by Reed Kohberger
OK POVers – Mike asked me to chip in a “Between the Lines” article for this week. Because it is a bye week Narduzzi isn’t doing a normal Monday press conference so we’ll take a look at his Notre Dame post-debacle utterings…
NARDUZZI: First off, Notre Dame’s got a great football team. They played like the No. 3 team in the country today. They made plays on the ball. We had three interceptions. We lost the field position war big time. You’re never going to win a game, you’re probably going to lose big when you throw three interceptions. Joey didn’t have a great day.
No coach, “we” didn’t have three INTs – Notre Dame did. But let me get this straight – you mean to say that that 45-3 score was all because of ND’s play? Not even a little bit of our putrid play came into it?
But like I said, you’ve got to give their offense and their defense and their special teams credit. They made plays and we didn’t. But time of possession, 40 to 20, we couldn’t sustain drives offensively and put our defense in tough situations and when you do that against the No. 3 team in the country you’re going to have problems winning football games.
So our offense put our defense in tough situations did they? Now you wait just a minute Mr. Head Coach –our first six punts resulted in these starting field positions for the Domers: ND 37, ND 13, ND 18, ND 25, ND 12 and ND 16. How in the world can you point to the offense when ND continually had big field distance in front of them which favors your fancy pants defense?
So I’ll open it up for questions.
Wonder what’s for dinner tonight. Can’t go out to pick up food because someone might recognize me.
How do you explain how things got out of hand there? You mentioned a couple stats there but what actually went wrong?
NARDUZZI: I’ll going to start off, again, giving Notre Dame credit, period. They’re the No. 3 team in the country. They played like it. They’re as good a football team I have seen walk on the field in the last six years. They’re talented from front to back on both sides of the ball and we got beat by a better football team, period.
Who the Hell started scheduling Notre Dame again? In my extension contract you said we wouldn’t have to play them. You promised then you lied to me!! But a hell of a team. Best ever and that’s a fact. Let’s just say that we didn’t have a snowball’s chance in Tahiti and leave it at that, shall we?
I’m sure the tape will see that. I’ll watch the tape and we’ll evaluate it and probably have more answers for you when we get together again. I don’t know whether that’s Monday or not. I don’t know what our schedule is with EJ. But I feel comfortable talking with you again on Monday, if that’s what EJ says. I don’t know what our schedule is with the open week, but I would like to watch the tape before I make any comments.
EJ – Quick…dump all the tape from this game. I just said I was going to look at it, but you’ll have to Clockwork Orange my eyes for me to see one damn minute of it. Thanks, you’re a great friend.
But, again, I want to give credit to Notre Dame. They are a really good football team. They’re physical. They’re big, like I told you last Monday. They’re a talented football team. I thought we would stack it up better. I thought we would be able to throw the ball better. I did not think we would run the ball great on that front, which they’re a top run defense in the country, I think, you know, and that’s what it is.
That what it is, what it really, really is. Honestly, did anyone who has followed this football team think we’d be able to run on these guys? Whippy and I sure didn’t. That’s why we told the RBs to just go through the motions after the QBs hand you the ball – just don’t fumble and don’t hurt yourselves.
So we’ll look. We’ll re-evaluate. We’ll regroup. I think we need an open week. I think there’s only two Power 5 teams in the country that played 7 games, or 6 games for that matter, and we just got to regroup and find ourselves.
There’s this guy on the POV – Eek, or Eck or something, really great fan and knows the college game inside and out and who knows all about regrouping. We’ve been stressing that all week in practice. We drilled safety into the kids head in practice and at team meetings – if you think something bad might happen don’t turn your back to it, but take a deep breath and slowly walk away until you are sure you are safe from the threat and then…regroup! Easy Peasy.
With 1:22 left in the first half there, you guys have three timeouts, you’re on your 36-yard line. I mean, you guys kind of just sit on the ball. Are you content at that point going into the half with what it was or what happened there?
NARDUZZI: I’m never content. But with 1:22, I don’t feel like we were going get into a two-minute drill and do anything crazy, and then we give up a blocked punt. But with 1:22 and the backup quarterback in there, didn’t want to go slinging it around the park and see something bad happen. So we figured we needed to regroup and get in at the half and just see what we had to do.
Look – that never even happened. Whoever says that happened is just hating on me and, in turn, hating on Pitt. Whoever says that is just not very nice and, well, it’s kind of an insult to my manhood. But I’m a man, Dammit! I can take it! I don’t want to talk about that any more.
I think it was early in the second quarter you guys had the — decided to punt at Notre Dame’s 37. Was there any — what was the process there in deciding not to have Alex attempt a long field goal?
NARDUZZI: Another field goal, just, I think it was going to be a longer field goal than we wanted to. The wind out there was swirling a little bit at that time and just didn’t feel comfortable. Thought it was better off to just pin them, not give them a short field and play defense.
First of all “Alex” as you call him is not my friend anymore. He’s just # 97 to me now. I used to kiss him and stuff but since the NC State game I can’t stand to look at him. Here’s the truth, I didn’t call for that FG in the 1st quarter because I don’t mess with any plays that might have points attached to them – I told you all that last week. So – because I don’t like him as a friend anymore I told The Whip not to allow him on the field…at all.
The defense has given up a lot of big plays, long touchdowns during these last four games. Is it simply just — is it the front end not getting home or are there mistakes in the back end that you’re seeing repeatedly?
NARDUZZI: There’s a little bit of both. The one they hit, the big one, we brought pressure, we hit the quarterback right as he released it. So, again, I would have to watch the tape and see how our paths were when we did blitz. We did blitz on that down. We were in cover 3. And you got a 6’3″ receiver on a smaller corner, I think, a little push off, whatever, a little lean on a guy, and number 11 makes a big play. And then Erick (Hallett) came out of the middle of the field and he’s got to finish it up and at least give us another yard to stay in down there.
My defense is the best. Everyone knows that. It was the offense that gave up those five TDs and that FG. Our defense had nothing to do with it. I just told you guys that a couple of minutes ago. Use that notebook Jerry – maybe your memory is going.
But I will say this. It is always more important for your DBs to be fast rather than tall. You can teach jumping for the ball but they have to get there chop, chop, quickly first. If they are really fast they can sneak up and scare those big TEs into dropping the ball. 60% of the time it works every time. That’s how I recruit.
Talk about the quarterback play. You mentioned Yellen having a rough day, but also Beville, he looked like he only got one series in before you went to Patti. What was it like to kind of juggle quarterbacks out there today?
NARDUZZI: Not easy. You know, it’s not easy juggling quarterbacks, but we’ll look at the tape and see where we are with the quarterback. But it’s not easy when you have your backup in there and, again, against a really good defense.
Joey who? Joey, Davis, Kenny, Nick, yada, yada, yada, whatever. Again, that’s the O which I care not for. Maybe you should talk to The Whippster – he knows those guys. All I know is that those sons of bitches put my precious defense in bad positions.
When talking about some of those long touchdowns that you guys have given up during the ACC play here, as a coach, what, if anything, can be done to fix that or to prevent those or, at this point, does this just seem like kind of a fundamental flaw with this group?
NARDUZZI: I don’t know if I would call it fundamental flaws.
Well, everyone else does though.
Our defense was on the field for a long time today, almost 41 minutes. We got to make plays on the ball. We’ll look at the pass. We’ll look at what happened.
That’s what film is for…right EJ? (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) All I know is that my darling defense was made to look bad today and believe thee me – I don’t not like that Sam I Am.
You know, give Ian Book a lot of credit. Even when we did try to — almost get him, almost get him, how many times did we almost get him, and he scrambled.
So, you are saying you tried to “almost” get him? WTF? How about actually trying, you know, to get him.
But he did this thing where he evidently moved away from our outstanding and very good looking defensive lineman. We just were not expecting that. But we’ll look at the film. Well, Mrs. Narduzzi will probably look at the film. That stuff scares me. She’ll tell me about it tomorrow though.
He might have been the leading rusher. He had a nice day rushing the ball and scrambling out of there, which we knew he had escapability (. He’s a great athlete. He didn’t make any bad decisions. We didn’t force him to make bad decisions. He put the ball up where it needed to be. And like I said, I give Ian Book credit.
For God sakes guys – he’s a QB at Notre Dame, what did you expect? Of course he chewed us up. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I didn’t let any of our stout defenders watch him play on film. He’s too good and it would have scared them. Better to, you know, not take that risk.
I mean I’ll take risks in other areas but not too many – not good for the digestion, Eh What!
We put a lot of guys on their back in the backfield and we couldn’t catch him today.
EJ – did that make any sense? No? OK, change it before you post this up.
He was outstanding and he manages the game. And I told you, he’s a leader. We just didn’t get him. There’s opportunities we had to put him in — whether it was getting off the field on third down and sacking him and all of a sudden he scrambles for — I think, the first series of the game he had two third down scrambles where we just couldn’t get off a block and make a tackle on him.
Ed. Note: I think King Pat has lost command of the English language. One does not put a foe in ‘opportunities’. One takes opportunities away from the foe.
So we’ll look at that, and as I said, their offensive, line 129 starts, they played like it today, we couldn’t get the pressure and Ian Book made people miss.
Not any of MY recruits on defense missed him though. It were the 7th year Chryst recruits who couldn’t get him. That’s the crap I inherited on defense but yes, I’ve made it work if I do say so myself. Make Violin strings from the guts of cats I always say.
Do you expect to get Kenny Pickett back this season?
NARDUZZI: Absolutely. Absolutely. Hopefully sooner than later. He was out there today and he had a good week, he’s doing really well. We’ll see. Might be a stretch for Florida State, I don’t know, but we’ll see.
Who gives a flying F! Again, that’s offense stuff and I don’t need that on my plate right now thank you. It gives me a headache.
Can you talk more about the offensive side. There were a lot of drops, so how would you address that going into the bye week here and kind of coming out there?
NARDUZZI: We’ll look at the tape, I don’t know if there was a lot of drops, I don’t know if we had enough balls where they needed to be. I’m not sure how accurate we were today as quarterbacks and throwing the football. We’ll look at that.
No “we” won’t. Geez, are you guys dense or just plain S-T-U-I-P-D? Dropped passes are like the sunshine – when it rains it pours…or something like that. EJ – tell ‘em what I meant.
But we got to make plays when the ball comes to us. We had a couple balls that weren’t put where they need to be put. Whether it’s over the middle and hanging a receiver out, whatever it may be, we’ll look at the tape and see exactly where we are there.
It looked like Paris Ford wasn’t very happy about when he came out of the game in the third quarter. Can you talk about what came into the decision to take him out then?
NARDUZZI: It was nothing that we were taking him out for any reason, we talked all week just by rotating those guys that we wanted to get Brandon Hill in the game and get him active. We thought with a lot of the 12 personnel we were seeing, the two tight ends that — Brandon’s a good football player. Brandon, in my opinion, is a starter at safety as well. We got a lot of faith in him, he’s a good hitter and that’s really what it was.
I took him out because another DB’s father coughed up the going rate for getting his kid playing time. Plus, the rate doubles if it’s on national TV. Can’t pass up an opportunity to make some quick cash, can we? It isn’t like $4,000,000.00 is a lot of money – barely enough to live on.
But nobody wants to be taken out of the game, he wasn’t taken out of the game for any reason except to give Brandon Hill a series. And I guess he wasn’t happy, I’m not sure, but that happens sometimes.
Look, I don’t want to talk about the defensive kids any longer. Great kids and loyal as hell. Not like those snotty O players who think they know everything. My D was heavily traumatized by the way the offense put them in bad, bad, really bad positions all day. Therapy bills will be going through the roof these next two weeks.
You talked about the bye week coming up and just getting this team back on the winning track, what was the message at halftime if you could share it to just get these guys focused moving forward?
NARDUZZI: I said, Hey it’s 0-0 at halftime we’re going to go out and play and I think our kids played hard. We were just outmatched today, for whatever reason.
I know, I know – it was 28-3 at halftime but who’s counting. 0-0 sounds so much better. We really didn’t play that hard. Oh, at first we did but I saw the kids were getting too wrapped up in the game so at 1:22 left in the 1st quarter I said “Boys, enough is enough. Let’s just get into the locker room and take it easy for the rest of the game.”
Like I said, I’m going to give credit to Notre Dame, I think they’re big, I think they’re physical, I think they’re fast, obviously they’re well coached.
By that prick Brian “I am Notre Dame!” Kelly I might add. Ooooh, I really hate him. And how in hell does he get all the good western PA players? He must offer more ‘intangibles’ (money) than I do – Pitt is so cheap! We have to beg the admin to spring for trips to Dave and Busters and those insufferable Gods of Football get to walk on Holy Ground.
And the message at halftime was, ‘Hey, we go out and regather and go.’ And I can’t tell you we played a worse second half than we did first half. It was about the same, from what I saw, except for a couple picks and a couple more short yards.
And the message at halftime was “Hey, were are royally screwed so play as badly as you did in the first half and we might get a ten minute 4th quarter.” When I saw “about the same I mean more of the offense screwing my defense.” Makes me sick.
We gave up a blocked, you know, a blocked punt, and they didn’t score in the fourth quarter.
Blocked, you know, blocked like when an opponent (i.e. Notre Dame player) walks up to the punter, slaps him in the face and knocks the ball away as the punter starts to cry. Then the opponent saunters into our end zone and picks the ball up. Touchdown for the bad guys! Who knew that could happen in this day and age? Again – bad offense for sure.
Seriously, now I’m just throw words out there. Heather told me they don’t have to make sense just make the presser at least 10 minutes long then bail.
