First off, no, I don't have any names on who Pat Narduzzi is looking at. We know that he keeps these things really tight, and we usually don't hear "real" names until late in the process. So I'll say that right off the bat.
However, there are a few things I've heard this week that seem relevant.
- Alex Van Pelt, Chris Beatty and Dan Enos are non-starters here. I don't think Van Pelt was ever really under consideration, I don't think Narduzzi has talked to Beatty at all about the job and I think the Enos ship sailed a few years ago. So I would cross all of those names off.
- I think it's relevant to look at Narduzzi's previous OC hires: Jim Chaney, Matt Canada, Shawn Watson, Mark Whipple. They were all very different, but they had some things in common. All four had experience calling plays at the Power Five level. And they all had experience working with and developing quarterbacks.
I think those are two key elements for Narduzzi: P5 OC experience and experience with quarterbacks. Aside from probably preferring a bit more balance, I think Narduzzi liked the combo he had in those two departments with Whipple, and I actually don't think the imbalance in Pitt's 2021 offense bothered Narduzzi too much; sure, he probably wanted to run a little more, but he also never really called Whipple out for that publicly, and I think we've seen that this is a head coach who will speak his mind on more than a few occasions - if he thought they weren't running enough, he would have said it.
But I digress. I do think those two elements are key resume pieces here, although I could see Narduzzi stretch a bit on those, maybe with an accomplished G5 OC or someone who held a slightly-less-than-OC title at a Power Five school, like pass game coordinator, but was heavily involved in the success of an offense. For now, though, I'm mostly looking at candidates who check those two boxes.
- I think we're probably still a week or so away from Pitt hiring a new OC. The coaches convention is Sunday-Tuesday (Jan. 9-11) in San Antonio, and while that doesn't necessarily mean Narduzzi will make his hire there, I don't think anything will happen prior to the convention. I also think that the OC will be hired before the new receivers coach, probably to give the OC input on who takes over the receivers or any other offensive staff positions that come open. I'm not predicting additional staff movement, but it wouldn't be without precedent to see some other Pitt assistants come out of the convention with a new job.
However, there are a few things I've heard this week that seem relevant.
- Alex Van Pelt, Chris Beatty and Dan Enos are non-starters here. I don't think Van Pelt was ever really under consideration, I don't think Narduzzi has talked to Beatty at all about the job and I think the Enos ship sailed a few years ago. So I would cross all of those names off.
- I think it's relevant to look at Narduzzi's previous OC hires: Jim Chaney, Matt Canada, Shawn Watson, Mark Whipple. They were all very different, but they had some things in common. All four had experience calling plays at the Power Five level. And they all had experience working with and developing quarterbacks.
I think those are two key elements for Narduzzi: P5 OC experience and experience with quarterbacks. Aside from probably preferring a bit more balance, I think Narduzzi liked the combo he had in those two departments with Whipple, and I actually don't think the imbalance in Pitt's 2021 offense bothered Narduzzi too much; sure, he probably wanted to run a little more, but he also never really called Whipple out for that publicly, and I think we've seen that this is a head coach who will speak his mind on more than a few occasions - if he thought they weren't running enough, he would have said it.
But I digress. I do think those two elements are key resume pieces here, although I could see Narduzzi stretch a bit on those, maybe with an accomplished G5 OC or someone who held a slightly-less-than-OC title at a Power Five school, like pass game coordinator, but was heavily involved in the success of an offense. For now, though, I'm mostly looking at candidates who check those two boxes.
- I think we're probably still a week or so away from Pitt hiring a new OC. The coaches convention is Sunday-Tuesday (Jan. 9-11) in San Antonio, and while that doesn't necessarily mean Narduzzi will make his hire there, I don't think anything will happen prior to the convention. I also think that the OC will be hired before the new receivers coach, probably to give the OC input on who takes over the receivers or any other offensive staff positions that come open. I'm not predicting additional staff movement, but it wouldn't be without precedent to see some other Pitt assistants come out of the convention with a new job.
