ACC Duz Interview - the last 1/3 is interesting

[Conemaugh]

The recruiting trail interview is clearly not Duz's strength, but he put in some good words about the new OC and having a more exciting offense that scores touchdowns.

The last 1/3 of the interview was more interesting. Duz was asked what he learned during the 2023 season, and he said there were some things he shouldn't talk about on a face time interview.

 

[ratking17]

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The recruiting trail interview is clearly not Duz's strength, but he put in some good words about the new OC and having a more exciting offense that scores touchdowns.

The last 1/3 of the interview was more interesting. Duz was asked what he learned during the 2023 season, and he said there were some things he shouldn't talk about on a face time interview.

If past experience tells us anything, it's some shade he wants to throw at cignetti that we will hear about at some coaches camp where he will forget he's on camera.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

If past experience tells us anything, it's some shade he wants to throw at cignetti that we will hear about at some coaches camp where he will forget he's on camera.

That's what he wanted to say I think. But its his fault for hiring him and letting him play so long. We could all tell there was something wrong with Phil.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I thought the comment about the offense helping his defense because they'd get to practice against them is interesting.

When everyone is running up tempo spread, they could never really simulate that in practice. Likely a major factor in what got him to change.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

I'm not sure how him saying "I learned some things we did in practice that I wish we didn't do" is somehow tied with any specific coach. I have no clue what he's talking about. The only thing I could possibly see is that after seeing Yarnell they believe he is by far and away the best QB but wasn't given the chance to show it under Cigs. Maybe the same thing with Hammond and Powell..

Who knows with Duzz?

 

[Upg bobcat]

The last 1/3 of the interview was more interesting. Duz was asked what he learned during the 2023 season, and he said there were some things he shouldn't talk about on a face time interview.

If past experience tells us anything, it's some shade he wants to throw at cignetti that we will hear about at some coaches camp where he will forget he's on camera.

My hope is that he learned a lesson about being a little more careful in interviews, especially to the extent he was dismissive of his own fanbase and calling them "boo city."

 

[thebadby2]

The takeaway is we have a guy who has been a HC for 9 years who is still figuring it all out. That's what happens when a coach doesn't have an established process that he can rely on. Inconsistency throughout his tenure. Lack of identity. Not good for a guy in his 10th year at the same program.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

The takeaway is we have a guy who has been a HC for 9 years who is still figuring it all out. That's what happens when a coach doesn't have an established process that he can rely on. Inconsistency throughout his tenure. Lack of identity. Not good for a guy in his 10th year at the same program.

His PC hirings have been mostly awful:

Chaney: fine but only here 1 year
Canada: good but only here 1 year
Watson: bad
Whip: a disaster until the covid year
Cignetti: bad

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Well, at least you know what you're going to get with Narduzzi: Scapegoating and fragmented sentences.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

so many similarities between steelers and pitt, tomlin and duzzer. awful OC hires and for some reason, they fire them and blame them and for some reason, we all forget that it was tomlin and Duzzer who hired them in the first place..

The OC's failures should absolutely fall onto the HC's shoulders. they dont get a pass on that.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

The takeaway is we have a guy who has been a HC for 9 years who is still figuring it all out. That's what happens when a coach doesn't have an established process that he can rely on. Inconsistency throughout his tenure. Lack of identity. Not good for a guy in his 10th year at the same program.

Any good leader will tell you regardless of the industry, is that they're always trying to figure "it" out.

What do you mean he has a lack of identity or "established process?"

 

[thebadby2]

Any good leader will tell you regardless of the industry, is that they're always trying to figure "it" out.

What do you mean he has a lack of identity or "established process?"

First of all, it's Narduzzi's program that lacks an identity, not Narduzzi himself. What kind of team is Pitt? What consistent traits describe this program under Pat Narduzzi? Can you answer those questions?

As for having a process, you're a coach, aren't you? What do you think that means?

 

[steelcurtain55.]

What kind of team is Pitt?

Pitt under Narduzzi is seen as a blue collar program where players are developed and often outplay their HS projection.

What consistent traits describe this program under Pat Narduzzi?

Character, tough, physical, fundamental, family.

As for having a process, you're a coach, aren't you? What do you think that means?

There are many processes. Process for what?

 

[PittSquared]

Pitt under Narduzzi is seen as a blue collar program where players are developed and often outplay their HS projection.