And we had a 49-yard drive for a touchdown and you had a 35-yard drive for a touchdown. So those are short fields and offenses will drool when they get those short fields. It opens up the playbook to do whatever you want to do. You’re in four-down territory in both those situations and it’s not easy. Both touchdowns, I believe, they had a field goal, you know, looking at it, 14-play, 72-drive, our guys played hard, forced the field goal in the third. And then we had, like I said, that 49-yard drive and a 35-yard drive for touchdowns. And our guys never quit and I never questioned their effort. Like I said, I’m not so sure the second half wasn’t better than the first half, but it’s a good football team that we played today. They’re the No. 3 team in the country and I would imagine you are probably looking at a Clemson/Notre Dame, based on what I’ve seen in an ACC Championship game.
If I talk real fast it doesn’t have to make sense. Can I go home now?
Do penalties bother you more than anything else?
NARDUZZI: No, penalties? No, there’s a lot of things that bother me. I don’t know what the penalties were for the day. But now I’m just looking at it right now. 12 penalties? Yeah. There’s just little penalties here and there and they will get you. So, yeah, penalties bother me when I see 12 and that’s more than we had last week.
Penalties? Why would you say that? Penalties are both good and bad, just like time outs – you are given them for free and some are good and some are bad but you always want to go into the half with at least three in your back pocket.
Penalties! Can’t believe you asked such a stupid, immature and churlish question.
EJ, let’s roll. Drinks on you tonight. I came closest to predicting the losing point margin at 42. Your 39 points just weren’t good enough. Hey, someone turn out the lights when everyone leaves… got to save every penny we can for that buyout, right?.
pittpov.com 
Narduzzi’s shucking and jiving continues.
It’s not even worth covering his press conferences because it’s the same bs week in and week out.
I haven’t seen anyone start a go fund me or PayPal to raise money for the buyout yet.
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so the carnage continues. After a 45-3 beatdown, you are picking apart every sentence as if there is anything he can say that would be satisfying.
He can say “I want to make a shout out to the Pitt POV and their followers” and you would respond that no wonder this team wasn’t prepared, the HC spends his time reading blogs
Or he can say “I am submitting my resignation” and you would call him a quitter
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I would respect that decision. He’d be a hero, not a quitter in my book because I might actually keep my sanity and sobriety.
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Lighten up Francis
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No, I would not. I actually don’t necessarily want him fired either. What I find a problem is his unwillingness to deviate from his entrenched way of thinking about Pitt’s football program and the team. He does not adapt year to year nor game to game (or half to half either). Then acts befuddled when things go wrong even while dodging admitting he makes bonehead decisions.
I understand the University and its actions. Pitt will play at being the big time football school because that is what is expected…drop down a level or drop the program altogether and then we are – well, St. Johns… plus we would lose the ACC football $$$. That just wouldn’t do.
But the Admin and the Leadership Group and the BoD just don’t feel about all this the way Pitt football fans feel. They really never have. A recent and good case in point was what the team wore out on the field Saturday. Does anyone really believe the players themselves wanted to do that? That was done for the sole purpose of selling more merchandise to far flung Pitt fans who would be watching a nationally televised game.
We had a prime opportunity to showcase “Pitt Pride” and remind alumni, fans and viewers of the long tradition of Pitt vs ND but instead put on a fashion show. And PN looked the other way.
That is how the decision-makers feel about the program. As a means to an end. To Pitt winning six or seven games opposed to eight or nine just isn’t that big a deal. What we fans call SOP in frustration is what Pitt calls business as usual. Always has been, always will be.
So, spare me the outrage about making jokes about the team and HC. I’ll bet a dollar no one, except one football alumnus maybe, on the BoD would give a second thought to it. The guy makes millions of dollars a year – if something like this bothers him maybe he should buy some thicker skin.
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I think that was homecoming weekend wasn’t it. And we were coal. Well we played like a lump of coal that Saint Nick gives in a stocking to naughty kids. And Pitt also came away smelling like onions.
Tex who received both coal and onions in his stockings as a child
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Why would anyone want to buy those jerseys?
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Absolutely wrong. Let him quit. No one will call him a quitter.
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wwb, I promise, if Narduzzi submits his resignation I won’t call him a quitter.
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Flag on the article. Personal Foul on Kohberger, Piling On, automatic 1st down.😂😂😂
My criteria for firing Narduzzi utilizing the W-L record.
3-8 Gone in 60 seconds.
4-7 Still fire him.
5-6 Narduzzi gets one more year before getting fired.
That is all.
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I would add to the 5-6 criteria….he is told to hire a real college OC. I don’t care if it is from the IVY league.
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If Narduzzi wants to win these next three and make multiple staff changes then I’m onboard with him returning in 2021. Slim chance on the former happening with this offense and undisciplined defense.
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Multiple staff changes CANNOT be made. No one from another program would ever come here when the head coach is a dead coach walking.
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If you guarantee the contract they would, especially guys looking for a jump, like Johns from Memphis.
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Safe to assume a talented assistant coach will find Meatball difficult to work for.
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Sorry Reed though amusing, I couldn’t finish it. Not your commentary, which I appreciate, but PNs. Sounded like a tape of the last 3 weeks. No one fired down there yet which would be the biggest news of all.
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To me, the team’s positive momentum for the season changed with the missed extra point loss in overtime to BC. I could not sleep overnight. How disappointed must the team have felt. IMO the kids’ confidence has started to erode. Now they seem to be awaiting another screw up to occur to put Pitt in another losing situation Long passes for scores that beat Pitt over six seasons and Pitt not changing the defensive schemes is repeating the same mistakes over and over and still expecting a positive outcome that does not occur. Attributed to Einstein is this remark: “Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.” Maybe insanity is too harsh a term to apply to this situation, but certainly stupid stubbornness has some relevance. I am still a Pitt fan but a deeply depressed one.
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A harsher word applies to this Pitt problem. And it was attributed to Bobby Knight.
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Me thinks the POV needs a bye week as well…
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Haha.
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When estimating our won//loss record I would deduct a win being credited for our exhibition game with
Austin Peay. Our record is and will be a disaster at the end of the year. Duzz will be given another year
to make an ass of himself and assistants will be fired left and right. Next year I believe will see one
of the absolute worst records in Pitt history. Hey, Isnore can you be a bit more negative?
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You would have some competition for that. Waiting to hear UPitts thoughts.
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On a plane to Pittsburgh for 22 hours. Ugh. I love the article and happy Narduzzi is finally being held Accountable for his lack of any EQ, IQ or coaching/recruiting acumen.
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Not 22 a few. Lord help me. I want new Steelers gear and a primantis. After work dinner going to Rocky Patels burn lounge for a libation and Cigar if anyone wants to come by for a whisky drink 🥃 and cigar. My treat
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Probably 9-11pm.
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I was going to say. 22 hours? I would hope they have free lap dances on that plane. 🤠
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So, could the powers that be convince Narduzzi to be a big enough man to hire an OC that would be his heir apparent? Pretty stupid idea. Would someone come in knowing they are auditioning for the top job? Probably not. Would Narduzzi ever agree and support this kind of transition? Heck no.
Which begs the question that has already been asked, who in their right mind with any skill will come to replace Whipple?
I am afraid the only way to remedy the problem is to clean house and start over. It is only a matter of when.
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No smart OC will want to walk into that situation unless they were coach in waiting possibly.
Narduzzi doesn’t want his OC to be his possible replacement.
An OC knows that Narduzzi is on the hot seat and offense is the issue.
Even with a new scheme, pitt has no line and little talent. Any new OC would be set up to fail.
Best just to clean house and include heather with it. Like I said before, the program needs to burn down. Otherwise you’re just getting a different flavor of mediocrity each year.
The good thing is that pitt isn’t a dumpster fire yet. And there are at least ten viable candidates out there that would be interested given the conference and jump in pay.
I’ll take a coach that knows offense, accept a three win year, a 6 win year if that will lead to consistent top 25 rankings in subsequent years and the removal of the mediocrity taste.
But since no booster is stupid enough to bail heather out, pitt will need to raid the general fund. That’s bad PR when it just cut hundreds of lower compensated staff.
For once, I don’t know the answer.
Ike pleased 🤠
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Boy oh boy Mike, you really threw Reed a meaty bone didn’t ya.
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Haha
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Yup. an early Christmas present.
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I opened it early.
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say this for Narduzzi, they named a wine for this year’s team
https://www.bing.com/th?id=OIF.lhOx64gxS9%2blTttNo7vuKA&w=236&h=160&c=8&rs=1&qlt=90&pid=3.1&rm=2
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I posted but not sure where it went. On a plane to Pitt.
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Justin… for me the 3 of the wheels fell off the bus when PITT took the lead vs NCSU with a little over a minute left then our over-hyped D let a first year stater at QB drive the field for a winning score….. the missed extra point was the 4th wheel falling off…..Duzz is done…. he’s a walking dead man… he and Addazio can open a pizza parlor…Duzz n Dazz’s
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As long as they serve meatballs, I’m there.
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Leary started at QB the last 5 games of the NC State 2019 season. He would have started the 2020 as starting QB but was under Covid quarantine. First game after the quarantine was Pitt. He started every game after until he broke Fibula against Duke.
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Pitt lost to the number 3 team in the country. They should have played better. Can we move on?
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But where are we moving? To yet another loss and lost season. More mediocrity? This drama needs to end now. Enough is enough.
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What makes any Pitt fan think we’ll have a horrible first year with a new HC? That hasn’t happened at Pitt in ages. Let’s go back 23 years to Harris’ first season…
WH – 6-6 then 2-9
DW – 5-6 then 6-6
TG – 6-7
PC – 6-7 then 7-6 (w/ bowl win)
PN – 8-5 then 8-5
If this year ends on a down note – say 4-7 or even 3-8 (which I don’t see happening) then a new HC would probably better than that in his first year if history holds. Transition doesn’t have to mean a dumpster fire.
Other than Harris whose 2nd season had two wins, the other HCs matched or bettered their record the year after they were hired. Then, of course, we will trust the process with a new guy at the helm!
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Reed not sure I see the justification for your optimism that “3-8 don’t see happening”.
It’s a very real possibility that we lose out. As bad as FSU and GT are, consider our history:
1. We routinely play down to our opponents
2. While FSU and GT are down, from what I have seen on TV, they look like they still play with a fire in them. I saw a lot of quit in Pitt Saturday. It was disturbing to see and watch. Which leads me to
4. My gut is telling me and I know many have stated here that the team is “done”. When faced with adversity, they don’t make it through. Coaching is not helping this either. I’ve notice Harley the LB coach who used to be very vocal on Twitter has gone silent – as have the others for that matter.
I just don’t see another win here.
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There is NO way, none, 0, nada that this Pitt team uncoached by DuzzWhip wins another game this year. None
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All of them that reached a third year finished with a losing record that season. Shows just how hard it is to recruit to Pitt even with that new coach smell that usually reels in good classes.
Shame on Paul for not going 8-4 versus that 2014 schedule.
Shame on Wannstedt and Narduzzi for not having a better QB ready to go as a redshirt freshman that would have saved those seasons.
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Past success is no guarantee of future results – even if you believe 5. 6, 7 wins is success to you. Forgot about the PN 8’s, but you have made numerous comments & excuses on how that was not his success
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Not a success unless you are preaching be mediocre.
NO BOWL WIN
NO END-OF-SEASON AP RANK.
There it is.
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I agree Reed, especially considering Narduzzi excellent recent recruiting classes. The next PITT coach should be expected to win ten game every year. You know, like the expectations laid on PN throughout his 6 years here..
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Top 25 seasons Ike. Narduzzi will never sniff 9 wins.
There are over ten viable candidates.
Probably five or less if we wait another year.
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Ike – sorry I spelled your name incorrectly above…😉
I think we differ on a bunch of things but I’d say PN’s recent recruiting classes have been around middling with some a bit better.
Nationally they have been rated:
2018 – 36th w/ one 4*
2019 – 49th w/ one 4*
2020 – 44th w/ three 4*s
Not bad, a bit better than middle of the pack, but I sure wouldn’t say excellent. Perhaps the high 30s to 40s is the best we can expect from this HC & staff. This new 2021 class looks like his best so far as long as we don’t tank the rest of the season and any committments bag out. But it should hold I hope.
May I ask what your expectations were of PN after his first two years? I’m sure it wasn’t 5 wins, then 7 wins then back to 8 wins and now 4 or 5 wins? Was it?
My expectation of this year was 6-5 or if things bounced the wrong way 5-6. But I’m not surprised at all at where we stand today. I’m surprisingly more optimistic about our last four games than some fans on here are but looking at how this program and team has been built this dip doesn’t surprise me all that much.
I was kind of shocked at the predictions the local media had in the preseason for 2020 – most had them at eight or nine wins, some even 10.
Reed who still loves your passion for Pitt soccer…er, football !
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You still misspelled my name Read, I spell my name with 3 lower case letters. I’m not worthy of any capitalization 😉 Now you could have spelt my name Iek?
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Here are some lines. No “reading between” required.
“We want great leadership here. We want continuity of great leadership. We want difference-makers here at Pitt… Coach Narduzzi is a difference-maker, he’s the perfect fit for Pitt.” – Pitt AD Heather Lyke
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She can choke on her yellow blouse.
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Nard Dawg is a perfect fit for Pitt. The admin puts student behavior and compliance over winning, the admin is totally satisfied with 5, 6, or 7 win seasons…and we the people, the fans have accepted the losing as well. We all know there are 12 million reasons Emperor Pat won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
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That is standard AD talk when talking about any coach – football, basketball or olympic.
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Doesn’t exactly sound like someone ready to admit a mistake or do anything anytime soon to correct it.
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BTW… That was three years ago when Narduzzi’s extension was granted.
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Pitt fans can bend the arc. But fans need to take that first step. And then not give up.
