After a humiliating loss its understandable that a segment of the fan base will be claiming doom and gloom. However those calling for Duzz head and hoping this Pitt admin hires some sort of messiah are fooling themselves and have not learned from history. The Likelihood of Pitt putting up huge cash ($4MM Plus) to get a coach who "might" be able to out recruit and out coach Narduzzi are slim and none and Slim left town. Theres perhaps less than a handful of coaches (Meyer, Saban, etc) that could theoretically come in and recruit well enough to win within 2-3 years. Simply shelling out money for a coach is NOT going to solve the problem and the few who theoretically could solve the problem are not realistic options unless you live in some parallel universe.
Secondly, you are assuming the Pitt administration would be able to hire a good coach to replace Duzz. Lets look at the history of Pitt Hires beginning with Stallings, Haymaker, Graham, Hackett, JM2, etc. The odds of hiring someone far worse and driving this program completely into the ground are far greater than even hiring someone at the same level as Duzz.
Finally, its way to early to be looking to talk about firing Narduzzi.
Heres some facts to consider.
1. Hes had more big wins (PSU, Clemson) and fewer humiliating losses (no Youngstown states, no BG, etc) than any coach in a long time.
2. Hes won 8 games the first two years. Yes this year looks like a transition year but there is some good talent on this roster.
3. Anyone who thought this team was going to be better than last years wasnt being realistic. They lost a guy at QB who is an NFL caliber QB. Browne lost out to two guys at USC for a reason. Hes a statue and is not very decisive throwing the ball. DInucci was essentially a walk on. Unless you have a phenom frosh QB standing on the sidelines, the offense was not going to be near as good. THen add in JC, and the two OL not to mention Price, and the other seniors they lost and thats a ton of talent they lost from a team that was decent, not great.
4. They do have talent with a high upside. The problem is most of its young. PItts a program that will not be getting guys who can step right in and dominate. Very few programs can. Much like the hoops program they have to recruit and develop players. There will be years where the talent overall has not been fully developed and the team takes a step back. This appears to be one of those.
Now if two years from now we are having the same conversation then I'd say its time to rinse repeat and try another coach. However, I think Duzz has shown enough potential to achieve what I think are reasonable goals for this program which is average about 8-9 wins, be in contention for the coastal more often than not and compete for a play off spot once every 5 to 10 years. It takes time to build that sort of stable program. Duzz inherited a train wreck on defense. Hes two years in with really only one complete recruiting class of his own. Once his first two full classes are Juniors and Seniors then we'll be able to see if hes the right man for the job.
Secondly, you are assuming the Pitt administration would be able to hire a good coach to replace Duzz. Lets look at the history of Pitt Hires beginning with Stallings, Haymaker, Graham, Hackett, JM2, etc. The odds of hiring someone far worse and driving this program completely into the ground are far greater than even hiring someone at the same level as Duzz.
Finally, its way to early to be looking to talk about firing Narduzzi.
Heres some facts to consider.
1. Hes had more big wins (PSU, Clemson) and fewer humiliating losses (no Youngstown states, no BG, etc) than any coach in a long time.
2. Hes won 8 games the first two years. Yes this year looks like a transition year but there is some good talent on this roster.
3. Anyone who thought this team was going to be better than last years wasnt being realistic. They lost a guy at QB who is an NFL caliber QB. Browne lost out to two guys at USC for a reason. Hes a statue and is not very decisive throwing the ball. DInucci was essentially a walk on. Unless you have a phenom frosh QB standing on the sidelines, the offense was not going to be near as good. THen add in JC, and the two OL not to mention Price, and the other seniors they lost and thats a ton of talent they lost from a team that was decent, not great.
4. They do have talent with a high upside. The problem is most of its young. PItts a program that will not be getting guys who can step right in and dominate. Very few programs can. Much like the hoops program they have to recruit and develop players. There will be years where the talent overall has not been fully developed and the team takes a step back. This appears to be one of those.
Now if two years from now we are having the same conversation then I'd say its time to rinse repeat and try another coach. However, I think Duzz has shown enough potential to achieve what I think are reasonable goals for this program which is average about 8-9 wins, be in contention for the coastal more often than not and compete for a play off spot once every 5 to 10 years. It takes time to build that sort of stable program. Duzz inherited a train wreck on defense. Hes two years in with really only one complete recruiting class of his own. Once his first two full classes are Juniors and Seniors then we'll be able to see if hes the right man for the job.
