Cost to fire Narduzzi

[Phillypanther2]

I know that it would be very costly to fire HCPN now. I think someone had posted specific numbers for what it would cost after 2025, 2026, etc.
I’m too lazy to research it. If someone has those estimates, I’d love to see them.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Didn't the state legislature finally overcome PSUs lobbying to make Pitt, Penn State, and Temple have to process state right to know requests? And therefore shouldn't Narduzzis contract just be public if it's requested by a reporter?


Edit, I remembered wrong. They're not covered by RTK law.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the salaries of Joe Paterno and three other Penn State administrators are public record, which is why we know Narduzzis salary via annual reports now, but they never extended FOIA style law to the state related universities they same way they cover the truly public state system.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Didn't the state legislature finally overcome PSUs lobbying to make Pitt, Penn State, and Temple have to process state right to know requests? And therefore shouldn't Narduzzis contract just be public if it's requested by a reporter?


Edit, I remembered wrong. They're not covered by RTK law.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the salaries of Joe Paterno and three other Penn State administrators are public record, which is why we know Narduzzis salary via annual reports now, but they never extended FOIA style law to the state related universities they same way they cover the truly public state system.

From 22-23 so he's probably close to 6 right now.

Request Rejected

 

[HailtoPitt]

No coach will make much of a difference. We have 40 years of evidence. They'd be better off taking the money used for a buyout and bringing in a good OL from the portal.

 

[NC Panther]

Pitt can't buyout Narduzzi.

Say he has a bad year next year - another 3-9 for example and gets canned after the 2025 season.

He has a guaranteed contract until 2030 (Thanks Heather) at ~$6 mil/year.

Pitt would eat $30 million? - then would have to hire a new coach?
Just say they go ultra cheap and go with Sanders at $3.5 with a 4 year guarantee

We'd be on the hook for around $44 large and that's just for the HC.
There's no way.

We'd better hope Narduzzi gets a bigger notepad.

 

[Las Panteras]

There should be a drop off in season ticket sales this coming season. That's what happens when you lose 6 straight and keep a guy like Narduzzi simply because you don't want to buy him out. Lucky for Pitt....Notre Dame is on the schedule so the drop off if any will be limited.

However.....any future recruits, whether coming from high school or the portal, are now being told by competing schools that Narduzzi (and his staff-the guys recruiting you) likely wont be there for long. That's if you keep him.

I still believe the best thing Pitt could do is hold their noses and pay off the guy. Certainly doesn't suggest they will.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Pitt can't buyout Narduzzi.

Say he has a bad year next year - another 3-9 for example and gets canned after the 2025 season.

He has a guaranteed contract until 2030 (Thanks Heather) at ~$6 mil/year.

Pitt would eat $30 million? - then would have to hire a new coach?
Just say they go ultra cheap and go with Sanders at $3.5 with a 4 year guarantee

We'd be on the hook for around $44 large and that's just for the HC.
There's no way.

We'd better hope Narduzzi gets a bigger notepad.

5-7 or worse and he's gone. 100%.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Pitt can't buyout Narduzzi.

Say he has a bad year next year - another 3-9 for example and gets canned after the 2025 season.

He has a guaranteed contract until 2030 (Thanks Heather) at ~$6 mil/year.

Pitt would eat $30 million? - then would have to hire a new coach?
Just say they go ultra cheap and go with Sanders at $3.5 with a 4 year guarantee

We'd be on the hook for around $44 large and that's just for the HC.
There's no way.

We'd better hope Narduzzi gets a bigger notepad.

Yep. He's here for at least '25, '26, and '27. It sucks, but it's reality. He could go 4-8, 5-7, and 5-7 and it wouldn't matter one bit. Much more financially well-off programs than ours have let lame ducks quack for a season or two. Pitt is not eating $6.7M/year any time soon.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Yep. He's here for at least '25, '26, and '27. It sucks, but it's reality. He could go 4-8, 5-7, and 5-7 and it wouldn't matter one bit. Much more financially well-off programs than ours have let lame ducks quack for a season or two. Pitt is not eating $6.7M/year any time soon.

They aren't going to have a choice but to eat it. Or maybe more likely, renegotiate his contract to $2 million/year like Gundy/Norvell. Call his bluff. Tell him he can walk away with $30 million or continue to coach for $2 million/year plus incentives.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

They aren't going to have a choice but to eat it. Or maybe more likely, renegotiate his contract to $2 million/year like Gundy/Norvell. Call his bluff. Tell him he can walk away with $30 million or continue to coach for $2 million/year plus incentives.