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Didn’t WVU hire Holgerson as HC in waiting? Then something bizarre happened with him and Stewart.
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Haha, yep, I remember that because it was so bizarre and absurd. Stewart tried to plant stories in the media painting Holgersen as an alcoholic, and he got busted for it because he used his university issued cell phone to call the reporter(s) who wrote the stories, and he was forced to resign in disgrace. Fun times. Say what you want about Pitt’s coaching foibles, at least we’ve never had a head coach try to conduct a smear campaign against one of his assistants.
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No, we only had an AD who conducted a smear campaign against the most successful HC at Pitt since Jackie Sherrill.
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Turned out there was a grain of truth in Steward’s allegation. Holgersen may not be an alcoholic but he sure can’t handle his liquor. He was kicked out & banned from the casino near Charleston, WV for his alcohol intake that night.
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I disagree that no OC would take the job next year. It is a one year gamble but if you succeed you are in til PN’s contract expires, LOL.
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There’s a thing called adverse selection. That’s what will happen with a new OC. Heather is too much of a dolt to even know what I’m talking about.
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Whipple has to go no matter what. Hire an up and coming WR coach from a team with an explosive offense, make him co OC with Beatty.
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And expect 4 wins next season. You’ve seen the talent on the o side of the field? You really think Narduzzi will be hands off?
Blow the f’er up. From the ashes will rise an elite Panther…as long as heather and atom counter have nothing to do with it.
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There is plenty of talent on the O side of the ball. Whipple has no clue how to use it.
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No talent on the line. Receivers with hands of stone. No elite QB. No outstanding backs. Absolutely no tight ends. Are u sure you’re analyzing the Pitt squad. My high school has more talent. Seriously.
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I don’t think it is the talent. If I have time I will type up the explanation but basically it is Whipple.
FIrst of all, Borebly is known as a run blocking OL coach. He previously had two 1000 yard rushers. He didn’t stop knowing how to coach run blocking all of a sudden.
Secondly, there is no way this squad has less talented players than 2018 with DIntino, Herndon, Morrissey, Milan and Bookser. Was that not the line for two 1000 yard rushers. Plus Ollison and Hall weren’t exactly the most talented RBs.
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If you take out the Austin Pea scrimmage Rent-A-Win, Pitt’s Offense is avg’g 20.8 ppg, almost exactly as much as last year’s foul smelling offense at 21.2 ppg.
You look at teams that recruit similar or worse than Pitt.
Take Washington State, last year 37.8 ppg with a first year starter who was only 6’2″ 200 lbs.
The year before, 37.5 with a first year in their system, grad transfer.
The year before that 30.5. Year before that 38.2. Year before that 31.5, Year before that 31.8
Year before that 31, year before that
Wash State usually has a very poor running game, and doesn’t recruit Elite QB’s.
Doesn’t recruit Elite WR’s or Elite O-lineman.
It’s obviously the System. Whipple is a 3rd rate coordinator who just happens to have tenure
in the Coaching Fraternity, like Bourbely.
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It is the system. And finding the right kids for it. Why do 90 percent of Pitt fans fail to understand it?
I never played football but I coached. And I always had a system that I adapted to the talent. My system never relied on elite talent. But I didn’t have meatballs for brains.
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it would probably help your position if you never brought up your prior coaching experience and acumen
also don’t recall you being very critical of Whipple,,,,might have missed it in the morass
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I thought Whipple could be a Qb whisperer based on Big Ben. I was proven wrong. I admit. I was wrong.
And I’ve coached kids, teens and adults across multiple sports in multiple leagues. And I’ve won. My body hit the wall come 45. I lasted longer than 95 percent of you skirts. I coached and played in several leagues. Would not recommend it.
I may go back to coaching at some point. I love teaching and mentoring and winning. I’m the antithesis of meatballs. And you know what, my players didn’t think of me as a friend. But they sure the hell respected me. And did I mention I won??
If you still support this regime, well I don’t respect you. Nothing personal.
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Does anyone really believe our OL will be any better next year than it is this year? Not me and thus we will enter another season with a non-existent running game on offense combined with a QB that also can’t run. The defense will be minus some significant good players in Weaver, Jones, Hamlin and Ford. So good luck trying to stop many teams with that defense when the time of possession on our offense goes down considerably. The 2021 Pitt football season is a disaster just waiting to unfold IMO.—I’m not sure if any coach can change that scenario. But I’d be willing to give anyone other than Narduzzi the opportunity to try.
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Exactly. Meatballs is dead man walking. Next year is five wins max regardless of the OC. Throw the meatballs in the garbage can and get a Coach with real brains.
Tex willing to pay for a one-way bus ride back to Youngstown for Narsnoozi. I’ll be the booster for that. He can ride with the luggage.
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I’m thinking unless Meatballs loses out and we get crushed a few more times……he’s gonna get a pass on this season.
Pitt never does anything drastic unless we hit near or at Rock Bottom.
So we gotta lose out, I could see Clemson scoring in the 70’s easy. They could name their total.
VT was avg’g 42 ppg before last game’s stunner. They might put up 50 against us.
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“Seriously, now I’m just throw words out there. Heather told me they don’t have to make sense just make the presser at least 10 minutes long then bail. ”
HAHA ! (that convo could have taken place, while walking down the hall together)
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My dog barks more coherently.
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Conversely, if you remove the Austin Pea Rent-A-Win scrimmage from the totals.
The much heralded Defense is giving up almost 28 ppg.
Worse than Meatball’s first team/season at Pitt. (26ppg)
And worse than the 2017 team, the 2018 team, and the 2019 team.
So this defense is giving up more ppg than all but the dreadful 2016 team(35 ppg),
which should have convinced EVERYONE….we got a Turkey.
I mean how do you give up 61 points and almost 500 yards passing… to a 4-8 team, QB’d by a 2nd string QB named Zack Mahoney.
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Yea but also take out #3 Notre dame by that token. Focusing on two standard deviations from the mean, means removing outliers in both directions.
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Sez who?
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College statistics professors…
Pitt could have scored 24 vs Peay and no one would have been surprised.
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To all you Narduzzi supporters, drinkers of Koolaid, excuse makers, I would love to hear your rationale on why the entire staff shouldn’t be fired at this point.
Top five reasons Narduzzi has to go compared to the top five he deserves another year
My reasons will overwhelm yours.
Don’t mess with Tex
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Attention POV’ers the reason why Pitt has crashed this year is that Krull has been a no show///LOL.
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Look we all knew the OL was a major question mark entering this season. We all hoped that be adding a year they would have improved marginally from the previous season. i think they have improved a little in their Pass defense but they have clearly deteriorated on their run execution. Now lose your first string QB who was a decent runner that could gain you a 1st down from time to time and we now have our end result. There is not much hope for this offense in the remaining 4 games absent Pickett. And replacing Pickett(with a non running QB) gives me little hope going forward.—-Bring in a new HC with a dual option transfer QB and Pitt may be able to produce a respectable O next season. It’s a long shot but that won’t happen under Narduzzi with he wants in running his offense. Just look at what the very talented Indiana QB did for their program in a very short period of time.
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By the way, has anyone seen a tight end near the Pitt practice field?
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Off topic: Came across the video I am posting. Given the morbidity that is Pitt football these days I thought I would share it. When I watched it I was reminded of why I love college football. I love the pageantry, school spirit, rivalries. I love that college football (in most cases) is a much better product than high school football, yet still retains a level of imperfection. By that I mean most of the players will be doing something other than playing on Sundays when they graduate. And now that I am old enough to have an AARP card, it certainly brings back all the college memories I was a part of (shout out to all the ladies from Lothrop and Holland Hall 1987- 1989. Ike, queue Willie and Julio!)
I couldn’t help being reminded of a discussion or two on here a while back questioning why we chant Penn State Suxs! during games when we aren’t playing Penn State. You’ll understand when you watch the video- that is, if you aren’t distracted by those soft and fuzzy sweaters (ike, queue J.Geiles.)
Okay, here goes…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSTc2h0i-lY
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James… you get it… get your ass to tailgating…. watch the band… hug cheerleaders … slap Roc… best part of FB is the pageantry… forget the team fashion show… POVerts Rule….!!!
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@Tex, no, support from me has been terminated
nothing personal but yours sounded never to have existed without any real data early on
some here talk a ton of stuff with little to support it,,,,you(and others) had a 50% chance of coming through by making it binary
it isn’t often, if ever, binary with this kind of thing
YOU and others wavered this year at 3-0,,,,I credit you there, however hollow
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I thought pitt could win 8 this year with a healthy Kenny. I was a fool. Must have been the Koolaid Ike slipped me.
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The disconnect for me is how did we go from high confidence just a couple of years ago to the tune of “guaranteed ACC champions” to the present day of singing high praise to every team that beats us? Especially considering that this was supposed to be the best year of his tenure. He now talks like we’re lucky to be even playing teams like ND. WTF happened? And no, we should not be ok with this pathetic, defeatist attitude.
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It does mystify me that we can’t find a qb. KP is no gem, but considering what’s behind him he looks great. But what do I know, I said DeNucc would never take a snap. I’m still amazed by that one, go figure.
BTW, next years schedule is pretty easy, but I think we will be so bad it won’t matter. Before I was all for keeping him for another year, but I think I might bring in a new guy with that schedule.
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Good NFL QB coach…
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I think Huff will agree with this. A lesson I learned over and over as a business manager, VP Sales….sometimes as much as we qualify and research a new employee, you make a mistake and make a bad hire. As much as it hurts, you must quickly “unhire” that person as soon as you’ve made that eval. We are there with Duzz right now. Every day we keep him will cost us money an$ prestige.
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Spot on Dan. Look, mistakes happen and noone is perfect that’s for sure. This is why I speak to executives and CEO’s about Hubris. Hubris will get you in more trouble than just admitting you made a mistake in the hiring process or resource allocation model. Very similar to the coverup being worse than the crime. You need to cut the tie once you are convinced that you have made a mistake. Sure, your ego takes a short term hit, but you jump right back into the fray if you are good at what you do.
That said Dan, I also preach to Boards that if you only give an executive the tools and resources for a “C” program, do not expect “A” results. Typically you might get an over-achiever once in awhile, but you usually get what you pay for and what you support. This is a question for the Chancellor/AD that she needs to answer. If she wants to save her job, she needs to have an honest conversation with herself and say, have I given coach X the right support for the “B” program? If yes, she needs to let him go for his “”C-“/”D” results. It’s all risk based decisioning.
We don’t know the expectations she has put on the coach. She touted she wanted championships and that hasn’t happened. If the bar is set at championships and she has given the proper resource support to achieve it, Narduzzi must go now. There can only be accountability, when the account outlines the rules openly and honestly. Only she knows those answers. She has two options here. One is for her to outline the expectations of the coach with some transparency to Gallagher and to the public. He either achieves and things are great, or he underperforms and he is gone. Her second option is to not lay out the expectations and she gets canned.
You can”t not have a plan. Sure, an occasional hiccup may occur, but nothing is close to a hiccup with Pitt football when you see the end product. Actually, if you look at the program in the light most favorable to Narduzzi, he still fails as of now.
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Narduzzi is in the top 25 for comp
How many top 25 rankings resulted?
Pitt has a top third spend in the ACC.
How many titles did they win?
I’d think that kind of money buys more than 7 win seasons and crappy bowls.
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Has Grape Fanta even uttered a word about her idiotic extension or Narduzzi’s performance. I didn’t think so.
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Also his ability to evaluate his own team leads me to believe he does not know what he is doing. When you go into a tennis tournament you heave a good idea how far you will get before someone better is your opponent.
He was complaining about his ranking at 22. It is clear now the team is really bad. How can you not understand the capabilities of your team in year 6?
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Or he’s delusional. Like Mr. Whipple. lol
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Amen.
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How about this guys!!!
https://www.thetimesnews.com/story/sports/college/acc/2020/10/24/hoisted-high-freshman-walk-anderson-assists-wake-forest-upset-over-no-19-virginia-tech/6019767002/
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I know fans hate Ron Cook but…
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2020/10/27/penn-state-indiana-stretch-michael-penix-pitt-notre-dame/stories/202010270049
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All this talk about firing Narduzzi this year is just that, talk! It is not going to happen! Why? Because of Tex’s favorite subject, money. Pitt cannot afford to fire Narduzzi. As for his assistants, Whipple should have been gone two games ago. No excuse for that. Heck (do not want Word Press to flag comment) a high school coach could do a better job than he is doing. Any offensive coordinator at a low non P5 school would jump at the Pitt job. Also this type of coach also would not be a threat to King Narduzzi who fears for to hire those deemed worthy of his throne.
This being the year of the pandemic all colleges are hurting for cash, Pitt more so than others. (Cheap alumni being up there as one of the reasons. I include myself in that last comment as for all the donations I have made to Pitt none has ever gone to the athletic department.)
We are stuck with Narduzzi for at least one more year. If the pandemic is still going strong this time next year then make that two more years. Get over it already. By the way there is no Santa Claus either.
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John – the logic there is compelling and futher discussion on the topic should be unnecessary. But, it continues. Its a form of primal scream therapy – how else to explain it?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primal%20scream%20therapy#:~:text=Medical%20Definition%20of%20primal%20scream,unrestrained%20screams%2C%20hysteria%2C%20or%20violence
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After stewing on this disastrous season for a few days, I don’t think u fire narduzzi unless he loses out. I don’t see the finances working out with hiring a new coach.
But the whole offensive staff except for Beatty needs to go immediately.
In my opinion, one very good OC would save narduzzis bacon. An offense with a pulse would have this team at 5-2 or 6-1. Notre dame was excellent Saturday and I don’t think any Pitt team in the last 20 years would have beaten them.
