Figured I'd run through what I believe to be the main issues and why the situation just doesn't look overly promising moving forward.
1.it's extremely difficult to get enough players to play at Pitt. And I know this can be hard to see because of how much we love Pitt. But the reality is this is a pro sports town. The games are played in a stadium that's meant for an NFL team. They will constantly be compared to standard of the pro sports teams here. The media is excessively negative about the program (some of it is justified). They have no relevancy in college football to the generation of kids they are recruiting. I know it's easy to say "well Pitt is in a city with great job opportunities, lots to do, etc". The fact is the recruits don't really care about that. IE see how PSU and numerous other schools in the middle of nowhere recruit. The kids actually like being the center of attention in the town.
2.Narduzzi is running a scheme that requires high leve players especially in the back end. I am not sure he's ever going to get enough good players to run this defense. And part B. The teams he is up against are dramatically different than Big Ten grinder teams which this defense was originally built for. He has shown zero ability to adapt the defense to the talent he has. Typically, that's the mark of a great head coach. He has shown absolutely none of that.
3.The odds of hitting a Homerun hire like Matt Canada to be your offensive coordinator are very low. Shawn Watson is proving that. Just imagine what the teams record would have been without Canada last year. And if the coordinator is any good he's not going to be here very long because Pitt simply doesn't have the money to pay them and is still not viewed as a destination job.
4.Inevitibly after every bad loss with poor attendance, everyone clamors for a home stadium. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. So the attendance jokes and yellow seats will continue. Kids see this. It makes a big difference. Pitt needs their own setting with 45k seats for numerous reasons. Sadly, Heinz Field will continue to hurt their brand.
5.Despite what Harry Psaros and Dokish lead people to believe, the recruiting has not been great. Being ranked around 40th isn't going to change this program. Sure, he's gotten some good players, but not enough to get where we want to go.
Finally, I hope you can see just how difficult it is to win here. And if they do, I'm not sure they can pay anyone to stay. It really is a vicious cycle and unfortunately always going to be an uphill climb to win consistently at Pitt.
1.it's extremely difficult to get enough players to play at Pitt. And I know this can be hard to see because of how much we love Pitt. But the reality is this is a pro sports town. The games are played in a stadium that's meant for an NFL team. They will constantly be compared to standard of the pro sports teams here. The media is excessively negative about the program (some of it is justified). They have no relevancy in college football to the generation of kids they are recruiting. I know it's easy to say "well Pitt is in a city with great job opportunities, lots to do, etc". The fact is the recruits don't really care about that. IE see how PSU and numerous other schools in the middle of nowhere recruit. The kids actually like being the center of attention in the town.
2.Narduzzi is running a scheme that requires high leve players especially in the back end. I am not sure he's ever going to get enough good players to run this defense. And part B. The teams he is up against are dramatically different than Big Ten grinder teams which this defense was originally built for. He has shown zero ability to adapt the defense to the talent he has. Typically, that's the mark of a great head coach. He has shown absolutely none of that.
3.The odds of hitting a Homerun hire like Matt Canada to be your offensive coordinator are very low. Shawn Watson is proving that. Just imagine what the teams record would have been without Canada last year. And if the coordinator is any good he's not going to be here very long because Pitt simply doesn't have the money to pay them and is still not viewed as a destination job.
4.Inevitibly after every bad loss with poor attendance, everyone clamors for a home stadium. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. So the attendance jokes and yellow seats will continue. Kids see this. It makes a big difference. Pitt needs their own setting with 45k seats for numerous reasons. Sadly, Heinz Field will continue to hurt their brand.
5.Despite what Harry Psaros and Dokish lead people to believe, the recruiting has not been great. Being ranked around 40th isn't going to change this program. Sure, he's gotten some good players, but not enough to get where we want to go.
Finally, I hope you can see just how difficult it is to win here. And if they do, I'm not sure they can pay anyone to stay. It really is a vicious cycle and unfortunately always going to be an uphill climb to win consistently at Pitt.
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