I mean I’ve met the guy, but I don’t know him well. I would think he would absolutely take the Pitt job, but I can’t say that for sure. And yeah, agree with you there of course an FCS coach is taking the call from an FBS school.
Your Top 5 Candidates for HC
- Thread starter Panther_in_Kentucky
- Start date
Venables is Narduzzi 2.0. Moorehead a safe pick, not convinced on his offense, the Generational one didn't light up the stat sheet playing in it.
Joe Brady would be very interesting, but pretty strange to jump to the NFL...kind of a flag that the college life isn't for him.
I know badby2 always chastises me for this, but look out for Creighton at EMU. Checks the boxes.
Moorhead & Creighton would be Pitt type, safe coaches, meaning they will probably not embarrass the program, win 6-8 games a year, and go to the Tire or BBVA compass bowl with regularity. May hit 9 wins on occasion. Fan base & recruiting will tire of them by year 6 and we would start again.
The high risk high reward hire would be someone like Joe Brady. He may get the 11 wins but he might bottom out and only get 2 wins.
I think Creighton definitely checks the boxes connection wise, but he’s just not that good of a coach and would set the program back for years. This would be the hire that loses all but the diehard fans, probably worse than Haywood at this point.
Other than being a Pgh guy don’t really see that much that Moorehead would bring. Tired of hearing the MSU job was a bad fit, PA native Dan Mullen was revered there, then they hired another non-Southerner in Leach.
The Joe Brady speculation kind of silly, that guy is on the fast track to be an NFL head coach. If there is such a thing as a slam dunk hire that guy would literally be the definition of it. Will never happen, but if it did would be willing to bet Pitt would be in a major bowl within 3 years.
I would say that Brady would be worth double the expected wins of those other 2 guys, he has achieved more than them in the football world already. I guess you could debate the merits of Morehead, but Creighton is in no way deserving of a P5 job, he would be an absolute trainwreck.
Probably the worst list of possible HCs for any P5 program that has ever been compiled.
Marcus Freeman - Cincy
Just another in a long line of good performances by the Cincy defense tonight. The guy checks all the boxes.
Just another in a long line of good performances by the Cincy defense tonight. The guy checks all the boxes.
Usually when someone is a fan they overestimate the coaches their school could hire, but somehow this joker managed to list a bunch of clowns that would sacrifice their firstborn for a P5 offer.
Billy Napier of Louisiana or Jamey Chadwell of Coastal Carolina would have to be my top two choices.
Have to consider, Will Healy, Head Coach UNC-Charlotte. He is young head coach, late thirties, with energy, a dynamic personality who can lead, recruit and win. Not a big splash name (yet) but he has been recognized as one brightest young coaches in the business. He has a reputation for developing quarterbacks and offenses
I don’t think we will be talking about a replacement until next year at this time unless perhaps we go o for November after going o for October regardless of who plays QB. However since a lot of you are throwing names around one name I didn’t see mentioned was the head coach whose name escapes me that HL hired when she was at Eastern Michigan. Remember the guy whose entire staff dressed up like auto mechanics I believe as a symbol of their gutty , hard work personna. She spoke highly of him as a person and motivator and he has head a number of head coaching positions most recently at Drake and EMU And is in his forties. Now I am not giving him an endorsement I am just saying that he would be on her short list especially since he would come cheap since his salary at EMU is less than 400 G per year which would make Duzz buyout easier to take. Let’s see what happens - is the team lost or does Pickett return , other injuries heal and we win three in a row and finish 6- 5. If we finish with an eight game losing streak some heads will have to roll.
If this season continues the way we all are thinking, there’s no way Narduzzi will be back regardless of contract. I think we are underestimating Lyke.
Let's see, Moorehead plus random names thrown against a wall, because that's about as accurate or realistic as we can be at this point.
Moorehead
Graham Harrell
Matt Campbell
Sonny Dykes
Charlie Partridge or Jim McElwain (if they can land a top OC)
Special #6 (kidnap Urban Myers family and force him to coach here. Although I think he'd still be 50/50 on that decision given yesterday's performance.)