We're talking about like $40M if it's all guaranteed. He would be a moron to abandon that. Then he could just go hit the G5 or Big 12 if he wanted to continue to coach. He could actually be a decent value hire at that level if Pitt was paying most of his salary.

 

[forbesfield]

They aren't going to have a choice but to eat it. Or maybe more likely, renegotiate his contract to $2 million/year like Gundy/Norvell. Call his bluff. Tell him he can walk away with $30 million or continue to coach for $2 million/year plus incentives.

Everything in the world you live in must be painted in psychedelic colors.

 

[Zeppy13]

No matter how small a number the Narduzzi Buyout would be. It really doesn’t matter, this whole team would be lost if a new coach comes in. Look at WVU, literally every player they valued left that team. WVU will not be good next year and it will take them 2-3 years to be competitive. Pitt does not want to do that, nor should the fans. Narduzzi may not be the best coach out there, he has installed a good culture and players want to stay and play at Pitt as we see with the retention efforts this winter. We have also seen Narduzzi is capable of having a Cinderella season. So there is hope, for a Narduzzi coached team.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

No matter how small a number the Narduzzi Buyout would be. It really doesn’t matter, this whole team would be lost if a new coach comes in. Look at WVU, literally every player they valued left that team. WVU will not be good next year and it will take them 2-3 years to be competitive. Pitt does not want to do that, nor should the fans. Narduzzi may not be the best coach out there, he has installed a good culture and players want to stay and play at Pitt as we see with the retention efforts this winter. We have also seen Narduzzi is capable of having a Cinderella season. So there is hope, for a Narduzzi coached team.

But what about the programs that didn't have to take multiple steps back first? Syracuse, Indiana, Duke... there are examples in both directions.

 

[Pittisit4me]

He quit on the guys yesterday. If he had any human decency he would walk away and quit stealing money from the university.

 

[Wanstash21]

But what about the programs that didn't have to take multiple steps back first? Syracuse, Indiana, Duke... there are examples in both directions.

how many more steps can we go back? we're afraid we'll be worse than mediocre?

 

[Zeppy13]

But what about the programs that didn't have to take multiple steps back first? Syracuse, Indiana, Duke... there are examples in both directions.

Good point…I think a question we should ask is. If Pitt gets a new head coach will there be this ridiculous rise in fan support that UNC and Indiana got. I would think not, right? I think Syracuse and Duke had pretty favorable ACC schedules this year and neither ever schedule big OOC games like Pitt does to pad the records a little bit.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Good point…I think a question we should ask is. If Pitt gets a new head coach will there be this ridiculous rise in fan support that UNC and Indiana got. I would think not, right? I think Syracuse and Duke had pretty favorable ACC schedules this year and neither ever schedule big OOC games like Pitt does to pad the records a little bit.

Tough to say. I thought there was a palpable joy in the air when we hired Capel. But it's tough to say whether or not that required us bottoming out first.

So I guess we'd strive to be more of a Duke in this example, whereby they never really bottomed out but were still able to maintain a pretty decent team by their standards.

As a poster said above, I think we're at a pretty low level at the moment. We found a way to win 7 games in spite of it, but I think the talent is more like 5-7ish. Which is all to say... can it get much worse? I'd definitely take a chance on a new coach if we could afford to do so.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Yep. He's here for at least '25, '26, and '27. It sucks, but it's reality. He could go 4-8, 5-7, and 5-7 and it wouldn't matter one bit. Much more financially well-off programs than ours have let lame ducks quack for a season or two. Pitt is not eating $6.7M/year any time soon.

Correct, which make these threads every couple weeks so pointless.

 

[Pitt2009]

Good point…I think a question we should ask is. If Pitt gets a new head coach will there be this ridiculous rise in fan support that UNC and Indiana got. I would think not, right? I think Syracuse and Duke had pretty favorable ACC schedules this year and neither ever schedule big OOC games like Pitt does to pad the records a little bit.

The difference between Pitt, Syracuse, and Duke this year was Murphy/McCord stayed healthy while Holstein did not.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

We're talking about like $40M if it's all guaranteed. He would be a moron to abandon that. Then he could just go hit the G5 or Big 12 if he wanted to continue to coach. He could actually be a decent value hire at that level if Pitt was paying most of his salary.

