One of Pat Narduzzi’s original members of his first coaching staff at Pitt is moving onto another job.
After days of speculation, it’s official that Rob Harley is moving on from Pitt’s linebackers coach to become the defensive coordinator for Butch Jones at Arkansas State.
This was a career move that Harley eventually wanted and received it from Jones. Harley and Narduzzi released these statements on Twitter to make this move official.
Statement From Rob Harley:
“First and foremost, I have to thank Coach Narduzzi for everything he has done for me and my family. He took a chance on a young coach and I’ll forever be grateful for him as a mentor. Thank you to all of our players especially my Linebacker unit, you are the reason I am in this business and you will always be a part of my family. My family and I have loved our six seasons here at Pitt, we truly cherish the relationships we have built with the players, coaches and administration. Taking the next next as a Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach is something that I have been working towards since I entered the coaching profession, and I am excited to be given an opportunity to fulfill that dream. These decisions are never easy and my family spent three long days doing our research to make sure this opportunity was the right fit. In the end, we are ready for this chance to grow and we are very excited for what the future holds. Wishing the entire University of Pittsburgh continued success, the Harley family will always say “Hail to Pitt.”
Statement From Pat Narduzzi:
“I want to express my sincerest appreciation to Rob Harley for all the work he has done for our program over the past six years. His efforts on the field and on the recruiting trail have been highly impactful for Pitt Football. When you have great coaches on your staff, they will earn great opportunities to advance themselves. It has been Rob’s goal to be a defensive coordinator and we are thrilled he will be getting that deserved opportunity at Arkansas State. We wish him and his wife Danielle the very best in this new chapter.”
The departure of Harley leaves Tim Salem and Andre Powell as the lone holdovers from Narduzzi’s original coaching staff. Along with his role as linebackers coach, Harley also served as the teams recruiting coordinator. It will be interesting to see if that role is eventually filled by either Archie Collins or Chris Beatty, two young coaches that have been very successful for Pitt over the past couple of seasons.
Good luck and we wish him the best!!! However, Pitt LBs have been terrible over the past 6 years. He has recruited well, but I think we can upgrade his position! H2P
While Pine’s versatility hasn’t been maximized, the LB unit has been far from terrible. The Florida transfer Jackson was a stud in 2019. Caprara became a very productive player under Harley’s tutelage. Dennis has been way better than his recruiting pedigree suggests.
If the next LB Coach is a good recruiter, that’ll be a bonus. I’m good with a LB guru and Beatty/ Collins bringing in the talent.
Harley earned his promotion. However, a new voice and a different set of eyes evaluating the Pitt LBs could end up being a plus .
I hope that Narduzzi is wise enough to promote from within. Beatty or Collins would be fine choices. Beatty in particular since his ‘in the trenches’ recruiting efforts have produced fantastic results. It would be pretty dumb to risk losing an existing rising- star assistant coach.
If Butch Jones needs an OC I recommend that he look at Tim Salem.
Mark Whipple would be a great fit….I could probably get enough in donations to pay his moving expenses.