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Who should be the next Pitt HC?

A good coach wins when you have equal or better talent than your opponent. There is no excuse for losing to a MAC school in year 7.
Not true. Lots of good coaches lose games when they have equal or better talent. It literally happens every Saturday.

He won an SEC road game against a team with better talent in year 7 the week before losing to a MAC team with worse talent.
 
Wow, you think Duzz WOULD have close to that many wins at WAKE??? F NO!

You really reach and reach to save your boy
He is building a program there with no history and competing for recruits among the NC and SC schools. That’s a near impossible thing to overcome. I watched a bit of their game yesterday. I’m impressed with what he has done at Wake. He’s definitely somebody to watch.
Two good posts! Seriously Wake is competing for recruits in NC and SC against better schools and look at what he has done. No way that Nardu pulls off the same…zero!
 
My first three calls if I’m Heather Lyke
1. Louis Riddick- Make him say no to this very unique opportunity. Would be the ultimate Program CEO, would need to hire two good coordinators around him.
2. Tom Herman- Had massive success at Ohio State/Houston, decent track record at Texas, working with the Chicago Bears currently. Would be one of the best coaches in the conference from Day 1.
3. Marcus Freeman- For all the reasons listed above, he checks all the boxes of a future superstar coach, and has roots in this region.

Hermann a hard pass. He called out Houston fans his first or second game when the place wasn't a sellout, but still a good crowd. Can you imagine him at Heinz?
 
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Two good posts! Seriously Wake is competing for recruits in NC and SC against better schools and look at what he has done. No way that Nardu pulls off the same…zero!
LOL. You are being sarcastic, right?

Clawson's ACC record is 20-36 & he has never had a winning record in ACC play & he is going into his 8th year. Narduzzi is 29-21 going into his 7th. How is that an upgrade?
 
LOL. You are being sarcastic, right?

Clawson's ACC record is 20-36 & he has never had a winning record in ACC play & he is going into his 8th year.
Your being sarcastic right? You honestly don’t think he has done a fairly good job at Wake freakin Forest?
 
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Moorehead not a slam dunk. His stint at Miss state was bad, some say a Yankee in the south will never work but Mullen was a Yankee and did just fine. I remember one pre game he was mad about something and had his team do live contact drills. Totally bizarre.

O'Brien I don't think would be able to recruit at an elite level here.

I don't follow the other divisions closely to know the up and comers, except the usual names. There is zero chance of a sitting P5 coach coming here, unless it is a retread like Helton or someone like that. I'm not opposed to a coordinator again but they must be vetted carefully. No big 10 assistants and preferably someone young with an offensive mind that shows leadership potential. Joe Brady maybe?
Uh. Nick Saban is from West Virginia.
 


I can across this article of top assistants in college. My pick is Bill O’Brien.

I want an offensive-minded coach with head coaching experience, someone who has run a program. Big question is can we get him? I say only if you pay him and $5 million/yr should do it. He is worth the money.

I see no drawbacks with hiring him. His pedigree is better than anyone Pitt has hired since Jackie Sherrill. An assistant under Belichick, he won at Penn St at the lowest point of there history, therefore knows the recruiting grounds well. He runs the offense of the best college football program in the history of college football.

Narduzzi finishes the season. They lock him up before Bama goes to the National Championship a d he starts after. Maybe he leaves for Bama when Saban retires or leaves for a better job, but at least he brings capable assistants who can be promoted to HC. There is nobody on this staff, Partridge included, who I would trust to take over this program right now.

If not O’Brien, my second choice, not on the list, would be Moorhead. I don’t put much into his tenure at Miss St. Miss St is never going to compete for championships in the SEC and their fans have more unrealistic expectations than we do. He had success at Fordham(inherited a 1-11 program and went 38-14 thereafter including a Patriot League Championship) and was the best OC of all time at PSU. Currently OC at Oregon. Known as a tremendous recruiter he is also a Pittsburgh guy. Moorhead might be an easier get than O’Brien.

Maybe I am overly optimistic that they can get either, but for the first time I think we have an AD that is capable of selling the job. My glimmer of hope is that we can finally get someone who is capable of bringing the program to the top 20.
Good list. I’ll add Tom Bradley, Jay Paterno, and Kerry Collins.
 
If I am AD Lyke I have to add Tim Lester (HC of WM) on my list who disected and tore apart Narduzzi's defense. He made that defense look like the out dated model T Ford against the latest DOHC 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 offense. Good thing the games ended when it did or WM would have continued to score at a much greater rate than the Pitt offense.
 
