...and no, I am not scalping Pitt tickets.
Instead, I am giving the Duzz my five - point plan to get things corrected for next year and moving forward...however, before we do that, my take on the current state of affairs:
Yes, this was supposed to be our year...which may have meant different things to different people, but obviously things are disappointing - for everyone. Sure, I get the frustration with Narduzzi, but at the same time we do have two one - point losses and a respectable showing on the road against a talented Miami team with our backup QB. Should the OL be where it is? Absolutely not. Should we have a viable running back - or two? Absolutely. That said, I do like our recruiting right now and I still think it is on the upswing if we can manage to be respectable the rest of the season.
I will also say that while we have had some bad performances under Narduzzi, I do think he has been a good leader of the players and that Pitt always plays with effort under Narduzzi. Are there game day gaffes that bring back memories of the Wanny era? Unfortunately, yes. I do like though that Pitt plays with passion under Narduzzi. Unfortunately, I have just seen too many games at Pitt Stadium and Heinz Field where our team comes out with an energy level that would not be suitable for a business calc exam, let alone a D I football game. A lot of listless performances under Wlat, Wanny, and The Moose Lodge. (Surprisingly, I thought The High Octane Gang usually had them emotionally ready to play.) So, I give Narduzzi that, at least.
Now, that said, the likelihood of Narduzzi not being here for next season is as likely as my stopping eating pizza. It's not happening folks. He would have to moon everyone at his next presser or do the Napoleon Dynamite dance to get his azz fired and I don't see those things happening - though of the two - I would prefer the dance attempt. But I digress...now, I do not like forecasting people possibly losing their jobs, but at the same time, the likelihood of not having changes on our coaching staff are conversely, just as likely as my stopping drinking beer. I think we could make a couple of coaching changes and have it impact recruiting, particularly this class, very little.
So there it is and here it is - my five - point plan:
1. Stop talking about winning championships. It's silly, really. This program outside of backing into a Big Least Title one year and one Coastal Division Championship has not won anything of note since Dan Marino hit John Brown for a TD to win the Sugar Bowl in 1982 (1981 season). Sure, we have had a few nice upset wins in there and had a lot of exciting players come through the program - but championships? It's been two generations since a real win of national relevance. One of my most influential mentors had a saying of "show - don't tell" when it comes to leadership. Let's win a little more, some Coastals, maybe some top 20 finishes before throwing out more "championship" rhetoric. People got frustrated with Wanny for trying to lower expectations, but like Jeff Capel - he was right.
2. Raid The Moose Lodge - no, don't try to hire Joe Rudolph again...but go and get Bob Bostad. Yes, the same Bostad who originally rebuffed Pitt when Chryst offered him a job here - as OC. Hire Bostad as Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL. He is currently the inside linebackers coach at Wisconsin and was the tight ends/fullback coach at Northern Illinois before that for a year, but he was also the architect of some great OLs for the Badgers before that then moving on to coach a couple of NFL OLs. A raise and promotion would reignite the career of a coach in his mid-fifties who could both coach and recruit OLs here at Pitt to be physical, talented and fundamentally sound going forward.
3. Hire Kevin Johns as Co-Offensive Coordinator/QBs and hand him the offense and play calling duties. Others have touted him here on the board and I am sold. He seems to implement concepts that score a lot of points, but can still provide some of that B1G Ten, physical style of play, that Pitt needs to have to be successful in the ACC. We are not going to out-athletic and out-speed the better teams in our conference. Good QB play and physicality are what we need to win.
4. With the season we are having as of now, we are not going to go out and land blue chippers late in the process like we have before, so use those few remaining 'ships on the transfer market. I know we have used the transfer market before with mixed results, but I am talking about getting ahead on the transfer market and not waiting for names to show up in the portal. I'm talking about finding very talented players who may be looking to transfer, because there is already so much talent on their team, and let them know we have a feature spot available for them. Find a back who can come in here and be an impact, every down player. tOSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc. all have stables of studs that are the envy of even Bob Baffert. Get a stud RB in here from somewhere. Also, be even more aggressive than in the past at other positions that can impact this team next year. Another QB, a pass rusher, receiver, an OL or two...use back channels to get it done if necessary. Could Ricky Slade have helped this team this year? Only The Shadow knows, but would have been nice to have yet one more option available.