We don't know his actual salary number or buyout number. But there's no way he gets 2026 if he goes 5-7 next year. 0.0000%

Greene would have no choice. Narduzzi would be so universally hated at that point. The Pitt general fund will have to fund it somehow and then maybe they can sue Heather for her incompetence.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

We don't know his actual salary number or buyout number. But there's no way he gets 2026 if he goes 5-7 next year. 0.0000%

Greene would have no choice. Narduzzi would be so universally hated at that point. The Pitt general fund will have to fund it somehow and then maybe they can sue Heather for her incompetence.

We'll probably find out.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

We don't know his actual salary number or buyout number. But there's no way he gets 2026 if he goes 5-7 next year. 0.0000%

Greene would have no choice. Narduzzi would be so universally hated at that point. The Pitt general fund will have to fund it somehow and then maybe they can sue Heather for her incompetence.

He's signed through 2030. There's a 0.0000% chance they eat whatever his buyout is over the last 5 years if he goes 5-7. I've got to believe it's north of $20m and probably closer to $30m. There's no chance Joan Gabel eats that so she can go sign another coach for $30-$40m to coach the same years she's paying Duzz.

Even if there was a fanboy booster willing to fund the buyout, they'd be better off sinking it into NIL. But, we know there aren't any big fanboy boosters because we can't sign anyone worth a damn out of the portal.

 

[thebadby2]

No coach will make much of a difference. We have 40 years of evidence. They'd be better off taking the money used for a buyout and bringing in a good OL from the portal.

No coach will make much of a difference. We have 40 years of evidence.

That's exactly what Detroit Lions fans said for 50 years. Until they finally hired the right coach.

Not sure about anyone else, but I haven't been initially impressed with one single head football coach hire that Pitt has announced since Sherrill left. Graham was the one time I thought they at least made a forward thinking hire as opposed to the same ol', same ol', but I had no idea of his character flaws at that time.

I will say this again--any modern "middling" type program that hires a career DC as its HC is just pissing in the wind. Plain and simple. IMO for a program that needs significant imporvement across the board the way to go is a highly successful HC from a lower level. Someone who has built and maintained a stong program. Pitt seems to have been in a perpetual state of rebuild for like 40 years. Every year it's almost like starting from scratch. How many OCs has Dooz had in 10 years? 5? For once, hire someone who had been there done that for F's sake.

I truly believe Pitt is one of the few football P4s out there that not only would have stuck with a piker like Narduzzi for this long, but also given him big raises and extensions.

 

[pittmeister]

He's signed through 2030. There's a 0.0000% chance they eat whatever his buyout is over the last 5 years if he goes 5-7. I've got to believe it's north of $20m and probably closer to $30m. There's no chance Joan Gabel eats that so she can go sign another coach for $30-$40m to coach the same years she's paying Duzz.

Even if there was a fanboy booster willing to fund the buyout, they'd be better off sinking it into NIL. But, we know there aren't any big fanboy boosters because we can't sign anyone worth a damn out of the portal.

This....

The harsh truth....

 

[bladerunner1204]

People tend to forget the fact that there are ways of getting someone to want to leave. Make it HR hell - crawl up someone's butt with a microscope; analyze every expense, every action, lots of early morning meetings. Mandatory reports. Every contract has language that can be interpreted creatively. Refusing to shake hands at the end of a nationally televised bowl game? Some could construe that as a code of conduct violation moving forward. Maybe you find an ex-cheerleader who "says some things". Seeds of discontent sewn in the locker room? How devious do you want to get? Make it miserable, but offer a carrot. We know your contract is worth ~40 mil. We'll smile, write you a check for 15, and tell the whole world how great you are as we part as "friends". Or.... we can keep playing this game and you can keep being miserable and at the end of it you'll be worth far less on the open market than you are today. We'll take 15 years off of your life over the course of the next five.

I know all that sounds horrible, but I'm remind of a quote from a favorite movie:

"You want a toe Dude? I can get you a toe. There are ways. You don't want to know..."

Of course, that didn't work with Stallings - they tried something similar, IIRC. It also sets a bad precedent for the next guy who comes in. So you gamble he takes the "deal" and if he doesn't, then you f-d around an found out. In the end, it's just more bad football outcomes any way you slice this poop-cake of a situation.

