We entice bad coaches to stay here.

[MorningCoffee13]

The biggest problem with both Narduzzi and Capel is that with any sign of success, the administration is so afraid of losing them to a better school we pay them way more than they are worth.

Then we are stuck with not being able to dump them when their true lack of coaching ability becomes the norm.

Pitt can’t keep operating like this because there is no donor base that provides enough cash to afford that.

Honestly we would just be better off hiring cheap up and comers and let them move on and start again.

Everything has changed in college sports and money is just overwhelming.

 

[PT Panther Fan]

Like many of us, I had little confidence that Pitt would score following their final timeout yesterday. What fails more often, a Narduzzi defense timeout on 3rd and long or an offensive play after a Capel timeout?

 

[Chairman Moe]

The biggest problem with both Narduzzi and Capel is that with any sign of success, the administration is so afraid of losing them to a better school we pay them way more than they are worth.

Then we are stuck with not being able to dump them when their true lack of coaching ability becomes the norm.

Pitt can’t keep operating like this because there is no donor base that provides enough cash to afford that.

Honestly we would just be better off hiring cheap up and comers and let them move on and start again.

Everything has changed in college sports and money is just overwhelming.

My assessment is that Pitt (both in FB and BB) is not quite elite enough to get a great coach that would want to stay here for eternity (think of guys like Izzo, Williams, Boeheim, Calhoun, et al of the past, and guys like Sampson, Calipari, Few, et al of the present in BB, e.g.)

As you correctly say, Pitt is also too scared to "let go" of a coach who's had a modicum of success and therefore gets stuck with them or has to pay out an exorbitant amount of $ to end their contract

As a lot of posters pointed out when I offered the "sobering facts" of our athletic program as a whole, and whether Pitt belongs in the ACC or steps down, Pitt needs to remain in a P4 conference if it ever wants to gain/regain relevancy in FB or BB

But as a realist, Pitt fans should relish the brief moments when the FB or BB teams succeed, 'cause we don't have a program that will ever mirror those that can/will compete for a national championship, year-in-and-year-out

 

[CrazyPaco]

My assessment is that Pitt (both in FB and BB) is not quite elite enough to get a great coach that would want to stay here for eternity (think of guys like Izzo, Williams, Boeheim, Calhoun, et al of the past, and guys like Sampson, Calipari, Few, et al of the present in BB, e.g.)

As you correctly say, Pitt is also too scared to "let go" of a coach who's had a modicum of success and therefore gets stuck with them or has to pay out an exorbitant amount of $ to end their contract

As a lot of posters pointed out when I offered the "sobering facts" of our athletic program as a whole, and whether Pitt belongs in the ACC or steps down, Pitt needs to remain in a P4 conference if it ever wants to gain/regain relevancy in FB or BB

But as a realist, Pitt fans should relish the brief moments when the FB or BB teams succeed, 'cause we don't have a program that will ever mirror those that can/will compete for a national championship, year-in-and-year-out

If we did get one, we'd run them off anyway.

 

[SteelBowl70]

The biggest problem with both Narduzzi and Capel is that with any sign of success, the administration is so afraid of losing them to a better school we pay them way more than they are worth.

Then we are stuck with not being able to dump them when their true lack of coaching ability becomes the norm.

Pitt can’t keep operating like this because there is no donor base that provides enough cash to afford that.

Honestly we would just be better off hiring cheap up and comers and let them move on and start again.

Everything has changed in college sports and money is just overwhelming.

This started a long time ago when Majors and Sherrill left. Then Howland leaving was a huge blow. In the case of Majors and Howland, they likely stay had they not been offered their dream job. If Majors had stayed and Paterno had left for the pros (Steelers wanted him badly), college football history in Western Pa the last 4 decades would have been completely different. Now the die is cast.

 

[Upg bobcat]

Didn't Heather extend both Capel and Narduzzi after relatively bad seasons? I don't think it was fear of losing them ... I think she legitimately thought she had the right guys leading the school's two major programs and extended them at times to instill confidence in their programs.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

If we did get one, we'd run them off anyway.

Bizarro World. We are fine with letting very successful coaches like Sherrill and Dixon leave, but then fight ourselves to give guys like Capel an extension.

 

[TD_6082]

Bizarro World. We are fine with letting very successful coaches like Sherrill and Dixon leave, but then fight ourselves to give guys like Capel an extension.

To be fair, Dixon used leverage on multiple occasions to get a better deal from Pitt, and Pitt always accommodated him. Unlike Sherrill, the Dixon era had clearly run its course. Dixon is a solid coach, but he really isn't doing anything right now at TCU that Capel isn't doing at Pitt.

 

[TD_6082]

The biggest problem with both Narduzzi and Capel is that with any sign of success, the administration is so afraid of losing them to a better school we pay them way more than they are worth.

Then we are stuck with not being able to dump them when their true lack of coaching ability becomes the norm.

Pitt can’t keep operating like this because there is no donor base that provides enough cash to afford that.

Honestly we would just be better off hiring cheap up and comers and let them move on and start again.

Everything has changed in college sports and money is just overwhelming.

For starters, Pitt football isn't capable of sustaining long term success in football. It simply doesn't have anywhere near the support needed. Any coach that desires to compete at the highest level of college football isn't going to stay at Pitt. However, they might stay for the money. Besides, It's not necessarily coaching ability that holds coaches back at Pitt. The main thing holding the football program back is the inability to recruit enough high-level talent. Change coaches all you want, that's a problem that isn't going away. Regardless of how elite the coach, he isn't going to win at a particularly high level at Pitt in today's game.

Just my opinion, but I think there's a big difference between Narduzzi and Capel.

Narduzzi is a solid coach and he's been very good for Pitt. He had Pitt football at its 40-year high mark before NIL/Portal changed the game. The way he led the program past the 2023 trainwreck of a season, is pretty much what you would want out of a long-term coach. He made shit tons of changes to his staff, and improvement followed.

If a coach isn't performing at their high mark after 10 years, fatigue starts to set in, and fans start clamoring for change. Fans are tired of 6 to 9 win seasons under Narduzzi and ready to win 6 to 9 games with somebody else. I get it. Basketball & football are totally different animals. There's a lot more hopium in supply in college hoops.