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I get that some of you are all giddy over PITT losing and all that but I just wonder why all the pleasure taken by PITT losing? Yeah I know what you’re going to say about frustration and years and years of SOP. My question is………… haven’t you people had enough practice that you’re not use to it by now?
I few of you will choke on your nighttime heated chocolate milk but I have to tell you all. Some refer to me as a Kool-aide drinker, a delusional PITT fan, a loyal Narduzzi lover and on and on…….. You people don’t think I’m hurt and pissed off when PITT loses? You people are the ones that are delusional. I scream and yell at the TV like everyone else.
I keep hearing about the “realists” on the POV. LOL. If you were a true realist you would realize that you root for PITT and not some high falootin cheating college football factory that plays the game at win at all cost.
You guys deserve the right to keep on pounding the drum to fire this person or the other person so have at it. I’ll enjoy this PITT bye week to put my poor old broken feelings back together again and put that PITT shirt back on in the hopes of a PITT victory and I certainly won’t be happy if they lose but I won’t being hitting Eli if they happen to fall short. “Realist” I think some of you need a wake up call on reality. Give me a call if you need any education on dealing with real problems in life. ike
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I don’t see or read anyone being giddy at all Ike. I am not for sure. Embarrassed, yes. Embarrassed that I tell people I went to Pitt, yes. Its not worth the hassle any more, just to be ridiculed for months. I now tell people where I went to law school instead and leave Pitt out of the discussion.
Look Ike, Heather is a nice person. I like her. That doesn’t mean she is a skilled AD. She has been over her head in P5 from day one. She just lacks experience and when that happens, mistakes multiply, a doubling down effect. Before she came here, I would have rated her as a C- AD. That”s what Pitt got and paid for and thats okay because Gallagher set the low result standard (for revenue producing sport championships, fundraising, facilities planning and execution, merchandising/marketing, ticket sales, etc and to a lesser extent APR and non-producing sports championships). Again, thats ok. Thats how I look at these types of things. It doesnt mean i am happy with Pitt for choosing the pc and cheap route, but i understand why gallagher did it. I personally would have gone elsewhere for a candidate and Tex has a nice list (although I am not sure the folks on his list would matriculate to Oakland), but we have who we have.
It doesnt mean that she should get a free pass for making mistakes. Candidly, there are so many great posters and thought producers on here, that she is crazy for not just saying hey, i listen to everyone and will implement x idea that came from an anonymous writer on the POV, or twitter, or a sports reporter, etc. who want to see Pitt aspire to excellence. Engage us, we are free, except Tex. Why does the athletic department read the comments if they arent taking the free advice? I know a P5 AD personally that actually tells Board members that he got an idea from x blog, and the poster, and he actually contacts them to thank them for providing a solution, or how to improve a process. Sometimes rewards them with tickets even. Thats how you engage with your Pitt sports community, not steal an idea and claim it as yours so you can look good to the boss.
Not sure who all the high falootin college cheaters are, but i understand why this is the new excuse of the day. Tomorrow it will be the climate, and Friday it will be no talent in local high schools. Notice how i tied in no local high school talent with friday night high school football?
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Excellent.
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I sure didn’t deserve to see Pitt get blown out and quit. Vomit in ones mouth doesn’t taste good.
This program will be a dumpster fire next year and no sane coach will want to walk into that
Covid year or not, bad PR or not with the schools RIF, heather needs to find the money. That’s her job.
Oh and admit she made a huge mistake. If not, she’ll never get that Sparty job.
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Give me your list of reason why you didn’t deserve to see that and vomit in your mouth and I will give you the reasons you deserved it. Mine will trump yours.
JoeL who can recognize masochistic behavior
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I’m not just speaking for myself. No fan that attended deserved to be treated to that pathetic display. In particular those who are season ticket holders. It really is much worse in person than on TV.
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I have a couple young children, so it takes some doing to watch Pitt football. I have to carefully plan the whole day, run around frantically to do chores beforehand and have an activity ready for the kids at game’s end. I try to get them down for a nap at half-time, and if I pull that off, I normally take advantage of the rare opportunity to focus and hang on every play of the game. On Saturday, however, I could barely look at the screen for fear of what I would see next. I felt like Adrian watching Rocky get battered in the ring.
The Notre Dame game was such a complete and total loss in every aspect, both on and off the field, that it was almost impressive. When Pitt fell to B.C., I said that was the platonic ideal of a Pitt loss because the self-inflicted wounds and general approach to the game so perfectly captured Pitt’s post-1984 history. On Saturday, Pitt didn’t even have the courtesy of providing any poetry or beauty in its defeat, it was just a lopsided, plain old-fashioned beat down.
The Pitt-ND game was a monument to failure in a number of ways:
Utter and complete physical domination: The Notre Dame players looked so much bigger and stronger that it felt like Pitt was from a lower classification. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say it felt like difference between Austin Peay and Pitt was as great as between Pitt and Notre Dame. It’s sad, because I’ve seen lesser Pitt teams than this that seemed to match up better with the Domers on a purely physical level.
Recruiting: Related to #1, but when you don’t have a single player on offense who would definitely see the field for your opponent, that’s a huge problem. Notre Dame is still one of the biggest names in the sport, but they’re not Clemson or Alabama on the recruiting trail, their average recruiting ranking is about 10.
Poor scheme and execution: If you’re giving away this much to your opponent in raw talent, you better bring an unconventional scheme (to mitigate your physical deficiencies) or execute at an elite level. Pitt did neither and basically never does. Sloppy, highly-penalized and one-dimensional. At least the last part, I can understand. Some people were actually asking why Pitt didn’t run more? I was happy they abandoned the run. It was hopeless and I was dying from secondhand embarrassment.
Mentality: Trying to hold down the score by sitting on the ball down 18 at the end of the first half only to have your cowardice rewarded with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Enough said.
Marketing: I would talk about the uniforms here, but it was a blessing in disguise that Pitt script wasn’t associated with that debacle.
The Future: There’s getting beat. There’s getting beat down. And then there’s getting beat down when it looks like you have no forward movement, no plan, and no clue how to fix what was wrong. I can’t see how any high school player could watch that game and think they could be part of a solution or the next great Pitt game. When even the announcers are clowning the coaching and the program, it’s hard to miss.
Whipple should use the bye week to install dimensions of a new offense (not a whole new offense, but packages that would provide some novelty and maybe catch coming opponents off guard). Sure, it would fail, but at least it would show effort and an ability to recognize the problem beyond “we have to do better at the same old thing we’ve been doing which is obviously isn’t working.”
Next year begins now and Narduzzi better recognize it. It’s the only chance he has to save his job (in the long-term, since, for financial and PR reasons, I doubt he’s going anywhere before the end of the 2022 season).
As for Narduzzi’s ultimate fate, I think it comes down to what you’re willing to accept and what you’re willing to define as success. In a previous post I mentioned that since Walt Harris rescued the program, Pitt has never bottomed out, which is actually remarkable, considering their middling recruiting. It’s equally remarkable that they’ve never had things come together for that magical season with 10 wins and great bowl destination.
It’s hard to win and we can all list programs with more advantages than Pitt that consistently underperform, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, Nebraska, more recently Miami, etc. On the other hand, when Kansas State, Baylor, Wisconsin, Boise St., Utah, TCU, Virginia Tech have consistently or periodically good records and programs like Cincy, UCF, Navy, Army, Wake, Maryland, Illinois, Northwestern, Washington State, Wake Forest, and Duke have had memorable seasons, you want the same for Pitt. Sure, we could end up in a worse place if we strive for greatness, but that’s always the risk.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
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Good post, UM. In my view Pitt has had “periodically good records” like those schools you mentioned but that is not good enough for some fans. We have had 7-8-9 win seasons like those schools you noted. But then the mantra is “we need someone who can take us to the next level”. Now the bar is “10 wins or bust” or “consistently top 25 ranking”.
Justin brought up the definition of insanity line yesterday, which is a good one. It can be used in a lot of situations. How about this one: How many times should we change coaches? I count 9 since Jackie Sherrill. I don’t count Haymaker or any of the one game interims. How many times do we say “well that wasn’t the solution” before we have to say “maybe that’s not the problem”?
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Man what a great post. I can complete relate to your pre-game checklist with the kids UM. Also if you ever want to write a guest article…
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Thanks! You have it harder than I do with a newborn. I’m amazed by your productivity on the blog. I’d love to write a guest article some time, just have to think of a fresh perspective. I feel like the last couple threads have covered most of the important issues facing Pitt athletics and presented some good solutions. It’s amazing how much knowledge and passion there is here. I hope the right people are paying attention.
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Ulterior — a most excellent post. And loved the FDR quote… 👍
Go Pitt.
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Thanks!
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It’s too bad the BoT and most Pitt fans disagree with Teddy regarding Pitt sports.
See no OCS
See Lame Victory Heights
See hiring assistant coaches as head coaches
See hiring the lowest paid AD in all P5
See not hiring Canada as OC
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UM – great stuff and love it when people quote Teddy. Bully!
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Grape Fanta bashed for Narduzzi’s losing year extension, says Narduzzi needs to go.
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2020/10/27/pitt-panthers-football-pat-narduzzi-penguins-jim-rutherford-joe-starkey/stories/202010270093
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This is really a remarkable blog. I don’t post often but I read it everyday and it always (well, almost always) holds my attention. A special thanks from me to Dan72, Huff III, and, just recently, Ulterior Motives, for the time, the even-handedness, and thoughtfulness they put into their posts.
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agree,,,,,mostly
thoughtful? sure
evenhanded???? fair and impartial in treatment or judgment.
“an even-handed approach”
Similar:
fair
just
equitable
impartial
unbiased
unprejudiced
UM>>>sure,
Dan72 and Huff, they have their moments 😉
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Half-way through the season I have come to the conclusion that the ACC has a lot of really bad to mediocre FB teams, 2 good FB teams and one elite FB team in the Tigers (GO Tigers!!!) PITT has the opportunity to decide if they want to be in the mediocre group or one of the bad teams….that is a decision to be made in the heart and mind–It doesn’t come by watching film…..
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Pitt decided to be mediocre 37 years ago
They aren’t about to change their brand
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is the film room the excuse room ???
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Ike, you don’t think the ‘realists’ don’t feel the exact same emotions you do when watching a Pitt game? Well, we do. Having strong feelings of joy or crushing disappointment is not confined to one set of people.
The difference is when the game is over we don’t pull that blue and old gold cloud over our eyes and chant “trust the process” every chance we get. We don’t write down a list of excuses to pull out every time things go south with the team or program.
Some on here were wary of PN’s hire from the start. Others happen to embrace it wholeheartedly and latched onto it. That’s fine, your choice. Everyone has opinions and beliefs. His successes and failures are given weight according to what we fans personally feel the standard should be for someone in his position and paygrade.
We all know what Pitt football is and isn’t and some can separate that from everyday life and some get too wrapped up in it. But all of us care enough about the university, the program and the players to get involved in some ways.
I’m probably labelled as one of those realists you write about. What are my standards for Pitt football Ike? Are they win at all costs like the ” high falootin cheating college football factory that plays the game at win at all cost” you mentioned?
They are exactly the opposite if you are honest. But we are also fans who can look at something and feel that it is either right or wrong, good or bad, without having won / loss numbers be the only marker of success.
A big thing for me is his leadership position amongst a group of young student/athletes and his younger staff. I see, hear and read things that color my opinions about him according to my expectations of what a head football coach at Pitt should be and do. Like it or not that’s a big deal for 18-22 year old kids’ future lives. Us realists know there are strengths and weakness there also.
Finally, no one on here has a lock on what “reality” is in their personal lives as you infer it is… To assume anyone on here doesn’t have or have had serious ‘real life’ problems is arrogance run amuck.
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Well if I ever read one positive note out of the so called “realist” maybe I would take the criticism with more than one grain of salt. As far as my life the meaning was and is what is important in life, my life. You go on and comment the way you will and I may do the same but I’m not so sure anymore. Yellow blouse, hairy arms and fanta jokes and people aren’t giddy?
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Ike, they are insane. That’s why they are giddy.
In support of that problem we have started the “Pitt POV Talk Therapy” Go-Fund-Me account. Every dollar donated by POV commenters is matched by the university’s general fund to ensure season tickets are still being bought on a regular basis.
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Reed, happy you recognize I wasn’t referring to you or posters like you. You’ve been very critical but very fair.
BTW, I really think I’ve bought season tickets for the last time…. Reasons why? Heather’s blouse is just too dam yellow, PN’s calf’s are too big, I don’t like pop of any brand and Narduzzi closes practices. You’re right, it’s insanity.
I’ll just get a room on the north-shore and go to the Fran and friends tailgate and then retire back to my room and listen to Angie complain how insane I am. (until kick-off) Insane….. yes……….. complicated………no.
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If Narduzzi opened his practice, I bet we see how sloppy his practices really are. You play as you practice. Narduzzi can correct these mistakes in practice but he is too damn paranoid and arrogant to open the gates.
What booster will give to that kind of man. A jerk who wins 7 games each year and gives us fans crappy bowl losses.
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I don’t know where you get this schitt Tex……. Narduzzi has gone 8-5 three years. Bad stats ruin one’s cred with me.
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He’s a avg 7 win coach over five years
With more bowl losses than wins
No top 25 rankings
Avg rpi and saragin in the mid 50’s.
With more blow out losses than wins against top 10 schools
Again facts
Now perception. Based on my discussions with people who follow college football, pitt is thought of as a very pedestrian program with cool colors. Cool colors will only get you so far. Substance matters.
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He’ll be lucky to win 4 games this year
Walt and Wanny were fired for far less and they could have legitimately used budget as an excuse.
