Been quite a bit of stuff for Pitt football with some coaching changes and the final signing day looming. Not going to get to them all, but I’ll touch on yesterday’s news.
Pitt grabbed a new assistant and a grad transfer from MAC schools yesterday. Both seem like good additions.
Last week was a surprisingly active week for Pitt football. Players left the program and it’s time to find a new coordinator.
After the early signing period, Pitt was over the 85 scholarship player. That meant transfers were on the way. It was just a matter of who and when.
That day came on Friday.
In an otherwise predictable loss by Pitt to Louisville, there was the added bonus of Coach Kevin Stallings getting into it with a fan or two near the end of the game.
During the second half, with the game well out of reach, Stallings reacted to a fan near his team’s bench who the Pitt coach said was saying “something bad” about his players. At a certain point, Stallings responded, according to various reports, by saying “At least we didn’t pay our guys $100,000.”
…
“We’re down, the game’s over with; you don’t need to insult kids that are out there trying to fight hard and do their best,” Stallings said after the game. “I should have chosen some different words, but I’m not going to let people take shots at our players.”
When asked, the second-year Pitt coach declined to elaborate what the fan said about his players.
“That’s enough,” Stallings said.
I know, color me shocked as well that a coach who has a history of outbursts that get caught on a mike did so once more.
Extensions. Contract lengths. Those are all vague concepts when it comes to contracts for college coaches. The buyout is the thing, and a new contract/extension for 7 years (or a 2 year extension if you prefer) certainly will up the buyout.
Sorry, burying the lead. During the basketball game last night, there were tweets coming out of an extension in the works for Coach Pat Narduzzi. Along with increasing the salary pool for assistants.
Sure enough.
I can’t stop thinking about the Tennessee-Schiano stuff. It has been absolutely fascinating in so many ways. Whether seeing the stuff play out like an alternate dimension Pitt-Stallings hire. To the media aspect. To use of a highly questionable narrative to torpedo the hire. So much stuff is there.
Hi everyone! Long time no see. I wish I had more time to write these days but unfortunately I lack the time to put the thought into things that I prefer to write. I still haven’t finished Stranger Things season 2. There’s not going to be a lot of deep thought here, just frustration.
I had a feeling heading into this season that it was a transition year. Pitt lost a lot of talent on offense and the defense was still going to be a work in progress. Matt Canada left, forcing the offense into their 3rd coordinator in 3 years. Narduzzi did a good job with his first two picks so I gave him the benefit of the doubt on Shawn Watson. But it was clear the offense would take a step back no matter what. (more…)
With the exception of certain Offensive Coordinators (Scot Loeffler), we really don’t know for sure how things will go. Matt Canada was a decent, but not outstanding OC. He was fired/scapegoated by NC State’s HC Dave Doereen, and seemingly ended up at Pitt because of his ties to HC Pat Narduzzi. Nothing about the hire screamed revolutionary, outstanding. At most it seemed like a decent fit, and wasn’t horrible.
Instead his schemes meshed perfectly with the players. The players took to it, and quite literally ran with it. Pitt’s offense went from slightly above average — with Tyler Boyd — to explosive. All while in a pro-style offense. He parlayed that into one becoming one of the highest paid assistants in college football, and a couple steps closer to becoming a head coach within a few years.
Less then a week to the first game. I’m ready to hit the turnpike now. Head Coach Pat Narduzzi had his press conference today, and the game notes with the depth chart (PDF, p. 3).
That’s the big thing. Plenty of speculation, but between injuries, key suspensions and players kicked off the team; there have been some questions.
Shall we parse?
This is so stupid.
It has been seven weeks since Cam Johnson made it known that he was transferring from Pitt as a grad transfer with two full years of eligibility left. To no one’s surprise the process of finding a new home has been a slow one.
A long-armed, tall guard who shoots better then 40% on 3s. From a Power conference. He was going to be in demand. And he was. Teams like Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon and others all contacted him. He took plenty of visits.
It was clear that Johnson was looking to play at a big name school where he would get plenty of exposure.
Sure, dump three bits of news on one day. It’s not like this time of year is starved for content or anything.
Pat Narduzzi is not a quick starter on the recruiting trail. We all know it. It is a bit maddening. Yet, even by his standards, this class has been slow to start. Pitt finally added commit number two. A QB from New Jersey.
Nick Patti, a 6-foot-3 quarterback from St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., has committed to Pitt.
Patti announced the news Wednesday afternoon on Twitter, becoming the second verbal pledge in coach Pat Narduzzi’s 2018 recruiting class. He’s rated a two-star prospect by Rivals.com and a three-star by some other scouting sites.
According to Rivals, Patti chose Pitt over offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Rutgers and others. He’s considered a pro-style passer, and figures to be Narduzzi’s only quarterback in the class of 2018.
Just before the weekend, articles were published following a sit-down with basketball head coach Kevin Stallings. A transcript of the interview was also put out on Saturday, to help flesh things a little further.
This is Stallings at his best and worst as far as a public figure. He is candid, open about a lot of things and doesn’t hide behind as much coachspeak. That same honesty, though, can make him come off like an ass, and someone who puts the blame everywhere but on himself.
[Editor note. I had this drafted on Sunday, I swear. But I kept revisiting, and adding to it. SO much to chew on in this.Just posting it at this point before I do more revisions.]
So the two weeks have been close to positive for Pitt basketball and coach Kevin Stallings. Or at least as good as it’s been since the season ended.
No one else left, a couple coaches hired, a NLI signed and now a transfer. Let’s review.
These numbers are bad no matter how you massage them.
Since the end of Stallings’ first season – and the first losing season at Pitt (16-17, 4-14 ACC) since 2000 — four players have announced plans to transfer, including sophomore Cam Johnson, who would have been Pitt’s top returning scorer. A fifth player — point guard Justice Kithcart — was dismissed by Stallings near the end of the season.
That’s in addition to the loss of four seniors, all of whom were starters.
Nine players out, and six coming in (at the moment). It stands to reason that sooner or later, new AD Heather Lyke would get asked about basketball coach Kevin Stallings and Pitt basketball.
The first two years for Pitt under Head Coach Pat Narduzzi, have been mostly positive. The defensive-minded coach, though, has had to rely on the offense to be the side doing the heavy lifting.
The lack of depth and overall talent on the defense has been glaring — especially with the type of defense Narduzzi utilizes. Bringing pressure constantly without going all-out blitz. It relies on overall speed, depth to bring fresh bodies, and individual talents. All things missing from the defense.
NCAA Tournament has mostly gone according to chalk. Not been a good one for the ACC, as a whole. Down went Louisville, Virginia and Notre Dame. This is what it has felt like in the ACC for the last couple decades. Everyone flaming out and stuck hate-rooting for UNC and/or Duke to carry the banner for the rest of the conference. Sucks.
On the plus side, Villanova reverts back to form by exiting in the first weekend for the second time as a #1 seed in the last three years.
The first four days of the NCAA Tournament has been more interesting for the coaching moves, then any Cinderella stories.
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