Once more into the introductory press conference, dear friends. Once more.
Pat Narduzzi will be introduced in a few minutes as Pitt’s newest football head coach. Here’s the link for the live stream of the presser.
I look forward to believing.
I don’t look forward to the mindless complaints that are sure to come with the reports that Pat Narduzzi will finish his duties at Michigan State as defensive coordinator in the Cotton Bowl. I dare anyone to bet against me that Ron Cook will lead the charge to complain about this.
There is no problem with this. He is very close with MSU HC Mark Dantonio. Michigan State has been very good to him (and paid him well), and he leaves on good terms. There is no doubt he and Pitt will get positive coverage during the bowl game.
The bowl is in less than a week. It is a recruiting dead period. By all reports he is already working on creating a new staff.
Pitt still has an interim coaching staff trying to get ready for their bowl game. Minimize the overlap if at all possible so the players — especially the seniors — have a chance to finish well.
Don’t look for reasons to be unhappy.
Reed elaborated well on a lot of the message that I was trying to convey in my commentary on Chryst laying a foundation for the program, but I’ll add to it.
When I say he built a foundation, it goes mostly to building an identity that current and future players will embrace. Chryst made a concerted effort to bring the team together and establish a unified identity. It took basically two years and there was a lot of attrition along the way, but this is by all accounts a very close team that takes a lot of pride in each other and the idea of playing for Pitt.
That was a point echoed early on in the preseason as something that really stuck out about this group, especially because it wasn’t necessarily there with previous teams, particularly those immediately caught in the Wanny-Haywood-Graham coaching transition.
You see continue to see it with a lot of these guys through comments they give to various media outlets and also in social media. It starts with the two most public faces of the team – Boyd and Conner – but it shows through in tweets made by a number of players. You saw it in tweets from players after it became clear that Chryst was leaving. Everything was about pride in the PITT name and program, not anger and frustration that we saw during previous changes. That’s an identity and a foundation.
Did this translate completely on the field? Well, no. But that’s only half of it. A lot of these younger players are actively involved in recruiting. Whitehead is said to be very close with Conner & Boyd, and also a number of the current commits. Shareef Miller and McKee both apparently hit it off with a number of younger players during their respective visits, and that was before Narduzzi came on board. Jamal Davis, who may be starting at LB sooner rather than later, has been all over Twitter talking up Narduzzi because of previous contacts he had with him.
That sort of thing can be nothing but a (huge) plus when it comes to recruiting, especially given that the core of this team is so young.
That’s what I mean about the foundation.
As far as Chryst’s 19-19 record or what the team did last year, that’s last year. Yes, the defense was bad, but I’m not convinced it was bad because the talent was bad. What if a lot of that talent just very young and not necessarily developed the right way? What if that changes?
Or what if a lot of that talent was misused in schemes that weren’t correct by the previous coaches? What if THAT changes?
I know Narduzzi is not going to be DC here, but we already know it’ll be based on and coached according to the same model he used at Michigan State with coaches he wants coaching it. So with that in mind, watch Michigan State DE Shilique Calhoun and think of what Rori Blair could become with the same kind of coaching. That same scheme and coaching took a two-star DB named Darqueze Dennard and turned him into the top-rated CB in the 2014 NFL Draft; think of what he could do with Jordan Whitehead.
And if it IS a problem with talent being bad, it won’t be entirely difficult to fix that. Narduzzi has a strong track record as a recruiter and is said to be emphasizing assistants with strong recruiting backgrounds as well. There’s also talk of a national recruiting position being created here. That will all translate sooner rather than later.
Sorry though, when anyone says something nice about Chryst I start seeing red.
I don’t want to talk about it any more either. It serves no purpose.
Tell me who HCPN works for right now?
DC candidates I would like to see interviewed:
1. Todd Orlando is always welcome in Pittsburgh.
2. Jerry Olsalvsky – Steeler D coach
3. Missouri DC
4. Former USC DC under Lane Kiffin
There, HCPN can relax and prep for Baylor.
HTP!
At least he did one superb thing for us.
So the first “real” news I hear regarding our new head coaches actions, as a HC, is him offering a HS junior out of FL a scholly for 2016? Is it just me or does everybody else also see the obvious irony of this as being a huge lack of attention to the true priorities of Coach Narduzzi’s current situation?
Very unsettling.
Possibility as OC?
It feels like SOP – sorry.
While I like the hiring of HCPN, I don’t like his arrival time. Punch in, we have work to do.
It is like bashing an ex after a break up. No one wants to hear that bullshit and it makes you look like a bitter loser, lol.
BTW, who was this guy Coach Chryst again that so many guys seem to be preoccupied with? Hard to go fast when focused on the rear view mirror!
Dr. Tom – With regard to your post at 8:42, yes I do believe it’s you. At times like this we’re all in the dark and don’t know what HCPN has done yet, and it’s only been 2 days. Therefore would advise to chill.
SOP – Splash! Only (at) Pitt
Narduzzi has been definitively reported to have been talking to Pitt commits on the phone to reassure them–and I am sure he is being ably assisted by Junko and LaSala in that regard. There isn’t much more you can do right now since some assistant coach candidates are still coaching in bowl games and we are in the NCAA recruiting “dead period.” No face-to-face contact with recruits is allowed by the NCAA until January 15–so tis telephone work is all that can be done now.
So, given bowl games and the NCAA dead period, what can be usefully be done this week is being done and no opportunities are being lost. We do need to chill!
He’s reaching out to recruits. The FL kid was someone he recruited for Michigan St but the kid wanted to play in the ACC so they stopped recruiting him … That changed and maybe he’s a perfect fit for what Narduzzi wants to do.
Stop over analyzing everything. It was a weak class anyways and small and not a lot can be done because it’s a dead period. If Pitt was going to lose a class this is the one. Very few big names to get upset over if they switch.
Did you guys really think he’d poach his mentors and friends staff of the best talent? He’s going to create his own staff. Everyone’s getting ready for bowl games and it’s the holidays. Not much would get done even if he did join Pitt full time now.
BTW – Dokish has been retweeting several current recruits who have spoken with Narduzzi already … sounds like he’s doing his job to me.
I just find it hilarious that people find it insulting he’d want to finish what he started. People complain about loyalty from Pitt coaches constantly … and when we hire someone who shows loyalty he gets pounced on.
HCPC’s loyalty was always to Wisconsin so it shouldn’t be a surprise he’s not coaching for Pitt.
Tulsa, man we’re talk in’ Tulsa
C’mon man
that speaks volumes in my opinion…
It was ONLY because the money was more.
Interesting, Tulsa can get Baylor’s OC to start immediately after hiring him, but Pitt can’t get Baylor’s opponents, DC to start immediately.
I would have insisted and if not, it was a deal breaker.
If you’re truly following Narduzzi, he’s been interviewing staff and contacting recruits and even offered someone for next year. Stop trying to pick him apart without giving him a chance. If you didn’t like the hire – fine. Don’t make up convoluted BS to disparage him before he even hires a staff, closes a recruiting class or wins a game.
