I hope everyone enjoyed the '21 season, ACC championship, the PIckett run offense, etc. I believe Pitt reached the highest level they will attain in the near future (i.e. next decade) last season. I have said for years that the best we can hope for from this program in this environment is typical 7-8 win seasons with the occasional 10 win season where they compete for an ACC Championship. I have never felt more strongly about that than today. The odds are stacked against Pitt, and it has been, and will continue to be difficult to maintain a consistently winning program. I am trying not to react to some of the negative things surrounding the program, but you have to consider the following:
- Pitt seems to be a stepping stone, or at least safety net in recruiting. Minchey is just another example of a player committing early to ensure their spot and then waiting on better offers to come down the road. Chris and others can say, this is just the allure of ND, but let's face it, who was really 100% confident Minchey was going to stay with his commitment to signing day?!? I surely wasn't. Pitt cannot compete in NIL or the competitiveness of college football P5 power programs. They can try to recruit the occasional 5 star, but we all know those players are not coming to Pitt, and we are starting to see less 4 star interest. I know stars don't necessarily matter and there is a very slim line between 3* and 4*, but at some point you have to be able to recruit a higher caliber player, at least every couple of recruiting classes.
- I know we recruit Florida heavy and are successful in getting solid players out of the state, but the quality of the WPIAL hurts Pitt's recruiting as they just don't have the talent in their backyard. The really good players from the WPIAL don't really consider Pitt anyway.
- The transfer portal will continually take good players away from Pitt. While they were active this season, the players they got were not great additions. Slovis has underachieved, and I do not think he will ever be very good. Too slow of a decision maker. Maybe it is this offense, but no one is impressed with him. Mumpfield, in my opinion has been a huge disappointment. I expected more of a game breaker and difference maker. Again, this may be Cignetti, but great players shine in any type of offense. Means does not look like a P5 player to me. Wiltz and Simon were nice additions, but if our linebacker room had been deeper they would just be role players. Pitt will consistently lose more than win in the Transfer Portal.
- NIL - No need to even discuss. Pitt is on a different planet, and cannot compete with the bigger programs.
- I have been a diehard Pitt fan for 50 years and watch Majors rebuild the program as a kid and grew up with the great teams in the mid-70's to mid-80's, sitting in Section 1 with my father and grandfather at Pitt Stadium. I want nothing but the best for the program and like many of you have endured through the 90's, 2000's and 2010's of this program. I will continue to be a fan and hope for the best. In my opinion, Narduzzi has run his course. I am not a "fire the coach" kind of guy and Pitt will certainly not fire Narduzzi anytime soon with his new contract, but he possesses some of the same qualities as Tomlin. Not a great gameday coach and certainly does not make the adjustments other good coaches/programs seem to make. He is too stubborn for his own good. The fact he has put all of his support behind Slovis is confounding and the fact he sticks with him and has stated he will not make a change is equally disappointing. Also, he shares his lack of talent evaluation on Asst. Coaches with Tomlin. Cignetti may have been a good offensive mind/coach 10 years ago, but he needs to modernize his offense, especially if you want to successfully recruit QB's and WR's. Again, whatever is said about Minchey decommitting, at least part of that decision has to do with how the offense is run and what it has looked like this season. Remember, Minchey committed before he actually saw the offense in action with Cignetti calling the plays. Partridge is an outstanding coach, but I will argue he was with Pitt previously before Narduzzi and hiring him back was a no brainer. The o-line is average with 5-6 year players (i know we have had injuries, but it was not good from the outset of the season). I though Underwood was a great addition when he was hired and his recruiting may end up being really solid and impactful to the program, but what has he done as a coach to improve the WR group? That is an average group at best. Besides, I expect him to move on within the next 1-2 seasons. That is the life of a college position coach, as he won't move up at Pitt