Not with meatballs.
When you surround yourself with watery sauce, your meatballs go to mush. Narduzzi has made some poor hiring decisions and is getting lazy about the recipe and prep.
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ike, I was thinking about Tex post from the opposite perspective…Narduzzi isn’t likely to see a seven win season again. Losses to BC two years in a row and likely the teams worst record under his leadership in what was expected by most to be his breakout season.
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sign me up…. I’ll take a dollar of two for my therapy.
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Those are all jokes based on fact. Heather could wear a different color and I’d shut up. Narduzzi could shave his arms and that joke would cease to exist. Pitt could finally act like a top 25 program, and then you might call me an optimist. But right now, facts are on my side.
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No you wouldn’t Mike…. You would have a stroke if you tried restraint. You live life on a one way street. But you’re having fun watching the cars that are going the wrong way in your view.
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I’m going to steal that last part Ike – excellent imagery!
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For the record, I am not a PN apologist. I am a current coach/staff apologist. Except for Graham whom I never warmed up to, I was behind all of Pitt coaches. Yes, I criticized Chryst for the House hiring and for his staff being way overloaded towards the offense, but I have also been critical of PN’s recruiting for being overload to the defense.
I continue to maintain that it’s primarily a program issue. And the sad thing to me is that the ONE asset that the Pitt FB program always had going for it has dissipated greatly over the past 10 years
If for nothing else, I would like to see a new hiring out of curiosity. Would love to see what Pgh native Joe Moorhead would do here. But I also wouldn’t be surprised one iota if 5 years from now, we would be here wondering why he didn’t do any better than the previous 8 hires
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Here’s a thought and I thank UM for triggering it, so my apologies in advance. This goes to the Narduzzi pressers. I am tired of “we will have to look at the tape”. That’s coach speak after the game which is okay, but in the early week presser follow-up, he comes out and says “they did some new things”. No crap Sherlock! That means others looked at your strategy and tendencies, and exploited your weaknesses.
That is being out-coached. Pitt does nothing different. No imagination on either side of the ball. We have to be the easiest team to scout in P5. How difficult is it to add in 5-10 new plays each week? The Pitt band learns new formations every week, and executes, so I don’t get it.
A new wrinkle that Pitt may try to employ against fsu, is the no penalty game. Pitt nearly leads p5 in penalty yardage given up per game. No discipline! What is worse is…. how many more penalty yards would be given up, if all the “against” penalties were actually accepted. Typically, penalties are declined when the opposing team either makes a first down, the penalty yards don’t create a first down and a punt ensues, etc. Would be great to know that statistic. It would have to make our stat even worse as far as numbers of penalties and yards against., right?
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agree Huff,,Duzz’s D philosphy of keeping CB,s on an island is easy to exploit by the opposition and that has been happening since he arrived-refusing to change his scheme.. even with Maddox, Whitehead, Lewis, Jackson all playing in the NFL -so I guess one could deduct Duzz cannot get it done with elite(that might be a stretch)talent on the D side…i
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it should be known that ND’s first 2 long TDs (by #11) were against a zone, and in both cases, the players were in a position to make a play (Ford / Williams-Hallet)
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Yeah – the defense is indeed puzzling. If the corners are on an island, why is the middle of the field open? If the corners are on an island, why is there no one to cover a back out of the backfield?
Inquiring minds want to know…
Go Pitt.
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I posted it above.
Narduzzi has no idea what a good college team is. If he did he would not have complained about his ranking at 22.
He actually thought this team was good.
How is that possible?
How can you build a winning team if you are surprised when ND kicks your ass all over the field?
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kudos for Tex for calling Whipple the ‘QB whisperer’ …. LOL
Two things you hear have often heard about successful offenses are having momentum and getting in a rhythm …. and I maintain neither of these can be maintained by having the QB run to the sidelines on every play
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Plus you absolutely can’t go into a hurry-up offense. If you have a defense confused or on their heels, you can’t take advantage of it. You are hard pressed to keep them from making substitutions as well.
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Farmers — didn’t we use some hurry-up earlier in the season? Seemed to me we did – I figured it was either scripted or KP decided between different options???
Go Pitt.
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You are probably right, MM. I don’t remember that. Which is not surprising.
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Even in the dinosaur ages for most of you posters, didn’t the back or receiver run the play in to the QB from the sideline?
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In the Single Wing…there were only a couple plays to remember. So…..no.
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I called my own plays! I brought them in from the coach when I played the slot. If the starter went down the coach trusted me to call the offense. True
Great football intellect, limited offensive talent.
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I think maybe we need to give Whipple a little more time to develop his offense… 😊 Just thought I’d lighten the conversation a little bit! Part of the frustration we are all feeling is the high expectations we all had for this year, which Narduzzi contributed to. And with it comes the realization that we may have seen the best of Narduzzi’s recruiting and realize that the talent level isn’t close to that of ND. All this adds up to no real faith that he could ever turn things around.
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Whipple seems to run the same dam four plays every game. The defense is good enough but they can’t be on the filed all game long. Whipple needs to go. Bring in Canada and make him asst head coach along with Charlie. That should keep the recruiting class together. Who’s the TE coach, Harley. He doesn’t seem to add value on the field or in the recruiting aspects. Collins needs to step it up as well.
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Harley is the LB coach; Salem has the TEs.
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What recruit specifically said that they picked pitt because of HCPN?
They picked pitt for various reasons but not solely based on one individual.
You committ to the school and program. Not the head coach.
Tex who won’t pledge loyalty to any man or woman
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ike, the defense may be good overall, but the secondary is not. Witness the big yardage and the big plays they’ve given up. They lost two starting CBs to graduation and injury, and the third “starter” Pinnock has under performed. As for the safeties there is no depth, and they will be in deep trouble next year when the starters are gone.
Narduzzi has not recruited well enough for depth at the secondary and LB positions, and if as expected there are many in the front 7 leaving next year, the defense will struggle to be just average. There are no 4 star athletes on the roster waiting to start and providing depth, and they will likely be starting Freshmen or Sophomores next year and telling us how good the defense will be in a couple of years. Are any of us prepared to wait?
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Plenty back there VoR.
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I don’t see it, ike. If so, they would be contributing more. It goes back to the issue that there is no one pushing the starters and they get away with stuff like Ford being totally undisciplined and throwing a tantrum when he is taken out. No maturity..
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Nobody is pushing the coach. That’s the real problem.
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Thanks but… I’d sooner watch the last four games Tex and see how the season plays out instead of listening to your endless drool of negativity and silly comments about people’s body parts, ethnic backgrounds and attire.. Just like you don’t like any positive comments that come from me.
ike, who does not drink kool-aid but enjoys the game without hitting my dog, resorting to bourbon or calling people names.
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People often earn their names Ike. I only have one for heather and one for Narduzzi. I don’t call them by any other name unless I butcher the spelling of their name
Give me five good reasons why Narduzzi should get another year?
Pitt can’t afford the buyout?
Pitt will lose a good recruiting class on paper?
Pitt needs stability?
Pitts problems can be fixed with a new OC?
Pitt is in a covid year losing players to pros, illness and tough schedule?
I’d like to hear
I have ten reasons he needs to go now. I’m sure boosters would be interested as well as heathers minions who lurk on all pitt related blogs and sites. I’m not making that up.
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I like positive comments grounded in realism. I don’t like excuses or apologies. I don’t like trusting the process. There’s just not much positive around the program these days so I accentuate the negative.
Three years ago I said that Narduzzi was a 9 win ceiling coach. I admit I was wrong. I don’t think he’ll ever reach 9 at Pitt.
To me that’s wasteful and immoral spending when hundreds of university employees are being laid off.
HCPN needs to do the honorable thing and resign. How’s that for civility.
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Tex – those plays were run in but the substitute of the WR or RB was bringing the play in. The play was talked about in advance and already passed (or very soon to be passed) to the messenger.
But Whipple having the QB run back and forth is pretty ridiculous – especially when Pickett was limping.
Now – can college QB have a speaker in the helmet like the NFL? No, they can’t thus all the image boards and hand/arm signals from the bench.
I think they should learn military semaphore to get signals in.
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Ahhh. U bring back memories of my signalman days reed.
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I’m not sold that this defense is as great as some think. Aside from our run defense (#5 nationally out of 101 teams) the Passing Yardage allowed (45th) Passing Efficiency (46th) and Yards Per Completion (47th) is middle of the pack.
Remember that is out of only 101 teams this season.
What I think the difference is sits in the talent and awareness level of our starting LBs. Last season we had K. Johnson, Brightwell and Campbell – good solid LBs This year Campbell returns at the Money spot and Pine is at Mike with Bright at Star.
I don’t think these kids (and the 2nd string LBs) are as good at reading and dropping in coverage at the snap. They seem to be all about plugging the gaps to stop the run and they fixate on that. Thus almost all our passing defense items are worse than last season.
I may be off about this…
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Nope…. you’re spot on Reed. Dismissing the Austin Pea scrimmage…this defense is giving up more ppg (28) than all other of Meatball’s defenses, sans the 2016 Keystone Cops defense that gave up 35 ppg.
Even the Doozer’s first Pitt defense only gave up 26 ppg.
And the rushing defense yardage stat is somewhat skewed, as why run, when it’s so easy to pass
against this defense. Especially the very easy to complete, over the middle passes to the Tight end.
Also Syracuse and their dreadful QB’s, as well as an extremely poor performance(?) by the L-ville QB
skewed the current numbers as well.
The secondary has now been lit up 4 straight games in a row. NC State, BC, Miami & ND.
And by lit, it’s been TORCHED FOR 13 TD PASSES in these 4 games.
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…or on the other hand why run when you go nowhere with it – might as well pass.
Our run defense IS good. But when we play teams with a quick thinking QB our D-Line penetration is nullified… as we have seen lately.
This kinda bummed me out. In our four losses this is what opposing QBs did against us (totals for the four games):
79 /120 – 1,228 yards for 14 TDs and 2 INTs.
That is a QB rating of 160.25 which is huge. Attempt :TD ratio – 9:1 TD to Completion ratio – 5:1
(Is that correct – not the best with #s)
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Whoops…it’s been TORCHED FOR 14 td PASSES in these 4 games …along with 1235 yards. And despite the ball flying all over the place….only a measly 2 picks by Pitt’s secondary, even though, the Front 4 are applying decent pressure.
Technique and angles and just not knowing where you are on the field, where the ball is, etc.
is certainly a HUGE problem.
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Also interesting to note, since the schedule got tougher, 3 of the 4 QB’s in this stretch had their best performance of the year, by wide margins, against Pitt that being Devin Leary of NCSU & Ian Book of ND.
Jurkovic had his arguably best game of the season against Pitt, with a season high of 3 TD passes & his most passing yards (358) for a single game.
And King of Miami while not having his best QB rating game against Pitt, did throw for a season high 4 TD passes against this FCS secondary. (either by design or talent)
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So you’re saying HCPN isn’t a defensive genius and great evaluator of talent like 99 percent of Pitt fans believe?
I’d hate to be one of those fans.
Tex who likes to hurt feelings.
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You know Tex…I got a feeling if I went back and looked over the 6 years of these Doozer Defenses,
it would be shocking to see…..how many opponent QB’s had their season best performance against his Defense. Maybe even their career best performance like Zack Mahoney of Syracuse.
Mason Rudolph also comes to mind, kid passed for over 1000 yards in 2 games against Pitt.
In Rudolph’s 42 career games, with most in the pass happy, gun slinger Big 12. In all those games…42 of them…..HIS 2 BIGGEST passing Yardage games(540 & 497) came against a Dooz Defense.
So you tell me.
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That’s a pretty strong indictment. Didn’t something similar happen when they had that awful pass defense in 2016, too? E.G., Mitch Trubisky had 3700 yards passing that year and I think about a third of them came in one game against Pitt.
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Forgot about him, Mitch Trubisky had his 3 year career best game spanning 31 games against the Dooz Defense. Throwing for 453 yards and an incredible 5 TD, passes. Which matched Mason Rudolph’s 5 TD passes in a game against Pitt.
Rudolph though…did the 5 TD passes in one (1) half of play though. Ok State applied the mercy rule to Pitt and pulled him from the slaughter in the 3rd Quarter or he would have thrown for 600+ yards, maybe 700. lol
In another extremely embarrassing nationally televised Pitt beatdown.
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You can’t cherry pick stats by throwing out the Austin Peay game. Every other team had warm up games also.
Miami vs UAB
Clemson vs Citadel
ND vs South Florida
In the ACC, Pitt is 4th in D behind ND (9.8 points per game which is amazing), Clemson and Miami.
This teams issue is not on D.
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14 TD passes and 1235 yards (which equates to over 300 yards per game) in the last 4 games suggests it is. Did I cherry pick those stats too ?
The Defense stinks, as it has the majority of Dooz’s tenure.
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Those 1235 yards are just Passing Yards btw. Total Yards given up in this 4 game stretch is 1551 or almost 400 yards per game.
That by no criteria is a good defense.
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But Pitt is 99 out of 101 teams as the most penalized. Maybe Narduzzi needs to let his players shoplift a little or break some laws in order to get it out of their system. Because all that pent up badness manifests itself with holding calls and other Boneheaded penalties on game day.
I long for the Wanny days. I’d also take Cornhole over yellow blouse at this point. I know I struck a nerve there.
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this past Friday, Wisc got revenge by whipping Illini behind RS FR QB Graham Mertrz who went 20 for 21 in his debut.
Today, he tested positive for the 2nd day as did his back up as well as his HC, who tweeted today “Aw shucks, I got the dad-burned disease also” As did a handful of others, so now Nebraska who should be preparing for the 3rd team QB now has its game postponed thru no fault of its own.