Character, tough, physical, fundamental, family.


There are many processes. Process for what?

You're right about all of that. On offense, the identity that Narduzzi sought to promote was dominating the line of scrimmage, moving the ball on the ground, and controlling the clock. We've not been able to recruit the personnel consistently to run that offense, and it has little appeal to top skill players. So Narduzzi is pivoting, as he should, and some see this as being hopelessly lost. I don't know if Bell will succeed, but at least give Narduzzi credit for moving in a needed direction.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

it has little appeal to top skill players

I disagree. Michigan would never land any of the high end skill kids they do.

In the NFL, there are a lot of dudes who would love to play for Kyle Shanahan the past few years.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I disagree. Michigan would never land any of the high end skill kids they do.

In the NFL, there are a lot of dudes who would love to play for Kyle Shanahan the past few years.

Okay, well then Narduzzi has shat the bed on recruiting.

It's not "Pat is fantastic and is doing everything the right way" when the offense has sucked for 2/3 of his tenure (and it hardly felt like a competent offense in 2022, either; it just graded out okay statistically).

 

[steelcurtain55.]

Okay, well then Narduzzi has shat the bed on recruiting.

It's not "Pat is fantastic and is doing everything the right way" when the offense has sucked for 2/3 of his tenure (and it hardly felt like a competent offense in 2022, either; it just graded out okay statistically).

The scheme was fine, the OC sucked.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I'm not sure how him saying "I learned some things we did in practice that I wish we didn't do" is somehow tied with any specific coach. I have no clue what he's talking about. The only thing I could possibly see is that after seeing Yarnell they believe he is by far and away the best QB but wasn't given the chance to show it under Cigs. Maybe the same thing with Hammond and Powell..

Who knows with Duzz?

Yarnell is the first thing that popped into my head as well. But, there's no excuse for not starting Yarnell if the head coach thinks he's the best option.

 

[NCPitt]

The takeaway is we have a guy who has been a HC for 9 years who is still figuring it all out. That's what happens when a coach doesn't have an established process that he can rely on. Inconsistency throughout his tenure. Lack of identity. Not good for a guy in his 10th year at the same program.

Because all good coaches stop learning after 9 years, right?

 

[steelcurtain55.]

Yarnell is the first thing that popped into my head as well. But, there's no excuse for not starting Yarnell if the head coach thinks he's the best option.

Maybe Cigs just wouldn't give NY reps and when he finally got them Duzz was like wtf, I need to see more live action up close..

 

[thebadby2]

Because all good coaches stop learning after 9 years, right?

Usually they’re not just starting to figure it out by that point.

 

[NCPitt]

Usually they’re not just starting to figure it out by that point.

That is your delusional opinion.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

The scheme was fine, the OC sucked.

And with that, you have officially become the Vader of the football board.

 

[thebadby2]

The scheme was fine, the OC sucked.

You defended that OC all season. Which is typical from you.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

You defended that OC all season. Which is typical from you.

because people attacked his scheme. It's typical from you not to be able to differentiate between the two.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

because people attacked his scheme. It's typical from you not to be able to differentiate between the two.

Are you suggesting it was simply the play calling that was poor? Because supposedly nobody understood the terminology or their assignments. Seemed like a scheme that isn't ideal for a sport where players are so transient.

 

[NCPitt]

Okay, well then Narduzzi has shat the bed on recruiting.

It's not "Pat is fantastic and is doing everything the right way" when the offense has sucked for 2/3 of his tenure (and it hardly felt like a competent offense in 2022, either; it just graded out okay statistically).

How would you define being successful at recruiting at Pitt?

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

How would you define being successful at recruiting at Pitt?

Seven 5-stars leaping
Nine 4-stars blocking
Five high 3-stars scoring
And a punter who can kick a ball over a pear tree

 

[NCPitt]

Seven 5-stars leaping
Nine 4-stars blocking
Five high 3-stars scoring
And a punter who can kick a ball over a pear tree

Of course. Despite the snark, your expectations are well beyond rational for Pitt.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Of course. Despite the snark, your expectations are well beyond rational for Pitt.

I want the offense to operate effectively. That has happened like twice under Narduzzi. You might technically say three times, though 2022 was kind of weird... the offense graded out okay overall, but it cost us some games we should have won. If it ain't the scheme, then it must be the recruiting. That's the only point I made, despite your attempts to misconstrue this into an argument where I'm complaining about our recruiting rankings or something.