Moorehead
Graham Harrell
Matt Campbell
Sonny Dykes
Charlie Partridge or Jim McElwain (if they can land a top OC)
Special #6 (kidnap Urban Myers family and force him to coach here. Although I think he'd still be 50/50 on that decision given yesterday's performance.)
If not for COVID, I would agree and say with complete certainty Narduzzi is a dead man walking right now. I really don’t know what to think with the way things are right now. Even with a pandemic going on, I think the most Narduzzi can get is either have a huge 2021 season or he’s done. And honestly it’s painful thinking about long that is until we can even look for a new coach.
I’d rather can him now, promote someone to interim, and start the search immediately. Letting Narduzzi finish the season is the absolute furthest I’d even be willing to consider. I get the money issue, but people are seriously delusional about what’s going on with this program. It’s really, really, really bad right now. The guy has legitimately run the program straight into the ground, this level of garbage can’t be acceptable.
I don’t think there’s many who think she’s afraid to pull the trigger. She’d need the financial backing now more than ever.
If you’re talking about Creighton he has actually been discussed on here quite a bit. Nothing about his record shows he is capable of success at the P5 level. That hire would be the final straw for a lot of program supporters that have already had to endure quite a bit.
So after looking at some coaching lists for 2020, here are some names that interest me:
FCS
Jeff Choate, Montana State
-28-22 overall record, but improved each year and made it to the playoffs the last two years
- Considers himself a teacher, which I believe is important as a head coach
-Was on a staff with Mike Leach and Chris Petersen
-Worked at a ton of schools including Boise State, Washington State, Florida, and Washington
-Obvious concern would be recruiting and its a big jump from Montana State to Pitt and the ACC
-Nowhere near the top of my list, I just liked his resume
FBS Head Coaches
Will Healy, Charlotte
-13-21 at Austin Peay, 9-8 at Charlotte
-Set a school record 7 wins in his first season as head coach
-The 2019-20 recruiting class was the team's best
-Lacks coaching background and is the second-youngest HC in college football
-High energy, fast talker. I get the P.J. Fleck comparisons.
Josh Heupel, UCF
-25-6 career record
-True offensive mind who will transform what we will do at Pitt
-Recruiting footprint similar where Pitt would recruit for the ACC
-UCF is a good Group of 5 program and it will probably take a great opportunity for him to leave.
Assistant Coaches
Marcus Freeman, DC, Cincinnati
-Strong background with experience at Ohio State, Kent State, Purdue, and now Cincinnati.
-Productive defense at Cincinnati
-Not worried about him being a defensive guy because there is the opportunity to hire a good OC
Graham Harrell, OC, USC
-Successful offenses while at North Texas that he helped turn around.
-Simply considering a fast riser who was a former QB in the mold of Frost and Heupel.
Steve Sarkisian, OC, Alabama
-34-29 at Washington, 12-6 at USC
-Mixed bag as a head coach, but has since worked at Alabama and with the Atlanta Falcons
-The big question is if he learned from his head coaching days and specifically if he gained anything from working in the NFL and under Nick Saban
-If nothing else, I try to pick his brain from his two failed head coaching stints
FCS
Jeff Choate, Montana State
-28-22 overall record, but improved each year and made it to the playoffs the last two years
- Considers himself a teacher, which I believe is important as a head coach
-Was on a staff with Mike Leach and Chris Petersen
-Worked at a ton of schools including Boise State, Washington State, Florida, and Washington
-Obvious concern would be recruiting and its a big jump from Montana State to Pitt and the ACC
-Nowhere near the top of my list, I just liked his resume
FBS Head Coaches
Will Healy, Charlotte
-13-21 at Austin Peay, 9-8 at Charlotte
-Set a school record 7 wins in his first season as head coach
-The 2019-20 recruiting class was the team's best
-Lacks coaching background and is the second-youngest HC in college football
-High energy, fast talker. I get the P.J. Fleck comparisons.
Josh Heupel, UCF
-25-6 career record
-True offensive mind who will transform what we will do at Pitt
-Recruiting footprint similar where Pitt would recruit for the ACC
-UCF is a good Group of 5 program and it will probably take a great opportunity for him to leave.