Don’t get me wrong Covid can happen wo anyone. Heck, I just got back from taking my 93 year old Uncle to the VA for a check-up, so I may now have it myself (I did wear a mask) But it also bothers me that many teams who likely broke protocols may be actually be benefiting
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Not Rocket – you can cherry pick Pitt stats as long as you aren’t using just those to compare to other ball teams.
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True. If you make no statistical comparisons between teams, any stat can be good or bad in one’s own mind.
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4th is the ACC is 4th in the ACC.
PN is NOT getting fired no matter how many times Tex states it, LOL.
This should be there next OC. Previously OC experience.
https://ucfknights.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/darrell-wyatt/3955
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If I repeat a demand often enough, it will happen. I’m taking count. Already at 19 now since the game. Could take 10,000 times though.
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You can say it as much as you want 🙂
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Tex is not alone. Many, many Pitt fans are calling for major changes. And despite a tiny crowd last week, there was booing. I’m ready comments across two dailies and two boards running 8 to 10 to fire Narduzzi, 10 to 10 for firing Whipple right now.
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What was Todd Grahams favorite line?….foot on the gas or something like that.
Let’s play UCF style offense. Maddening to watch teams defend them.
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High Octane.
Well that one year Canada was OC, Pitt avg’d 41 ppg, but since we had the Dooz Special Keystone Cops Dfense….we still managed to lose 5 games.
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Yes! Pitt needs to go high octane.
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Todd’s Graham favorite line was “It’s all Tino;s fault”
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Speed, Speed, Speed…
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I think his favorite line was Lucas Nix at Tackle, Lumpy Jacobsen, Matt Rotheram, Artie Rowell, Arthur Doakes, and of course Hubie Graham, his nephew at TE! I liked him as a transfer, although he didnt use the port a transfer (portal).
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Can’t put your foot on the gas if your QB is running into the station to ask directions between each play!
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Excellent, Reed. Accurate and pithy.
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Whipple needs to go on all accounts, Period!
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Good Ike! How did that feel? You are making great progress.
Now, Close your eyes and think about the Head Coach…
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Off Topic Again For Me – Ike your english is all messed up. The losses are getting to you man.
After, on all accounts in your post, you put a comma and typed period. Shouldn’t you have replaced the comma with a . instead of the word? Finally, when you typed the word period, you used an exclamation point. I give you half credit on that one because at the bottom of the exclamation point, is a period. So, good effort. Sheeesh, Now I know why my kids are struggling with online English as it is so hard to figure out.
Relax big fella, relax.
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LOLHufflastofmyworriesaremyenglishandgrammar. BTW, I’ve lost 41 lbs, I’m not that big anymore
My three kids are doing just fine considering I helped raise them wit my bad grammar. I know you’re just jagging me Huff and I know jagging is not a word. Kamma, I am what I am and that’s all that I am. < Popeye
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Just having a little fun during the bye-out week…. i needed some balance, so thank you!
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Wait kamma did you not capitalize your eye Huff? You can play games with your vision but don’t play games with your eyes. I should have taken this buy-out week a little more serious Kamma you know Kamma buckled down and try an accomplish something constructive, like switch out my ez chairs. I like my overstuffed chair in my little man cave better. or !
I think it is time for an overhaul of the asst coaches at least. Just keep Charlie and Bates. PITT needs to get much younger.
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The oline is the problem and a 160# running back that can’t break an arm tackle.
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I’m more “realistic” than that REED. I’d rather waste my time wishing to win the lottery even though I don’t play it. << Same difference.
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I just put on Paul Zeise’s show on the Fan. He said he’s having Wanny on in about an hour… Could be interesting…
Go Pitt.
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Here’s how insane I am. I would love it if PITT hired Dave Wannstedt and righted a wrong they did to him. You guys want change? Well there is your answer. As Jack Lambert once said infamously, that ought to cool your ass down.
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From the Do Something department, I can’t understand why Pitt doesn’t can Whipple and use Beatty as OC for the rest of the year?
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The Duzz received this D guru acclaims while coaching in the Big 10…. if he would have coached I the ACC instead of the Big10 we would not be having this conversation as Pat would have never made the grade- he scheme doesn’t work in this conference ….. he is no CEO…. he has been given a fair chance and adequate time … biggest problem at PITT is the people who make the hires and how committed they are to doing it correctly….
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A little late, but I just wanted to say how happy I am to see Reed participating again. I missed you Reed!!
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Thanks Annie.
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And me as well.
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A very comprehensive article on Panther Prey about viable candidates as the next HC at PITT. See that TEX; you posted your list, now everyone feels compelled to follow. You’re a trend setter.
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I’ll have to check it out. I limited mine to only head coaches with offensive backgrounds. There are another 4 I like with defensive backgrounds. But you’d need to open the pocket book for a very good/young/solid coaching tree OC then.
I’ll be making a AD shortlist by weeks end. Riddick sits at the top.
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so Wanny supports HCPN enthusiastically,,,,not a surprise
also felt the 2-point conversion was the right call Indiana v PSUcks – shocking, right?
his fervor is fun to listen to and he still bleeds blue and gold,,,,not grey 😦
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Heather will let Pat slide so long as a few coaches are let go.
Whip will return to his rocker.
Salem will head for employment at BestBuy.
Borley will work as a fry cook.
We’ll get an offensive coordinator who’s an up and comer…maybe from Clarion or Grove City.
The offensive players will rave about how explosive the new scheme is. Easier to understand. And lethal to defenses.
In the spring game Kenny will throw for enough yards to reach the moon ( much like Voytek, the year he was later supplanted by Peterman)
Anticipation will build in the summer and come fall coach Pat will be asking, “Hey Jerry, tell me again why you didn’t rank us?”
We will beat some weaklings before the wheels come off. And then, what do you know…
Here we will be again.
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Pickett is probably 29
Move on man. Get a job. The NFL isn’t calling.
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Wanny said support the present coaches. I guess it is best for now.
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Wanny isn’t going to rock the boat. What he says in public is the corporate line. What he says in private is another matter.
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https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/paul-zeise/2020/10/27/pitt-panthers-football-pat-narduzzi-notre-dame-miami-acc-paul-zeise/stories/202010270118
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Whatever happened to Fraud? Is he still in coaching? He’s probably on the fast lane somewhere spending his millions.
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“Graham has agreed to a five-year deal with Hawaii. He will earn $760,000 base salary for the 2020 season and $800,000 annually from 2021 to 2024. The contract is worth a total of $3,960,000 for an average of $792,000 annually.Jan 22, 2020”
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I think he’s in Hawaii < no punctuation
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Yep
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Penny, I believe, has family there.
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Depends if you use the “official” spelling (US gov’t) or the spelling used by, you know, the people who are actually Hawai’ian and from the Big Island of Hawai’i like lets say… my wife.
Learned that when I lived there myself for three years. I’ll use their spelling, thanks. 🏖
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—Wanny said he’s on a text-message group with over 20 former Pitt players. Would be interesting to see those exchanges!!
—Wanny said he was drinking Terry Bradshaw bourbon during the call.
—Paul Zeise said how much he enjoys dealing with Wanny and mentioned that they had some laughs when Paul called Wanny to ask him to be on his show…
Go Pitt.
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MM, wow, Narduzzi makes that much in one year.
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I listened to that DW – Ziese podcast also. Kept expecting Wanny to come out with something like:
“At least my ass kicking by ND wasn’t as bad as Pat’s – I only lost by 21!”
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It was interesting though that when DW started talking about talented Pitt players who he had at Pitt they were all on offense. McCoy, Byham, Jason Pinkston…
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Where can I find this Wanny podcast?
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Know all about your love story from the big island Reed, you didn’t get on the boat or plane but turn around to capture your bride to be. So aloha.
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here is Dokish’s blog about potential HC’s. On Twitter, he comes off as a Pitt fan just like any of us who emotionally reacts to what is going on on the field or on the court. His blogs, however, seem to be well researched and provides much food for thought
https://panthersprey.blogspot.com/2020/10/looking-at-potential-candidates-to.html
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Correct. He’s more knowledgeable that most who criticize him gove him credit. He’s not a fanboy, mouthpiece, yada…yada..yada
He provides good insight and if one rejects/ridicules his input, that says more about the critic than Dokish.
No one has all the answers.
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Unless you’re me. 🤠
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Good bourbon imparts profound revelations. 😉
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He’s too thinned skin for a so-called journalist. He blocks anyone on Twitter who has a gall to not agree with him 100% on everything he tweets and he filters every post on his blog with the same proud filter. He’s full of himself….or something else you never want to step on….
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Dokish was TOTALLY on board with Narduzzi before and after his hiring. Enough said.
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and he was totally on board with Wanny’s firing and not because of any SI article or off-the-field activities. As I continue to say, he is an emotional fan like all of us …. but his blogs contain a lot of information. It is obviously well-researched
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The name Grinch would be fun… “I must stop the opponent from scoring, but how?”…
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With Coach Grinch, the alternate jerseys would be a yucky green color.
We would have an obvious song to replace Sweet Caroline.
Hopefully we wouldn’t stink, Stank, STUNK.
OK, I’m done.
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I would certainly prefer ‘You’re a mean one Mr Grinch’ over Sweet Caroline … anytime
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You’re as cuddly as a cactus,
You’re as charming as an eel,
Mr. Grinch.
You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel.
You’re a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart’s an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders.
You’ve got garlic in your soul, Mr Grinch.
I wouldn’t touch you with a
Thirty-nine and a half foot pole.
You’re a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile,
You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile,
Mr Grinch.
Given the choice between the two of you,
I’d take the seasick crocodile.
You’re a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You’re a nasty wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks.
Your soul is full of gunk,
Mr Grinch.
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Dokish is an emotional fan boy. Hypocritical to say the least. Thin skin. But he does do his research. So I respect that.
He’s got some from my list. Includes some D guys that I found as well. His list has retreads and coordinators with no hc experience. I would avoid those like the plague.
You need someone with HC experience.
Dokish also missed several viable candidates.
Point being, the list is around 40 names right now. And probably ends up at ten very strong and interested candidates after vetting.
If Pitt waits another year and the program turns into a dumpster fire which it will, pitt will lucky to have any interest. The pool of candidates will shrink.
And I think Wanny would be a great point man to raise funds for a MPC. I’d give my kidney to Wanny.
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Are we having a substitute prediction FB session this week or do we continue postulating past events? Maybe talk Pitt BB.
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I just sent Mike an article. He may or not use it.
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I posed this on Chris Peak’s free football board:
Heather Lyke: Come out, come out and face the press
John McGonigal in the PG: “And it would be nice to ask Lyke about Narduzzi, among other topics, and give her that chance. But she hasn’t spoken to local reporters since July.”
I wonder what the Lyke defenders on this board have to say about her NOT HAVING A WORD TO SAY TO PRESS SINCE JULY.
Derelict, fulsome with Narduzzi, arrogant. I’m sure her enablers will say how busy she is with women’s sports. At least Pederson took Walt Harris to task in 2001, you remember that season, don’t you? With great fanfare Pederson gushed as the Panthers played in Heinz to open the 2001 season – only to fall to South Florida (pre-Big East), Miami (Fla) and Syracuse 42-10, Pederson told Harris he was making a list of replacement head coaches. Harris manned up to win six straight and finish 7-5.
One Pitt fan’s reaction to Lyke: “If ADHL is going to keep Narduzzi no matter what happens the rest of the year, wouldn’t it be a good idea to come out and say he’ll be the head coach in 2021? That should reduce some of the negativity around the program since it would end speculation about his immediate future and should also benefit recruiting as well.”
Will a 6-5 finish save Narduzzi?
Paul Zeise has preached keep Narduzzi based on the dreaded stability conjecture. He now says this: “That case is getting tougher to make, though, and not necessarily just because Pitt lost to Notre Dame. It is how they lost that is troublesome because it was one of the few times a Narduzzi-coached team appeared to throw up the white flag and just quit. The trademark for his teams have been to fight and battle until the end of games, but on Saturday they looked like a defeated team by halftime. ”
Narduzzi’s 2020 team has quit on him. Narduzzi is over-paid and snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug with his contract extension (Lyke’s idiocy with the extension is generally not disputed by Pitt fans and local and national press; the ethics of this decision are under scrutiny).
As long as Heather hides out (in her office, basement, girls’ soccer, who cares?) nothing will improve, nothing will change.
We are sailing with the JMII flag, but as Lyke continues to flounder, the Dave Hart flag is ready for string-up. Are you too young to remember him? Use Wikipedia and inform yourself.
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And that’s being real.
Not negative
And where is the press.
I saw Wanny s team quit at the Miami beatdown
Saw narduzzis team do the same.
That tells you everything
Heather needs to find the money now for the buyout or go on record with a vote of confidence
The BoT needs to do the same with her
That’s how boards work in business. How parliamentary governments work in Europe.
But at Pitt it’s secretive and dishonest with hubris. That foul culture creates incompetence and mediocrity across the board and permeates everything not just sports.
Tex who wishes he could clone your thinking and transplant it
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I am in favor of getting rid of Sweet Caroline and replacing it with something more apropos to the Pitt fan experience. Possible suggestions include but are not limited to:
1) The Thrill is Gone by BB King
2) We could have the Pitt Band do a spoof on Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” and instead change it to “Don’t Start Believing.”
3) Weird Al could do a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and instead change it to, “I Can’t Make Pitt Win Games.”
4) Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” could be changed and rewritten for, “Tears in Oakland.”
5) The song that needs no rewriting but perfectly describes our fearless leader Pat Narduzzi is, “King Nothing,” by Metallica. Below is a sample of lyrics that makes me think of the Nard Dawg.
