Kerwin Bell for since 2018. He has been around him and worked with him for a while. Obviously Chris posted his name earlier in the week, but the attraction there would be he does have produce a good amount and has a lot of accolades, albeit at a smaller level (25 all-conference players, five All-Americans, and produced eight NFL offensive linemen according to his Western Carolina profile). I do like that he has P5 playing experience though, so he's been around this level of football.