 

[thebadby2]

They aren't going to have a choice but to eat it. Or maybe more likely, renegotiate his contract to $2 million/year like Gundy/Norvell. Call his bluff. Tell him he can walk away with $30 million or continue to coach for $2 million/year plus incentives.

People forget that Michigan even did that to Harbaugh after they felt he underperformed his first 5 years given the fact he was the 2nd highest paid coach in college football at the time . Cut his salary in half after 2019, gave him a bunch of incentives for winning the conference and making the CFP. Reinstated salary to full and offered him a big extension after he won the league, went to the CFP and finiished #3 in 2021. Seems like that worked out pretty well. But I guess the Pitt brass were no match for Dooz's agent. I would guess Pitt is one of the few P4s where someone as mid as Dooz would have any kind of salaray leverage at all.

 

[prez41]

However.....any future recruits, whether coming from high school or the portal, are now being told by competing schools that Narduzzi (and his staff-the guys recruiting you) likely wont be there for long. That's if you keep him.

This matters less and less every year

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

People tend to forget the fact that there are ways of getting someone to want to leave. Make it HR hell - crawl up someone's butt with a microscope; analyze every expense, every action, lots of early morning meetings. Mandatory reports. Every contract has language that can be interpreted creatively. Refusing to shake hands at the end of a nationally televised bowl game? Some could construe that as a code of conduct violation moving forward. Maybe you find an ex-cheerleader who "says some things". Seeds of discontent sewn in the locker room? How devious do you want to get? Make it miserable, but offer a carrot. We know your contract is worth ~40 mil. We'll smile, write you a check for 15, and tell the whole world how great you are as we part as "friends". Or.... we can keep playing this game and you can keep being miserable and at the end of it you'll be worth far less on the open market than you are today. We'll take 15 years off of your life over the course of the next five.

I know all that sounds horrible, but I'm remind of a quote from a favorite movie:

"You want a toe Dude? I can get you a toe. There are ways. You don't want to know..."

Of course, that didn't work with Stallings - they tried something similar, IIRC. It also sets a bad precedent for the next guy who comes in. So you gamble he takes the "deal" and if he doesn't, then you f-d around an found out. In the end, it's just more bad football outcomes any way you slice this poop-cake of a situation.

Well lead the way, bladerunner. Get us the toe - hell, one with green nail polish - by 3:00.

Hey, maybe it'll be as simple as pissing on The Duzz' rug and throwing a marmot in his bathtub.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

He's signed through 2030. There's a 0.0000% chance they eat whatever his buyout is over the last 5 years if he goes 5-7. I've got to believe it's north of $20m and probably closer to $30m. There's no chance Joan Gabel eats that so she can go sign another coach for $30-$40m to coach the same years she's paying Duzz.

Even if there was a fanboy booster willing to fund the buyout, they'd be better off sinking it into NIL. But, we know there aren't any big fanboy boosters because we can't sign anyone worth a damn out of the portal.

Well, I 100% guarantee he won't be coaching at his regular salary in 2026 if he goes 5-7. He will be given an ultimatum: take the buyout or do what Norvell and Gundy did. Friggin Gundy was 1 year removed from 13-0 and this fool has lost at least 5 games in 8 of the last 10 seasons.

 

[bladerunner1204]

Well lead the way, bladerunner. Get us the toe - hell, one with green nail polish - by 3:00.

Hey, maybe it'll be as simple as pissing on The Duzz' rug and throwing a marmot in his bathtub.

If it were that easy I'd become a Nihilist

I don't necessarily condone anything I suggested - it's a pretty horrific way to treat people, but it happens in corporate America every day. I am suggesting that if the new AD/Administration really wants him gone, there may be other ways of approaching it - some of them might actually be appealing to HCPN. How happy do you think he is right now? The money helps, but I guess it comes down to how he envisions life after Pitt. Is he going to retire? Does he want to stay in the game? Is he content with mediocrity? Only he knows those answers, but you want someone out bad enough, you at least ask the questions.

 

[HailtoPitt]

No coach will make much of a difference. We have 40 years of evidence.

That's exactly what Detroit Lions fans said for 50 years. Until they finally hired the right coach.

Not sure about anyone else, but I haven't been initially impressed with one single head football coach hire that Pitt has announced since Sherrill left. Graham was the one time I thought they at least made a forward thinking hire as opposed to the same ol', same ol', but I had no idea of his character flaws at that time.