Assistant Coaches
Marcus Freeman, DC, Cincinnati
-Strong background with experience at Ohio State, Kent State, Purdue, and now Cincinnati.
-Productive defense at Cincinnati
-Not worried about him being a defensive guy because there is the opportunity to hire a good OC
Graham Harrell, OC, USC
-Successful offenses while at North Texas that he helped turn around.
-Simply considering a fast riser who was a former QB in the mold of Frost and Heupel.
Steve Sarkisian, OC, Alabama
-34-29 at Washington, 12-6 at USC
-Mixed bag as a head coach, but has since worked at Alabama and with the Atlanta Falcons
-The big question is if he learned from his head coaching days and specifically if he gained anything from working in the NFL and under Nick Saban
-If nothing else, I try to pick his brain from his two failed head coaching stints
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Curt Cignetti is a good candidate. I'd say go for Alex Van Pelt but that will never happen so om being realistic instead. Im the guy who said go after Nathaniel Hackett but everyone acted like Duzz was UNTOUCHABLE. Who are your candidates?
Cignetti would be a good candidate if he were about 15 or 20 years younger. Pitt doesn't need to hire a 60 year old as their head football coach when there are others out there with similar or better resumes who are much younger.
The thought of firing Narduzzi this year is absolutely asinine. This is a throw away year across the board. The only reason the big schools are having any semblance of a season this year is because they are hurting financially and desperately need the TV money. Only the dumbest of the dumb in terms of leadership are going to be shelling out millions of dollars this year to make coaching changes.
The ONLY coaching change that I can see making any sense this year would be at a school with a rabid fan base and lots of monied boosters that want to go all in to lure Urban Meyer. Anything else is just completely idiotic.
Fans that think this season is business as usual are detached from reality. The revenue isn't there and a lot of these schools are really feeling pinched.
LOL. Throwaway season in what was supposed to be his breakout year. 4th time you’ve used a pandemic to excuse his dismal coaching ability. Great coaches figure it out. Good ones can too. Lousy ones find excuses and taunt 17 year olds on twitter.
The ACC is Clemson and a lot of mediocrity. There is no such thing as a breakout year for Pitt until they recruit a helluva lot better.
I'm not making excuses for anyone's coaching. That post doesn't even pertain to coaching. It pertains to the idiotic idea that this season is business as usual from an admin standpoint. In what alternate universe does it make sense to make a coaching change this year, even if Pitt gets blown out in every game from here on out? Just the thought of it is bat shit crazy. Pitt could win every game or lose every game and there would be almost zero financial impact either way.
That goes for Jeff Capel also. His job should be safe. He can lose every game on the schedule & he isn't going anywhere.
I'm not making excuses for anyone's coaching. That post doesn't even pertain to coaching. It pertains to the idiotic idea that this season is business as usual from an admin standpoint. In what alternate universe does it make sense to make a coaching change this year, even if Pitt gets blown out in every game from here on out? Just the thought of it is bat shit crazy. Pitt could win every game or lose every game and there would be almost zero financial impact either way.
That goes for Jeff Capel also. His job should be safe. He can lose every game on the schedule & he isn't going anywhere.
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Jason Brown — guide ICC to their first bowl win in program history. From Compton. Can relate to different types of people. Graduates troubled kids.
If Pitt is content going 3-8 and remaining status quo why did they even risk the health of student athletes by traveling and playing games?
Seriously?
I don't think they are content going 3-8. He's definitely put himself on the hot seat. When revenues go back up and his buyout is a little less a year from now, a losing season will most assuredly get him canned.
He has done a good job at WF. He also grew up a Pitt fan. He would be better than Moorhead who people keep bringing up.
He is really growing on me. Turned around four different programs and left them in a much better place. Only makes $2mm a year and could recruit better athletes to Pitt than at Wake. Most important, he isn’t archaic in his offensive schemes.
I think he would keep us in the 7-10 win range which would be good. I still prefer the idea of a young coach that HAS to win, but I could buy this and support it.
