Pitt Officially Introduces Pat Narduzzi As Their New Head Coach
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan/AP)- Pat Narduzzi stood just outside the doorway, hands stuffed inside his pants pockets, and glanced at nine national championship trophies highlighting the proud history of a program churning in mediocrity. The youngest gold football is nearly 40 years old. By the math of the latest coach charged with restoring Pittsburgh to relevance, that's far too long.
"We need to put another one in there," Narduzzi said.
KDKA's Rich Walsh's 1-on-1 with Pat Narduzzi:
The work begins now.
The Panthers officially named the longtime Michigan State defensive coordinator as their fifth head coach in five years on Friday during a press conference at the team's South Side facility, the search committee unanimous in its belief the energetic 48-year-old can give Pitt the traction it desperately needs to find its place in the new-look ACC.
Narduzzi fills the vacancy left by Paul Chryst who left the program nine days ago to return to his alma mater, Wisconsin.
"Today is the beginning of a dream come true for me and my family," Narduzzi said. "I hope it's a dream that will last many years to come."
Narduzzi comes to Pitt after serving the past eight years as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. His Spartans have been ranked in the top 10 of the Division 1-A defense the past four seasons.
He is a Youngstown, Ohio, native and he said Pittsburgh just feels like a perfect fit for him and that it feels like home.
"I knew this was the place," Narduzzi said. "I was going to go after this job, and I wanted this job."
Narduzzi's father served as head coach of Youngstown State from 1975-85. He still keeps a pair of his father's wingtips in his closet and still has the street address of his childhood home committed to memory.
Narduzzi, 48, is the Panthers' fifth coach since 2010. He will return to coach the Spartans in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 before returning to the Panthers.
He says his Pitt team will play a tough, physical, blue collar-type of football that will make the City of Pittsburgh proud.
The Fan's interview with Pat Narduzzi (Pt. 1):
"He was head and shoulders above the group we were looking at," said executive vice chancellor Jerry Cochran. "He's got this high energy level. He's somebody that is going to love this institution and he's somebody that this institution is going to love."
And, Cochran hopes, somebody the Panthers are going to keep. The head coaching job at Pitt has been a revolving door since 2010, with Dave Wannstedt, Mike Haywood, Todd Graham and Paul Chryst all holding the title. Chryst bolted after three years to take over at Wisconsin, his alma mater, last week. Chryst's departure coincided with the firing of athletic director Steve Pederson, putting Pitt in the unenviable spot of trying to fill two high-profile positions at once.
While a replacement for Pederson is still in the works, Pitt wasted little time closing in on Narduzzi, who spent the last eight years as the architect of the Spartans' relentless defense. Narduzzi has been a coveted candidate for several head coaching jobs in recent years and turned them all down. He was in the mix at Colorado State but took himself out of the running after interviewing at Pitt, which offered something no other opportunity could match: a chance to come home.
The Fan's interview with Pat Narduzzi (Pt. 2):
Pitt would settle for a step out of an endless stream of .500 seasons. Narduzzi inherits a program with 81 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, including running back James Conner, the ACC Player of the Year. While Narduzzi allows he'll need some time to get a feel for the locker room, he stressed he doesn't view Pitt as a way station to better things and pointed to his personal history as proof.
Narduzzi worked alongside Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio for 11 years, three at Cincinnati and eight with the Spartans, a decidedly lengthy coaching marriage in an industry becoming more transient by the year. While Narduzzi declined to call his new office a "destination job," he doesn't exactly see the Panthers as a resume builder.
"This is a place I want to be for a long time if they let me," Narduzzi said.
Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio released this statement:
"I want to congratulate Pat Narduzzi on his appointment as head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Pat has been my defensive coordinator for the last 11 years, including the past eight seasons here at Michigan State. He's one of five coaches who have been here from the start (at MSU since 2007), so he's played an integral part in helping to build the foundation of our program.
"The success we've enjoyed over the last eight seasons, both collectively and on the defensive side of the football, has afforded Pat with this opportunity to become a head coach in a Power 5 Conference. That's a tremendous accomplishment, and he'll do an outstanding job at Pittsburgh. We wish him nothing but the best.
"Following today's press conference in Pittsburgh, Pat will rejoin the Spartans and serve as our defensive coordinator for one last game, in the Cotton Bowl against Baylor. It's an opportunity for Pat to finish what he started with this senior class and help launch his program at Pittsburgh.
"As I've stated on numerous occasions, staff continuity has been a cornerstone for our sustained success at Michigan State, and it will remain a vital constant as we continue to move forward."
Pitt just finished its fourth straight 6-6 season and will face Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2. Offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph will serve as interim head coach for the bowl game and is expected to join Chryst's staff at Wisconsin.
Narduzzi is working through a list of assistants he'd like to hire and will spend one last week with the Spartans when they play Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. It's a fitting ending to a remarkable tenure that includes winning the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2013. Michigan State will try to slow down the high-flying Bears, something that has been a Narduzzi specialty. Michigan State has emerged as a Big Ten power on the strength of a defense that smothers opponents into submission. The Spartans have finished in the top 10 in total defense each of the last four seasons.
Expect Narduzzi to take a similar tack with the Panthers.
"When somebody plays the University of Pittsburgh, they're going to know they were in a brawl," he said.
And if that brawl ends with the Panthers on top, even better. Pitt has struggled to develop any sort of consistent buzz since the days of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino in the 1970s and 80s.
The school doesn't expect Narduzzi to find a way to pack usually half-filled Heinz Field in one season. Building a winner is a process, yet one interim athletic director Randy Juhl believes the school is ready to undertake in earnest. Juhl stress chancellor Patrick Gallagher assured Narduzzi he would have all the resources necessary to put together a competitive program. Narduzzi assured his new bosses he was ready to make it happen.
"There is support from the top to be the best here," he said. "We've got every weapon and tool that we need."
Listen to the press conference here:
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