“And it all crashes down
And you break your crown
And you point your finger, but there’s no one around
Just want one thing, just to play the King
But the castle crumbled and you’re left with just a name
Where’s your crown, King Nothing?”
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Johnny cash’s cover of a NIN song has the verse ‘I wear this crown of expletive’
So King Pat does have a fitting crown.
🤴 💩
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Cash did change it to crown of thorns so go with the original by new castles own Trent Reznor.
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Hiding and avoiding the press is an image I didn’t have of Lyke. If this is true, she should be fired along with Narduzzi. Where are the people with some backbone at this university? If they want to keep Narduzzi they should stand up and make their case. I was not a big believer in firing Narduzzi, especially mid-season. But I do think that winning against FSU is a must or they are facing losing the rest of the season.
No one survives losing 8 straight to finish the year, but at least with 1 or 2 more wins they could go 5-6 and take a more measured look in the off season at replacing or not, given the COVID status right now. Even a 5-6 year is not exactly a vote of confidence that saves PN’s job. But he did lose Pickett in mid-season and the case could be made that he should get one more year to turn things around (with many assist coaching changes), and could possibly salvage the 2021 recruiting class which is supposedly pretty good. In any case, Lyke should get some backbone and face the public. It’s past time for a press conference.
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Bouncing back from a losing record season is supposed to happen in a HC’s first few years. Not in the 6th year with grand expectations of the talent on the team to win big.
That said, I was wary pre-season but most were not and felt they had valid and solid reasons for that optimism.
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Three months. 🦗
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I can’t say PN’s team quit on him. They sure worked hard and until the last whistle in our three previous losses.
I believe there is a big difference in being frustrated and tired in the 2nd half of a blowout (where the defense was on the field 40 minutes as this last game) and the players actually thinking ‘we’ll just mail it in for the rest of the season’.
If anything I think PN threw the towel in at the 1:22 mark of the first half. No need to recap that now.
But players are not stupid – when they see decisions like that from the leader it trickles down and creates that frustration and tiredness (especially emotionally tiredness).
I’m looking forward to the FSU game to see how we bounce back in the actual play. Coaching is a lost cause but we’ll see the players give 100% I think.
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The biggest reason to keep him now is unfortunately the financial and PR.
Pitt doesn’t have the money. No booster will rescue heather without calling in a major favor. And that would be unethical but common practice among sec schools.
Pitt doesn’t dare raid the general fund. That fund is not a hush fund for sports. It serves the mission statement. And Pitt has been laying off hundreds of university employees and contract workers. They are the covid casualties. Not Narduzzi.
Why bail out a fat cat like Narduzzi and shaft the regular working person.
And Pitt cannot touch the endowment so end of discussion.
I call bull on stability. How stable is a program when you completely turn over the staff every two years. Narduzzi can’t find good people. He can’t manage his staff. But boy to the players love him. Yep, let’s have the kids run the program. They get to pick out their coaches, practice drills and uniform colors.
The average tenure of a coach is only five years. This is year 6 already.
This is what I suggest. Obtain a loan payable over five years. Get boosters to make the annual payments…roughly $3 million. Boosters get to create the list. That’s how you sell it.
But if Pitt drags its feet, this program has a high probability of turning into a dumpster fire. That’s when things get unstable very fast. No viable candidate will want to walk into that situation.
Pitt must act now with haste. Do not delay. Do not prolong the inevitable. It’s time to move on.
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If they say finish 5-6, that means over their last 14 they are 6-8, not really good.
They crashed last season at the end losing really badly to VT and the BC loss last season was a disappointment.
They played a far inferior opponent in EMU and were unimpressive in the only bowl win the Narduzzi era.
Coming into this season it was hyped as the team being disrespected, having a QB that was severely underrated. Narduzzi’s best team.
I believe he is gone, in reality they are a poorly coached and undisciplined team. It is on display every week.
The offensive line is inept and it’s solely on recruiting and coaching.
Every team faces injuries, this is year 6 when Pitt should have quality depth because of solid recruiting.
Sadly we are mediocre trending downward because I think 4-7 is the ceiling for this team in 2020.
I thought Narduzzi could keep them around the 7/8 win threshold year in and year out with a flash of 9/10 wins maybe every 3/4 years.
His game day blunders continue. I think they pull the trigger unless there is a miraculous turnaround.
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I look for Pitt to wack FSU. They really should. Best team he ever had here, as most, not all, said prior to season. FSU is a hot mess, and nothing they’ve done to date gives you reason to believe they’ll be anything more than road kill. This SHOULD happen. GT is the same. The Clemson game is a lost cause. The game I look to is VaTech. That, more than the others, will, or should, determine his fate.
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But FSU has a new QB who I expect to give the Pitt defense fits. On the other side, FSU’s defensive line should have its way with our five marsh mellows.
It’s a three-game season to finish with a winning record. With Narduzzi surely back, finishing 6-5 is all I can hope for now. And with more minor bowl games likely to fall by the wayside after the Holiday Bowl cancelled, I can see a scenario where some ACC teams add another opponent on 12.19, while others are glad to end the season.
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Randy…the Noles did show up and smack the #5 Tarheels a couple of weeks ago. Mack Brown said ” We aren’t the #5 team in the nation” aat his post game. Duzz wanted almost demanded to be ranked without stepping onto the field this year after losing 2 outta his last 3 games in 2019…
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A couple good articles over at PSN about HCPN’s progress or lack thereof. It shows mild improvement. However, there is one piece of factoid that has yet to be mentioned in the articles. The information shows (no surprise) that HCPN’s improvement being in his first few years. As we all know, those teams were comprised of players from the DW/TG/PC teams. As such, the “argument” can be made that as his players have come through the system, Pitt has regressed. Obviously, I put quotations around argument because there really is none- it has all been laid out here on the POV numerous times and therefore is nothing new or surprising.
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His system? I understand soccer systems and formations far better but what system does Pitt use? Does it fit their identity? Does it fit their talent? Do coaches have experience running it?
To the ‘give him another year crowd’, what are the pros and cons?
I just don’t see many pros and those pros are all short term and shortlived.
A 4-5 win season this year would be a complete disaster. Covid year or not. Pitt doesn’t get a free pass.
Does anyone really think next year will be much better?
Does anyone really think a new coach could do worse than 7 win seasons when you only have to go 3-1 in ooc and 4-4 in conference. Plus you have a bowl to make 8.
How easy is that. Sign me up. I’d do it for free if heather wasn’t my boss. I’d hire the best and be relatively hands off. The buck would stop with me and I wouldn’t throw players and coaches under the bus.
I’d have tacos for brains.
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test. Am I thru the wordpress gate?
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Ok, I’m thru. Finally catching up a bit. I do like that Narduzzi has gotten through 6 years now, I think there’s much more data to fairly analyze at this point.
In hindsight, I don’t think it PN was a bad hire on paper, it was widely respected in third party media outlets and by most Pitt fans as well, and PN checked a lot of boxes at the time, but I think it’s reasonably clear that it’s time to move on. And no, I don’t think a change will be made until after next season, but hopefully I am wrong.
As for the remainder of the season, I would foresee one more win, and that’s next weekend against Florida St., but if Narduzzi has lost the team as per the effort vs Notre Dame, I could foresee ending the season without another win (barring an unlikely spark from a new QB).
This is not Stallings-level-bad by any stretch, but I think the same concerns apply, which is that there will also be a substantial cost in keeping PN which has to be weighed against the buyout cost, assuming the team’s downward spiral continues thru season’s end.
In the end, if I were to pick one unit on the team that has contributed the most to Narduzzi’s downfall, I’d select the offensive line due to poor recruiting and development, and it’s really that unit that PN benefitted from the most following Chryst’s departure (in terms of what Chryst left behind).
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If Narduzzi is kept, expect to see many season ticket holders not renew, drop in donations, tougher to recruit, tougher to attract and retain staff, dwindling pool of viable candidate replacements.
I don’t see much upside in prolonging the inevitable. Heather needs to find the money. Best course is via a loan backed by boosters.
It’s not THE answer but it is a reasonable solution.
Believe me I’ve run roughly one thousand simulations in my mind and this one is the best given circumstances.
And I don’t use my Tardis on this one.
Tex whose anxiously awaiting the next Dune movie.
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Tex:
They are likely pretty solid in what they know about season tickets. They gave you a choice to get your money back, apply it to next year or donate it to Pitt. My wife wanted to donate it. I vetoed and we rolled it over knowing the team will be bad next year.
Because I do not read anything we essentially donated the money because they hit me for 800 bucks for 4 ND tickets.
Kids read your email carefully. No way would I have agreed to pay 200 bucks a ticket.
I emailed Heather during the ND game……… no response
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is it possible to do an exclusive on the Pitt BOT and who is involved, what there ties are to the University and Football program and how much money is actually donated to just the football program and where that amount falls in the ACC – FordsTavrenH2P
There are a lot of trustees, so that might take a little time to look into.
https://www.chancellor.pitt.edu/governance/board-trustees
As to the donations, that’s probably a little more investigative than I usually get. To be honest, I wouldn’t know where to begin looking.
i posted in mail bag at panterlair and this is the response. i was wondering if anybody really know the answer?
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That’s a tough nut to crack. I’ll pass but I’m sure there are commenters who would love to comment. How much is the truth is anybody’s guess.
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The BoT is more concerned with academics as it should be.
The structure and composition bylaws are outdated. It’s far too large and unwieldy. A third of its members are appointed bureaucrats.
Connection to the school not required. So many of the rules governing this body are archaic and sadly don’t support the fact that Pitt for all intents and purposes is a private school. Last year, roughly 7 percent of its 2 billion dollar budget was subsidized by the commonwealth.
However I have noticed fewer Nitters on the board. But having a sports or business acumen and passion is not a prerequisite.
Bottom line, the board is too large and doesn’t reflect modern day realities with education. It needs to be restructured and revised with working bylaws that make sense for where education is heading including the continued decline in state related funding, the changes in federal research dollars, evolving partnerships with regional businesses, changing demographics of the student body, covid and online learning.
Pitt tries to be everything for everyone. That’s not sustainable or the proper mission if you ask me.
The BoT influences the culture at Pitt. I’m a big advocate of two smaller boards – one for academics and the other for athletics.
The last I saw, pitt received roughly ten million dollars in athletic donations each year. That number is very stable. It excludes the roughly $20 million raised for the long term Victory Heights ininitiative coating in excess of $200 million.
Pitt alumni have one of the lowest gifting rates of any P5 school. For sports that is. I assume football gets the bulk of the support.
Texas a&M football raised $700 million in less than two years after Manziel won the heisman. It would take pitt 70 years to do that.
Sports is an afterthought at Pitt and will be until there is a connection and ways to increase school spirit and pride associated with sports being a fabric of students daily lives and alumnus identities.
Structural change is needed if you want to achieve sports excellence. Structure creates and nurtures the culture. Culture determines success and drives revenues and support.
I’m a realist. It will never happen at Pitt. But it doesn’t excuse King Pat or miss yellow blouse or mister atom counter.
Tex who loves to end on a low note.
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Thanks Tex
2 separate boards would make to much sense. I myself feel like Pitt has fallen into Pirate territory and I will no longer support or watch to something changes
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Do Zeise’s current comments have anything to do with his sonny boy no longer attending Pitt? If memory serves me, he never uttered or wrote a bad word about King Pat while his son was on a free ride there.
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He couldn’t write or utter a word, bad or otherwise, while his son was on the team. Simple reason: newspaper ethics and an obvious conflict of interest.
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newspaper ethics
that is laughable
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He openly stated that he wouldn’t talk about Pitt when his son started playing. I mean, it’s an obvious conflict of interest.
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He has given Meatball a chance and said if he wins out & goes 5-6 he will keep him for another season.
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I will make one guarantee for the next football season. Actual, physical attendance numbers will skyrocket!! Can you see that on our AD’s CV – Increased attendance 700% over prior year. Good grief! )
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Don’t put it past heather to market this way. Heather the sponsor of Fanta. And my parents experience with Pitt hasn’t been all that good either. Personally, pretty sloppy how they treat vets.
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She’s trying to build her resume for the Sparty job. She’s in a tough place. Admit she made a mistake and eat the buyout. Or continue mediocrity and allow the program to turn into a dumpster fire.
Green is the new yellow
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By the way I started the Fanta joke and Yellow Blouse as well. Haha.
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Ike wishes you didn’t.
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It’s funnier when Mark says it.
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Let’s not forget Rockports
and “Herman”, Mark.
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Here’s Another for Reading Between the Lines – Sometimes you have to read between the lines at other places, in order to improve your own house. Case in point:
I have said this for years and I will reiterate now. Nick Saban has a staff of football analysts that are paid between $30k – $50k per year, to review tape, develop tendencies (of their team and opponents) and strategies and to consult with him and his coaches. This years analysts include Mike Stoops, Butch Jones, Major Applewhite and Steve Sarkisian (who has now been promoted to OC). In addition, Saban has 6 or 7 others that have specialized experience (special teams,Etc.), and also several with no football experience (playing or coaching).
Wow, that is remarkable. What a brain trust!! This is outside the box thinking and thinking that our HC and AD are incapable of performing. These are fan type people that he says often produce the best thoughts because they aren’t ingrained in a specific theory, alignment or platform. They question the standard at no risk of getting canned. These analysts do not get counted as coaches as there is a limit for every P5 team.
Analysts can be unlimited in numbers and the risk/reward to the organization is one-sided towards reward. Why doesn”t Narduzzi do this? If he does, who are the “analysts”? Maybe those that question in-game strategy and know what is going to be called would do a great job for Pitt. We all gain knowledge from many resources as we get older. Saban gets a diverse group of football watchers and thought provokers (like the POV).
