This morning it’s Mike’d Up, which is proudly sponsored by Martin Lawn Services, voted one of the best Lawn and Outdoor businesses in Western Pennsylvania. If you’re looking to build a deck, an outdoor patio or your landscaping around your home, give Doug and his crew a call for an estimate.
Mike and Mike get into the big topic surrounding Pitt football and that’s Pat Narduzzi. Following Saturday’s upset loss to Western Michigan, in which they were 15 point favorites, Mike V. made his feelings known in a column and this morning, he gets into it in more depth. Should Pitt be in the market for a new head coach?
I think they know what they have in Pat, a mediocre coach with a floor of 5 wins, ceiling of 8 wins. He has a propensity to irritate fans and the media.
If the administration is happy with small crowds and mediocrity they should keep him, otherwise, hire someone who is capable of taking the program above the mediocre level that it is today.
Bingo!
I agree, but fans need to be realistic with who we can get that is capable of taking Pitt to that next level. For example, Coach Moorhead would be an option, but good luck convincing him to leave a Top 5 program to come to a 6-6 team, in a Pro town, with no on campus stadium, drawing an average of 25K fans, and in the same recruiting bed as Penn State, West Virginia, Ohio State, and Notre Dame.
I agree completely. What we’ve been seeing is what we’ll continue to see. Pitt has to move on from him. Lyke needs to make the tough call, and I hope she will.
I am sure she’s deciding the next step. She did not hire this coach, and won’t go down with this ship.
The only issue with moving on is WHO do we move on to? We’re not a sexy destination so no big names are coming our way. We’d have to get lucky with an up and coming coach (who will probably use us as a stepping stone) or hire a retread. Settle for 8 wins while hoping for more or roll the dice, lose a lot of talent to transfers and hope you picked the right coach. Fun fun!
Well they interviewed both Cristobal and Fickell when they hired Paul Chryst. Are they big enough names?? I remember people saying Mario’s wife wouldn’t want to live in Pittsburgh. She seems to be ok with Oregon.
Neither are obtainable now and really weren’t then either. Also Oregon & Pittsburgh should never be mentioned in the same sentence unless we’re talking about poor climate…
They were both fully obtainable when they interviewed them in 2012. You’re telling me Cristobal wouldn’t have left FIU for Pitt. Ok!! You miss the point on my comment about his wife. The cray faction of Pitt fans were out in full force back then saying Cristobal wouldn’t stay at Pitt because his wife is from Florida and wouldn’t want to live in the Pittsburgh climate. So yeah the climate was the exact thing people were talking about.
No, he wouldn’t have. Maybe after he was let go, but still highly doubtful. We’re not a big destination now and we were WAY less attractive 10 years ago. He was a hot, up and coming name who was destined for a bigger program. It was much easier to use an assistant position @ Bama as a stepping stone instead of the dumpster fire that was Pitt at the time…still kind of is.
I agree, that is the big question of who do we move on to? The university will have to roll the dice with someone, cause we know what we have in the duzz. But hell, maybe the school is ok with this. Some schools just don’t have the big aspirations to be a winning program and will just take the conference money.
Louis Riddick
More of a pro guy who will eventually get a GM spot in the NFL.
His “you guys are acting like our defense is broken after one bad game” quote was not encouraging. Maybe he needs to see it get shredded a few more times before he decides whether it’s working or not. That’ll be fun to watch.
presumably your thoughts would be the same even if we had won by 4 ?
midas touch is a little generous, especially given that hoops isn’t quite there yet. also, the TN game was not the HUGE win people make it out to be. as in, we didn’t dominate and actually were lucky to win. yes, it was a win and that is great, but, the cracks were showing.
The cracks were definitely showing, but I think Pitt fans have been starved for a big season for so long they just turned a blind eye.
sure .. but beating WMU and being 3-0 doesn’t make us a good team. we are the same team but with a better record. also, can’t believe fans would have been any happier with a loss at TN.
Why fire him? For 40 years Pitt as been mediocre at best. No matter who the coach was they have been roughly the same. Sure some coaches lost more, and outside of 2 seasons with Wannstedt and 1 other They’ve failed to win more than 8 games. Sure he’s loud has flaws and can be abrasive at times, but Narduzzi is as good a coach as Pitt will see. You’re not getting a name coach if he’s fired, you’ll get a retread or a young coach/coordinator hoping to make the next step who’s gone his first chance or fans will… Read more »
You give Lyke far too much credit. She extended Narduzzi during a losing season. Pitt’s recruiting has gone down since Chryst. Basketball and Capel are a disaster.
Please don’t praise her. How many fans were at Saturday’s game? Lyke, Narduzzi, and Capel should all be given their walking papers.
You can’t seriously be advocating for Lyke’s dismissal. What she’s accomplished in such a short time is remarkable. You may want to have a chat with somebody who actually knows what they are talking about because you do not…
Don’t take Heather Lyke’s name in vain.
One topic not raised: Narduzzi gets $5 million a year and he does nothing more than coach. My friends, that’s a Heather Lyke problem who has not set expectations and is not doing the supervision on her football program. What a waste of $5 million.