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Dave Clawson from Wake

- Has won at 2 really difficult places to do so. He is a proven winner

- He isnt that "sexy hire" that a major program would go after

- I am sure he is loving life at Wake right now but Wake football cant pay him as much as we can and maybe he sees an easier ACC path in the Coastal and a higher ceiling at Pitt.
 
Dave Clawson from Wake

- Has won at 2 really difficult places to do so. He is a proven winner

- He isnt that "sexy hire" that a major program would go after

- I am sure he is loving life at Wake right now but Wake football cant pay him as much as we can and maybe he sees an easier ACC path in the Coastal and a higher ceiling at Pitt.
I want to rebut this but it’s tough right now I know. He just reminds me of Cutcliffe at Duke who a lot of people were lauding a few years ago. Not a bad coach or guy but no one thats going to get Pitt where we want them as a program.
 
Dave Clawson from Wake

- Has won at 2 really difficult places to do so. He is a proven winner

- He isnt that "sexy hire" that a major program would go after

- I am sure he is loving life at Wake right now but Wake football cant pay him as much as we can and maybe he sees an easier ACC path in the Coastal and a higher ceiling at Pitt.

This is absurd. He's 21-36 in our friggin conference. Wake's OOC schedule is often littered with the likes of Towson, Elon, Presbyterian, and schools of that ilk.

He's a quality coach and a great fit where he's at.

Pitt is 3-1 with the conference wide open. It's absolutely idiotic to even be thinking about a freaking coaching change at this point. And to be talking Clawson is insane.
 
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This is absurd. He's 21-36 in our friggin conference. Wake's OOC schedule is often littered with the likes of Towson, Elon, Presbyterian, and schools of that ilk.

He's a quality coach and a great fit where he's at.

Pitt is 3-1 with the conference wide open. It's absolutely idiotic to even be thinking about a freaking coaching change at this point. And to be talking Clawson is insane.
That quality coach and a good fit where he’s at is what reminds me of Cutcliffe. Just not someone who’s likely to elevate Pitt any higher than they are right now.
 
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If I am AD Lyke I have to add Tim Lester (HC of WM) on my list who disected and tore apart Narduzzi's defense. He made that defense look like the out dated model T Ford against the latest DOHC 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 offense. Good thing the games ended when it did or WM would have continued to score at a much greater rate than the Pitt offense.

This is what you felt the need to post today?
 
If I am AD Lyke I have to add Tim Lester (HC of WM) on my list who disected and tore apart Narduzzi's defense. He made that defense look like the out dated model T Ford against the latest DOHC 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 offense. Good thing the games ended when it did or WM would have continued to score at a much greater rate than the Pitt offense.

Thanks for your analysis Darrell Waltrip.
 
Dave Clawson from Wake

- Has won at 2 really difficult places to do so. He is a proven winner

- He isnt that "sexy hire" that a major program would go after

- I am sure he is loving life at Wake right now but Wake football cant pay him as much as we can and maybe he sees an easier ACC path in the Coastal and a higher ceiling at Pitt.
I like the post, but why can’t they pay him anymore than we can? They’d be foolish not to. They make as much money from the ACC as we do and probably have more ticket revenue than we do.
 
I don't think we make a coaching change for a while but if we did, I'd like to see O'Brien interviewed. If only to piss off the nitters given the the public spat he had with their fans/boosters on the way out. He's also a proven, non BS coach.
 
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I don't think we make a coaching change for a while but if we did, I'd like to see O'Brien interviewed. If only to piss off the nitters given the the public spat he had with their fans/boosters on the way out. He's also a proven, non BS coach.
I don't think O'Brien would be a bad choice but I don't think he is a home run hire either. Not known as a great recruiter which means he likely doesn't recruit that well at Pitt except he would likely recruit the QB position well. I have mentioned Alex can pelt before as a guy I would look strongly at. Harley from bc would likely be a great hire but you don't see many teams in the same conference poaching each other's coaches.
 
I don't think O'Brien would be a bad choice but I don't think he is a home run hire either. Not known as a great recruiter which means he likely doesn't recruit that well at Pitt except he would likely recruit the QB position well. I have mentioned Alex can pelt before as a guy I would look strongly at. Harley from bc would likely be a great hire but you don't see many teams in the same conference poaching each other's coaches.

To me, Alex Van Pelt is a bit of a risk given all of his experience is at the NFL level with no recruiting. If we were looking at NFL assistants, I'd take a look at Luke Getsy. Younger with some college experience. I don't think they go that route at all though, nor do I think they should. I'd prefer someone with HC experience at the college level, even it was a level down. Huff at Marshall could be an interesting option in a few years, though he could probably land a bigger job given his pedigree and recruiting resume.