In return, the dudes know that Saban will rehab them or get them their first real job in football if they perform. What a concept. I would gladly accept to be in Nards first class. Well, if he can make it through this year.
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One thing fans overlook, or forget because it has been written about on here, is that Pitt’s campus is located directly in a city that has a wide range of cultural, physical and other things for the students to do.
Much different then 15,000+ or so kids being stuck on a rural campus where entertainment diversions are limited.
Wonder why PSU draws 110,000 at each home game which a huge student section always filled to the brim?What in hell else is there to do in Happy Valley (or where some other big programs’ campuses are located)?
This is not an excuse because we know student apathy toward football is rampant in Oakland, but another reason why actual students living on-campus are not flooding the games.
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Not to mention a fact that you need a train, plane and bus to get to the games. If there was an OCS more would go because they were fun and it is a block away.
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Absolutely. In fact, they should go with Complit’s ORIGINAL idea to move the frick’n Frick and build the OCS in the shadow of the Cathedral.
That way it becomes a statement about Pitt’s TOTAL commitment to being a MAJOR D-1 Program.
Also makes it easy for LAZY college students to stumble out of bed on Saturday morning and make it to the Game!
The idea actually makes too much sense.
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Jackie said his recruits needed to like concrete under their feet.
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Thought that was Tony Siragusa? or both.
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Tony liked the bouncers neck under his foot.
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I have heard many on here suggest Louis Riddick as the next A.D. I am not opposed. I am curious to learn from those on here that have inside connections with the University and Athletic Department, does anybody know if it is something that he would be interested in? Seems like he has a nice career going and, despite all the endorsements on this blog, I would be surprised if he were interested should the position open.
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No inside info, but Louis was the keynote speaker a couple of years ago at the Kickoff Luncheon. Gave an excellent talk — spoke passionately about Pitt. He said it’s personal to him.
Also, Louis was supposed to have said recently that he’d like to end his career working in Pittsburgh… Humm…..
I imagine Louis and Tex have been in communication. 😊
Go Pitt.
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Penn State’s final game is hosting Mich St on Dec 12 — we may see another kind of white-out. Mid December games in Mich, Iowa, and Wis may be fun
The Big 10 has an 8 game schedule with NO makeups. Thus, Wisconsin may be only playing 5 or 6 games with its 21 day quarantine protocol …. tho I’m sure they’ll get out of a 3 week quarantine somehow
in reference to Huff’s comments above …. I actually believe there should be a 16 team Super Conference in CFB and have thought that for some time. Face it, there are probably less than 16 teams that will ever have a chance to making the Final 4 anyway
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well, I see Pitt’s #1 men’s soccer team is cancelling its final 2 league games due to Covid. Wonder if this will affect its rating
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https://news.yahoo.com/pitt-soccer-cancels-final-two-075231973.html
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If Pitt football was ranked number 1 at this point, I’d cancel the season as well. Why risk SOP?
🤠
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I heard a rumor that the BOT meeting was about moving the main PITT campus to Johnstown and building an on campus 12,00 seat stadium. You know, after they fire Heather, Narduzzi and everyone else. Seems as plausible as anything else I’ve read on the POV for the past few weeks. The BOT will hire Jim Tressel as AD and Tom Brady as the new (old) head coach. Bill Pedudo (mr bike lane) approves of this message.
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Watching Carolina Atlanta. Quadree (or is it Qadree) Ollison gets his FIRST carry of the season and it goes for a CRITICAL first down.
Obviously something to watch here as another Pitt Player recruited by Chryst makes his mark in the NFL.
Even more interesting is how SLIMMED down Ollison looks. Must be on the “Conner Diet Plan.”
Maybe Narduzzi and Lyke need to consider hiring a new Dietician.
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PoD, you conveniently forgot to mention that Ollison did his slimming down PRIOR to his final season UNDER both Narduzzi and Lyke … ALLOWING him to be drafted in the 5th round
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You might want to check the POV tape from back around that time. A certain contributor to this Blog CORRECTLY forecast Ollison being drafted (not Hall) and actually went so far as to ACCURATELY project his forty time at the Combine.
But then again, maybe not. Lol.
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All in good fun. At least from my perspective.
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Since we are giving out false credit for his weight loss, I would also suggest that Gallagher and the BoT get credit. Please don’t give credit to the player.
Also, he is averaging a solid 2.3 yards per carry in the nfl, but does score touchdowns which seems to indicate they use him in short yard situations. After this year, if he can stay in the league for two more years, he will get a pension, which would be great. Q always seems to be positive and a real nice person, so I wish him well for sure.
He is in a great position right now, backing up Gurley. This will help his body not break down and hopefully get him a second contract!
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IMO The Tweet of the Day …
Will Brinson@WillBrinson
Pro tip: Do not ever ever ever ever ever live in swing state during a presidential election.
I would pay $100 for an Applebee’s “I like I love it” shrimp fiesta commercial right now.
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I was thinking how happy I will be next Wednesday when I won’t have to watch a flood of attack ads from both sides.
Give me a stupid Geico ad!
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Question of the day… Has any Athletic Director ever done anything so SHORTSIGHTED as to grant a SEVEN year extension to a First-time Head Coach with TWO Bowl losses and a .636 winning percentage under his belt?
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Oh, I think there was an AD who actually tore down a school’s Football Stadium and replaced it with a Basketball Court.
Might have been the same school.
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pitt hires cheap and then has them learn on the job.
A tactic used by small business with mixed success. But no large company embraces this way of hiring.
You always want to hire the best and pay them market. Once one validates the hiring with results and is a good fit, you pay them above market as a retention tactic.
Unfortunately Pitt hires people with potential and pays them below market. Then after a few short years of ok performance, an extension is granted bringing your pay to market.
Both Narduzzi and heather are prime examples.
The hiring process is flawed at Pitt. Pitt has the money to hire at market. But It’s too lazy and stupid to create candidate lists so it relies on expensive search firms who provide often inexperienced candidates who are poor fits.
Although the dokish list isn’t perfect, I could find at least five viable candidates from his research and analysis. Far better than what you get from search firms. But I know what to look for in a coach.
This might sound strange but I’d want Wanny and Walt to be on my five person team who select the next coach. They know football. Have connections. Are well respected. And love Pitt.
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keep em coming POD…..many more gaffe’s but that is a different article…Got to support them PITTSBURGH Panthers!
I will support Heather on one of your points. At least she didn’t give him a 10 year extension if you want to look at the positive of the blunder. And who says I don”t find the positives with the AD!!
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Something from P-G’s Ziese:
According to College Football News, there are 29 teams ranked ahead of Pitt whose coaches have been there less than Narduzzi’s 6-year tenure, with 16 of them in the top 25, including the likes of Louisiana, Coastal Carolina, SMU, BC, Purdue, BYU, Arkansas and Cincinnati.
Zeise: Again, he has to get better. The only question now is can and will he get better
DJ: Are we being unreasonable to expect Pitt to now and then get into the top 25?
Zeise: Nope Pitt should be a Top 25 team more often than not. It has the resources, facilities, academics and location to do just that. Pitt has just been horrible at tapping into those things
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Guys, fans miss the point on why Pitt has hired search firms when looking for HCs. It is because of some of their reasoning behind Harris’s and DW’s departures….or in DW’s case firing but both were pushed out.
Pitt wants squeaky clean candidates to choose from (missed with Haywood) and to do that they want as much detailed background as possible. Thus the professional executive search firm – which know nothing about what a college HC’s job entails.
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That’s ridiculous if that’s the reason. And we’ve seen what that gives us. Inexperienced candidates without proven records of success who can be brought in below market. And so pitt can avoid all accountability with the hiring. I’m assuming the BoT tells Gallagher to hire this way? If you are correct Reed, then a search committee needs to find new members of the BoT. Practice what you preach Pitt.
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Agree with Tex on this. Using search firms is a way to put the blame on them if the coach doesnt work out. It wasnt just Haywood. Pitt used Collegiate Sports Associates to hire Stallings too. Pitt Administration (Gallagher, Lyke and BoT) are viewed outside of Pittsburgh as incompetent. You will never hear this expressed in the media because that is the collegial fraternity environment within which they ply their respective trades.
A quality AD knows all the skeletons in a coaches closet. If you are a quality AD, part of your job is to meet and get to know coaches, family, friends and background during national coaches conventions, AD conventions, etc. It requires work. AD”s for the most part are overpaid and lazy. They get Presidents and Chancellors to believe that this is the only way to access quality coaches and that they can use the firms as intermediaries to gauge interest and will not be seen as interfering with another AD’s coach. Think about that for a second. Whats the difference if an AD approaches a coach directly for Pitt versus an intermediary approaching the same coach for Pitt. It’s stupid logic that administrators buy into. This is just one of the areas that they “sell” to incompetent sports leaders in Administrative positions, in an effort to shield them from accountability.
Wow Chancellor, we’ll never use that Collegiate Sports Associates again…they stink….they are awful….instead of Wow Chancellor, all my due diligence and hard work I personally did, would not typically lead to this result. This is on me.
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Doubt this means much as far as our game is concerned:
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2020/10/29/Clemson-QB-Trevor-Lawrence-tests-positive-for-COVID-19/stories/202010290194
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An article by peak where he does his best to convince himself not to jump off the incline on mount Washington.
https://pittsburgh.rivals.com/news/the-3-2-1-column-the-state-of-things-the-defense-expectations-and-more
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PSN’s two part take on Narduzzi:
Part 1
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2020/10/28/analyzing-pitts-progress-under-pat-narduzzi/
Part 2
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2020/10/29/analyzing-pitts-progress-under-pat-narduzzi-pt-2-a-downward-trend/
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I bring up saragin and rpi rankings all the time
I bet their next article will be looking at recruiting based on the percentage of class rated 5.7 stars and above and comparing to other coastal schools
Next I know they’ll be using my free candidate list and then mentioning a MPC based on the Stade Pierre Mauroy concept.
I should have been a sports writer.
Tex who likes to toot his Texas LONG horn.
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How about Texas losing that stud QB as he announced his decommit from the school two days ago. He was the highest-rated QB since Vince Young and that has been the sport talk the past two days here in Austin.
If Herman loses to OSU this Saturday I can only wonder what his job status will be the rest of the way. Cutting checks during Covid won’t be a problem for the Longhorns.
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He’ll be on the hot seat for sure. Based on Texas’s spend, they should be a top ten program every year competing for national championships every 4-5 years. They have no excuses.
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Did I mention that heather hasn’t said a word on the football program in over three months. That’s not normal. It’s negligent.
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The Trevor Lawrence situation is going to be interesting to watch.
Players testing positive required to sit out at least 10 days. That would SEEM to extend past next weekend and the much-anticipated showdown with Notre Dame.
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He will have 3 negative tests by then come hell or high water.
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it may take 100 tests being taken to get the 3 negative they need so better get swabbing 🙂
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I believe ACC tests are done at Duke Medical in Raleigh. Could be easily switched to Duke Campus located in Greensboro.
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One word to describe Pitt’s football prowess and fans ability to deal with it:
Impotence
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There is a treatment for that. But we fans are few and far between who enjoy sports and are passionate. BoT doesn’t care.
Don’t write heather. Write to the 36 board members.
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Aka, SOP
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I’m starting to change my direction of fury concerning Pitt football from Narduzzi to Lyke. She has let this slow degrading performance over the years go on too long. We don’t know what the dynamics are between her and Narduzzi, such as is she demanding better performance or maybe even mandating some changes, and worst of all she has failed in her responsibility to communicate effectively with Pitt fans and the general public.
I was quite surprised to read that she has failed to respond to requests by local reporters and PSN for interviews throughout the summer and football season. It is the job of the Athletics Director to communicate the university’s position on major sports, and to publicly express its happiness or displeasure with the ongoing state of affairs, and then say what is being done about it. If they are keeping Narduzzi then she should publicly explain what changes will be made and then give a vote of confidence.
This she has not done, and I’m leaning to the position that she is incapable of running a P5 athletics dept. I expected more backbone from her and the Pitt administration, but given the last 10 years’ football results we can only conclude that things are on track or else they just don’t care.
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Narduzzi helped hire her. She paid him back. She’s aiming for a higher gig like Sparty. It makes perfect sense. She has no loyalty to Pitt.
Pledge not your loyalty to any flawed individual, pledge your loyalty to something greater than yourself, to something that is everlasting.
Heather is an abject failure and utterly faithless.
I really think riddick or Wanny is very much needed now. Right now.
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Heather not doing interviews? I thought everyone was sick of her in the media? Heather gets blasted when she wakes up and gets dressed. She can’t even do that right in some peoples eyes.
Don’t worry about where they they test for Covid, Saban tested positive one day and negative the next day. These are the obstacles that PITT deals with all the time. PITT plays uphill daily, everyday and all day. Let’s be real folks.
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Heather is color blind. When she slips into that yellow blouse every morning, she actually thinks it’s green. That’s her preferred color. She needs to go. I know a good real estate agent and have connections with administrators at private schools in Michigan. The sooner she leaves for Sparty, the better. I hear her husband has relatives there.
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If Heather had anything to do with last week’s uniforms then we’ll know for sure she’s color blind.
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Anyone’s who’s had a common cold in the last 3-5 years will test positive. A common cold is a covid virus. It’s like poppy seeds rendering a positive for morphine use.
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ND plays Georgia tomorrow on ch4 at 3:30. We’ll soon know how good ND really is. If ND gets waxed then at least Pitt players/coaches will know exactly how much they stink. If ND beats Georgia by 10 or more then Pitt won’t feel so bad.
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I believe Norte Dame plays Georgia Tech tomorrow. Slight difference.
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