But honestly, I would say:

QB recruiting under Narduzzi = piss poor (lucky we got that extra season out of Pickett)
WR recruiting = piss poor (the miss rate at this position is awful)
TE recruiting = piss poor
OL recruiting = meh
RB recruiting = just fine; no complaints

So... you do the math. The defensive recruiting has been okay. It's the other side of the ball holding us back most seasons.

 

[NCPitt]

I want the offense to operate effectively. That has happened like twice under Narduzzi. You might technically say three times, though 2022 was kind of weird... the offense graded out okay overall, but it cost us some games we should have won. If it ain't the scheme, then it must be the recruiting. That's the only point I made, despite your attempts to misconstrue this into an argument where I'm complaining about our recruiting rankings or something.

But honestly, I would say:

QB recruiting under Narduzzi = piss poor (lucky we got that extra season out of Pickett)
WR recruiting = piss poor (the miss rate at this position is awful)
TE recruiting = piss poor
OL recruiting = meh
RB recruiting = just fine; no complaints

So... you do the math. The defensive recruiting has been okay. It's the other side of the ball holding us back most seasons.

I didn't try to make anything out of your post other than what you said. You just said the same thing again. You expect better recruiting. I want to understand why you think can Pitt can recruit better.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

Are you suggesting it was simply the play calling that was poor? Because supposedly nobody understood the terminology or their assignments. Seemed like a scheme that isn't ideal for a sport where players are so transient.

A couple of points

1. I don't think his scheme was coordinated very well to adapt for what he had. And, yes it had potential to adapt when even Jurk was in there. It was obvious he really couldn't pass the ball. He could've easily adopted more option based runs to get into some more user friendly passing situations. He loked like he at times was just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping for it stick but there often wasn't a systematic point to it from my eyes.

2. I have not heard that players didn't understand the terminology. Players are always going to struggle with assignments whether it's physical or mental - scheme doesn't really play a part in that.

3. The transient line is an excuse as to why you can't run a pro-style scheme. The basic nuts and bolts are exactly what you run in both a HS and College All-Star game. Cigs didn't run 5 different blocking schemes. I saw zone/gap. I wasn't watching a ton of pin/pull or man schemes. His shit is basic. This isn't like he's running a ton of choice routes in the passing game either.

4. Maybe Cigs failed because practice sucked on that side of the ball and Duzz put too much trust in him to fix problems.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

A couple of points

1. I don't think his scheme was coordinated very well to adapt for what he had. And, yes it had potential to adapt when even Jurk was in there. It was obvious he really couldn't pass the ball. He could've easily adopted more option based runs to get into some more user friendly passing situations. He loked like he at times was just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping for it stick but there often wasn't a systematic point to it from my eyes.

2. I have not heard that players didn't understand the terminology. Players are always going to struggle with assignments whether it's physical or mental - scheme doesn't really play a part in that.

3. The transient line is an excuse as to why you can't run a pro-style scheme. The basic nuts and bolts are exactly what you run in both a HS and College All-Star game. Cigs didn't run 5 different blocking schemes. I saw zone/gap. I wasn't watching a ton of pin/pull or man schemes. His shit is basic. This isn't like he's running a ton of choice routes in the passing game either.

4. Maybe Cigs failed because practice sucked on that side of the ball and Duzz put too much trust in him to fix problems.

I've heard that some had a difficult time grasping some of the terminology and, by extension, their assignments. No idea what is true, but it checks out with Narduzzi saying before the season that the receivers are giving him chest pains (can't remember if it was before 2022 or 2023). But taken in conjunction with what players have posted or "liked" on social media, they did not like playing for Cignetti and they were not having fun in this offense.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

I didn't try to make anything out of your post other than what you said. You just said the same thing again. You expect better recruiting. I want to understand why you think can Pitt can recruit better.

Why can't they? I'm not asking for 5-star talent; I'm asking to do the same thing on offense that we do on defense: Some combination of solid recruits and unheralded recruits who can be turned into good players. Paul Chryst was basically the inverse of Narduzzi (had good offensive talent and somewhat subpar defensive talent) , so obviously it can be done. And then a good part of it is coaching and what you do with the talent, of course. But if Kansas, Duke, and Wake Forest can scrap together some decent offenses, obviously we can. We have before - just not consistently.