Don't think we need to worry about it for a while though as I think Narduzzi is safe through at least the end of next season. And probably beyond that given some regression is expected next year with Pickett gone.
 
To me, Alex Van Pelt is a bit of a risk given all of his experience is at the NFL level with no recruiting. If we were looking at NFL assistants, I'd take a look at Luke Getsy. Younger with some college experience. I don't think they go that route at all though, nor do I think they should. I'd prefer someone with HC experience at the college level, even it was a level down. The coach at Marshall could be an interesting option in a few years.

Don't think we need to worry about it for a while though as I think Narduzzi is safe through at least the end of next season. And probably beyond that given some regression is expected next year with Pickett gone.
Safe through next season??? I’m glad we won yesterday but he’s not off the hot seat just because he pummeled New Hampshire.

And secondly, regression next year is certainly not okay just because Pickett leaves.
 
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Safe through next season??? I’m glad we won yesterday but he’s not off the hot seat just because he pummeled New Hampshire.

And secondly, regression next year is certainly not okay just because Pickett leaves.

Yes, probably safe through next season. Unless we absolutely crater and finish this year at .500, which I'm not expecting.

I think regression is absolutely expected when you lose your long time starter. Even if the new guy is a good QB, there will be some growing pains (especially with our lack of a running game). If next year is an absolute disaster then sure, all bets are off.
 
My first three calls if I’m Heather Lyke
1. Louis Riddick- Make him say no to this very unique opportunity. Would be the ultimate Program CEO, would need to hire two good coordinators around him.
2. Tom Herman- Had massive success at Ohio State/Houston, decent track record at Texas, working with the Chicago Bears currently. Would be one of the best coaches in the conference from Day 1.
3. Marcus Freeman- For all the reasons listed above, he checks all the boxes of a future superstar coach, and has roots in this region.
Love Louis Riddick as HC. Agree he would be a great CEO and recruiter.
 
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Yes, probably safe through next season. Unless we absolutely crater and finish this year at .500, which I'm not expecting.

I think regression is absolutely expected when you lose your long time starter. Even if the new guy is a good QB, there will be some growing pains (especially with our lack of a running game). If next year is an absolute disaster then sure, all bets are off.
"I think regression is absolutely expected when you lose your long time starter. Even if the new guy is a good QB, there will be some growing pains'

That's why it was so important for Narduzzi to have a breakthrough season this year. The fans, the administration and alumni, needed to be reassured the program is moving forward. Anything less than 9 wins will be seen as stagnation. Next year will be more of a challenge.
 
My first three calls if I’m Heather Lyke
1. Louis Riddick- Make him say no to this very unique opportunity. Would be the ultimate Program CEO, would need to hire two good coordinators around him.
2. Tom Herman- Had massive success at Ohio State/Houston, decent track record at Texas, working with the Chicago Bears currently. Would be one of the best coaches in the conference from Day 1.
3. Marcus Freeman- For all the reasons listed above, he checks all the boxes of a future superstar coach, and has roots in this region.
We need someone with head coaching experience. If you're going to go with a coordinator, Marcus Freeman would be a good, realistic choice. Now that I have more time to think it over, these would be my first three calls:

1. Dave Clawson

2. Joe Moorhead

3. Bill O'Brien

I'd start with those three...You could contact some coaches like, Chadwell & Napier, but I think they are holding out for bigger jobs.

Herman is a good coach, but he's also alienated a lot of people. I would tread lightly with him


 
"I think regression is absolutely expected when you lose your long time starter. Even if the new guy is a good QB, there will be some growing pains'

That's why it was so important for Narduzzi to have a breakthrough season this year. The fans, the administration and alumni, needed to be reassured the program is moving forward. Anything less than 9 wins will be seen as stagnation. Next year will be more of a challenge.

I don't disagree with you. But I also don't think a coaching change is made if we end up with 7 or 8 wins. And then I doubt anything is done if we only win 6 next year given the expected drop off.

It comes down to expectations. We as fans have reasonably high expectations, and rightly so. Administration say they do as well but it remains to be seen what they consider success. An above average, stable program may be sufficient for them.
 
Tale of seven schools: Nebraska, FSU, Miami, Texas, OSU, Michigan, and PSU. The last three hired P5 coaches, the prior 4 hot non P5 coaches. If Coach Narduzzi doesn't survive the season I would be careful hiring a hot non P5 coach.
 
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