5. Last, but not least, when it comes to stadium entrance/intro music, play Led Zeppelin III - Side One.
Instead, I am giving the Duzz my five - point plan to get things corrected for next year and moving forward...however, before we do that, my take on the current state of affairs:
Yes, this was supposed to be our year...which may have meant different things to different people, but obviously things are disappointing - for everyone. Sure, I get the frustration with Narduzzi, but at the same time we do have two one - point losses and a respectable showing on the road against a talented Miami team with our backup QB. Should the OL be where it is? Absolutely not. Should we have a viable running back - or two? Absolutely. That said, I do like our recruiting right now and I still think it is on the upswing if we can manage to be respectable the rest of the season.
I will also say that while we have had some bad performances under Narduzzi, I do think he has been a good leader of the players and that Pitt always plays with effort under Narduzzi. Are there game day gaffes that bring back memories of the Wanny era? Unfortunately, yes. I do like though that Pitt plays with passion under Narduzzi. Unfortunately, I have just seen too many games at Pitt Stadium and Heinz Field where our team comes out with an energy level that would not be suitable for a business calc exam, let alone a D I football game. A lot of listless performances under Wlat, Wanny, and The Moose Lodge. (Surprisingly, I thought The High Octane Gang usually had them emotionally ready to play.) So, I give Narduzzi that, at least.
Now, that said, the likelihood of Narduzzi not being here for next season is as likely as my stopping eating pizza. It's not happening folks. He would have to moon everyone at his next presser or do the Napoleon Dynamite dance to get his azz fired and I don't see those things happening - though of the two - I would prefer the dance attempt. But I digress...now, I do not like forecasting people possibly losing their jobs, but at the same time, the likelihood of not having changes on our coaching staff are conversely, just as likely as my stopping drinking beer. I think we could make a couple of coaching changes and have it impact recruiting, particularly this class, very little.
So there it is and here it is - my five - point plan:
1. Stop talking about winning championships. It's silly, really. This program outside of backing into a Big Least Title one year and one Coastal Division Championship has not won anything of note since Dan Marino hit John Brown for a TD to win the Sugar Bowl in 1982 (1981 season). Sure, we have had a few nice upset wins in there and had a lot of exciting players come through the program - but championships? It's been two generations since a real win of national relevance. One of my most influential mentors had a saying of "show - don't tell" when it comes to leadership. Let's win a little more, some Coastals, maybe some top 20 finishes before throwing out more "championship" rhetoric. People got frustrated with Wanny for trying to lower expectations, but like Jeff Capel - he was right.
2. Raid The Moose Lodge - no, don't try to hire Joe Rudolph again...but go and get Bob Bostad. Yes, the same Bostad who originally rebuffed Pitt when Chryst offered him a job here - as OC. Hire Bostad as Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL. He is currently the inside linebackers coach at Wisconsin and was the tight ends/fullback coach at Northern Illinois before that for a year, but he was also the architect of some great OLs for the Badgers before that then moving on to coach a couple of NFL OLs. A raise and promotion would reignite the career of a coach in his mid-fifties who could both coach and recruit OLs here at Pitt to be physical, talented and fundamentally sound going forward.
3. Hire Kevin Johns as Co-Offensive Coordinator/QBs and hand him the offense and play calling duties. Others have touted him here on the board and I am sold. He seems to implement concepts that score a lot of points, but can still provide some of that B1G Ten, physical style of play, that Pitt needs to have to be successful in the ACC. We are not going to out-athletic and out-speed the better teams in our conference. Good QB play and physicality are what we need to win.
4. With the season we are having as of now, we are not going to go out and land blue chippers late in the process like we have before, so use those few remaining 'ships on the transfer market. I know we have used the transfer market before with mixed results, but I am talking about getting ahead on the transfer market and not waiting for names to show up in the portal. I'm talking about finding very talented players who may be looking to transfer, because there is already so much talent on their team, and let them know we have a feature spot available for them. Find a back who can come in here and be an impact, every down player. tOSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc. all have stables of studs that are the envy of even Bob Baffert. Get a stud RB in here from somewhere. Also, be even more aggressive than in the past at other positions that can impact this team next year. Another QB, a pass rusher, receiver, an OL or two...use back channels to get it done if necessary. Could Ricky Slade have helped this team this year? Only The Shadow knows, but would have been nice to have yet one more option available.
5. Last, but not least, when it comes to stadium entrance/intro music, play Led Zeppelin III - Side One.
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