I was also concerned about good players possibly transferring out of the program if a coaching change is made but then I also think it’s a possibility they may transfer out regardless if this team remains stagnant. That possibility exists either way. I refuse to believe that Pitt is Pitt. I refuse to be of the mindset that mediocrity is Pitt’s high mark. I believe the reality is that Narduzzi is coaching on borrowed time at the moment. If the Iowa State Cyclones can succeed and do well there’s no reason that Pitt can’t do the same. This unnecessary stagnation… Read more »
Cincinnati also comes to mind. They’ve found success as well. There’s no reason Pitt can’t succeed. Hopefully we’ll see that success for Pitt one of these centuries. I have no idea what Pitt’s major malfunction is. Frustrating as hell.
ISU & Cincy both have good coaches who are being looked at for bigger & better jobs like USC, we do not. That’s the main difference between the 3 programs…
That’s certainly true. 👍
But sadly this is just who Pitt is. They have proven this to be true since the 30s. Look at their history, whenever they are doing well they self sabotage. Whether it’s De-emphasizing athletics, or changing academic standards for athletes, or firing the head coach they’ve done it. Look no further to how they feel about football than them letting Pitt stadium get to the point taking it down was the only option. They had the money to fix it but sat on it so long it became cheaper to bring it down. And instead of using Heinze as a… Read more »
Tearing down Pitt Stadium and building a basketball facility was without question a crime that Pitt should never be allowed to forget. 👍
Too many impulsive articles after the Tennessee win.
Now it’s fire Narduzzi a week later. He does piss me off and his stubbornness is a defect but can we please let the season play out before the media here starts to look bipolar? If nothing else, it would be Narduzzi digging his own grave because if he can’t get to 9-10 wins with this team, then there’s more than enough tangible evidence not even he can find a way to dispute. And he sure is good at spinning comments but can we please let the season play out?
We have let the season play out for six years and it’s all the same. We are in year 7 and lost to a MAC team. A team that put up over 500 yards of offense against a “defensive guru.” We cannot run the football, and our quarterback is our leading rusher. Opposing coaches are watching film that’s five years old and creating a game plan, because our head coach will not change anything. He is not bringing in top level talent, and the talented recruits we do have our seeing little time on the field.
He’s not bringing in top level talent? Please refer to the 2021 recruiting class in which he also kept most of the wpial top talent home.
It’s been “fire Narduzzi” for a long time. This isn’t impulsive or reactionary, it’s just that we keep seeing the same thing over and over. Your take on the issue couldn’t be further from reality…
I’ll give you this, current bowl projections have Pitt in the Military bowl. Seven years should not result in a Military Bowl game. But yeah if you read the articles after the Tennessee win, it was Pitt looks like the best team in the Coastal, and Pitts patience with Narduzzi is starting to pay off. I’m simply stating the difference in one week. Let the season play out. What’s your take if they do end up let’s say 9-3 overall, 6-2 in ACC play? Are you going to advocate firing a guy who goes 9-3? They still have to get… Read more »
Fire duzz
Another test is coming for Narduzzi in the not too distant future. Neal Brown was hired by West Virginia in 2019 I believe and West Virginia beat Virginia Tech recently. Narduzzi has been here for 7 years now. We’ll soon find out if Narduzzi’s team can also beat Virginia Tech. I believe that game can also be very telling. Can a coach of 7 years accomplish what a relatively recently hired coach achieved?
I’m not mad at Pat dropping a duzz during the Western Michigan game. That’s what he does. Everyone saw it coming. Thankful for Pat for providing the stability this program desperately needed, but now it’s time to part ways. I’m confident Mrs. Lyke will make another home run hire. Pitt will never be Clemson or Ohio State, but we are better than losing to MAC teams. Wish Pat nothing. but the best.
Narduzzi and Borbely are saving the promising offensive line talent like Goncalves for the next coach after Narduzzi is fired in the near future. What a bunch of schmucks playing the pork chops that keep getting beaten when they have promising talent waiting on someone competent enough to put them in.
The Portland State coach just picked up a $14k beer tab while making $200k per year. Duzz might want to take notes if he wants to increase attendance and get fans to like him…
You can’t fire Narduzzi. He is a good coach and the best Pitt can do. He has career wins against Penn State and Clemson, two programs that are in another galaxy from Pitt in terms of recruiting and upside potential. He has put his share of guys in the NFL, on both offense and defense, and while Pitt is capable of a losing season in almost any year, they are also capable of winning their pathetically weak division every few years, as well. Finally, two things. 1) Who are you going to get? You got Paul Cryst a few years… Read more »
🚨 Fire Narduzzi. 🚨
I don’t think throwing Paul Chryst into the mix for coaches leaving is fair. Everyone knew as soon as the Wisconsin job opened he was jumping. He was born in Madison played football there, and that was his dream job. Guy just went home can’t fault him there. Todd Graham on the other hand, he ran to a bottom feeder Pac 12 Team, that may have been a step down from what Pitt was then. But yeah they won’t do much better than Narduzzi, but they could to much worse. Unless the University is willing to commit to becoming a… Read more »
https://youtu.be/uyGSe76rAJc 🔥
👆👆👆
Narduzzi coaching set to music.