I will say this again--any modern "middling" type program that hires a career DC as its HC is just pissing in the wind. Plain and simple. IMO for a program that needs significant imporvement across the board the way to go is a highly successful HC from a lower level. Someone who has built and maintained a stong program. Pitt seems to have been in a perpetual state of rebuild for like 40 years. Every year it's almost like starting from scratch. How many OCs has Dooz had in 10 years? 5? For once, hire someone who had been there done that for F's sake.

I truly believe Pitt is one of the few football P4s out there that not only would have stuck with a piker like Narduzzi for this long, but also given him big raises and extensions.

Yeah, Detroit has been a poor NFL franchise for many years, but comparing the NFL to college is mostly apples to oranges. Almost any Pitt head coach who is successful will be hired away. Let's ay that Pitt paid the expensive buyout, then paid even more to hire a new head coach... how is that new coach going to be able to compete against the resources of other program where some fans would easily sacrifice a child to Jerry Sandusky if it meant winning more. And IF the new coach did fund success, bye bye. Pitt's best bet is to just pay more for players instead of on a coaching buyout or for a coach who will be gone if successful.

 

[DruidTM]

There should be a drop off in season ticket sales this coming season. That's what happens when you lose 6 straight and keep a guy like Narduzzi simply because you don't want to buy him out. Lucky for Pitt....Notre Dame is on the schedule so the drop off if any will be limited.

However.....any future recruits, whether coming from high school or the portal, are now being told by competing schools that Narduzzi (and his staff-the guys recruiting you) likely wont be there for long. That's if you keep him.

I still believe the best thing Pitt could do is hold their noses and pay off the guy. Certainly doesn't suggest they will.

Where is the money coming from to do this???

The best thing? lol

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

The only way Pitt can get rid of Narduzzi is if he walks (not happening) or finds cause.

He’s here through 2027 at least.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

The only way Pitt can get rid of Narduzzi is if he walks (not happening) or finds cause.

He’s here through 2027 at least.

Yeah, and Narduzzi is too much of a vanilla dullard to do anything that constitutes firing him for cause. The dude won't even go for the win against Toledo, much less bend a cheerleader over at a Pitt-sponsored event.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Yeah, and Narduzzi is too much of a vanilla dullard to do anything that constitutes firing him for cause. The dude won't even go for the win against Toledo, much less bend a cheerleader over at a Pitt-sponsored event.

What about a dance team girl? It's worth a shot.

 

[thebadby2]

Yeah, Detroit has been a poor NFL franchise for many years, but comparing the NFL to college is mostly apples to oranges. Almost any Pitt head coach who is successful will be hired away. Let's ay that Pitt paid the expensive buyout, then paid even more to hire a new head coach... how is that new coach going to be able to compete against the resources of other program where some fans would easily sacrifice a child to Jerry Sandusky if it meant winning more. And IF the new coach did fund success, bye bye. Pitt's best bet is to just pay more for players instead of on a coaching buyout or for a coach who will be gone if successful.

The point is the right hire makes all the difference. I won’t hold my breath for Pitt to make that hire. Hasn’t happened for football in my adult lifetime.

 

[thebadby2]

Yeah, and Narduzzi is too much of a vanilla dullard to do anything that constitutes firing him for cause. The dude won't even go for the win against Toledo, much less bend a cheerleader over at a Pitt-sponsored event.

Can’t stop laughing at this.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Well, I 100% guarantee he won't be coaching at his regular salary in 2026 if he goes 5-7. He will be given an ultimatum: take the buyout or do what Norvell and Gundy did. Friggin Gundy was 1 year removed from 13-0 and this fool has lost at least 5 games in 8 of the last 10 seasons.

What are you gonna do when he says no thanks to taking a reduced salary?

Spare me the Gundy and Norvell examples. Gundy's been at OSU forever and is an alumn. Norvell took a one year pay cut to $5.65m and had the rest go towards paying players. He's got a massive contract, but a low buyout.

I'm all for coaches kicking in to pay the players, but there's a reason they aren't coming out in droves to do it. They want others to fund it so they can keep their money.

 

[USAF Phantom]

Only Head coaches that know how to be Maneuver with NIL will have a chance

 

[FreeportPanther]

Hopefully, if Pitt ever gets the chance to hire another HC, they'll insist part of the physical exam is for him to drop his pants to ensure he has a set of balls.

Something sorely lacking with FG Narduzzi!