Pitt OC Kade Bell Receiving Broyles Award Buzz

Pat Narduzzi has mentioned a few times how Pitt offensive coordinator Kade Bell reminds him of himself when he was younger. A Broyles Award win would cement that even further.

Narduzzi won the Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach in college football, when he was the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. Bell, in his first season at the OC at Pitt, is receiving some early buzz for the Broyles Award himself.

Bell was included in a midseason top five list by Broyles Award voter RJ Young, along with Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and Texas offensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.

Broyles Award Selection Committee member @RJ_Young's midseason top 5 assistants to watch! Who are your top 5? @CanesFootball@CoachDawson_UM @oregonfootball@CoachWillStein @PennStateFball@Kotelnicki @Pitt_FB@Kb1Raw @TexasFootball@CoachK_FBCoach pic.twitter.com/tgLnudNfjC

— The Broyles Award (@BroylesAward) October 18, 2024

Pitt boasts one of the top offenses in the country this season, scoring 40.8 points per game and averaging 481.3 total yards per game — 10th in points and eighth in total yards per game in the country.

It’s a complete 180 from last season, and it’s largely because Bell has put the new Pitt playmakers — many of which he basically brought with him — in the position to make plays. Bell and Eli Holstein have formed one of the top tandems in the country.

Narduzzi put his trust in Kade Bell when he hired the young coordinator, but he’s backed it up at every turn this season.

“What got you where you are is the way I look at it,” Narduzzi said. “So, I don’t care if they run or pass. I want to continue to be aggressive. You look at the videotapes, they’re all in the box, okay? And coach Bell is like, ‘We’re going to score a touchdown here.’ I’m like, ‘That’s great.’ I like guys who want to score touchdowns. Go ahead. I’m not going to say, run it up the middle for a 1-yard loss. What’s better? Scoring touchdowns.”

Pitt had its first down game of the season — offensively — against Cal, still pulling out a 17-15 win, and Narduzzi is confident in the offense as a whole to bounce back against Syracuse.

“It’s a learning lesson,” Narduzzi said. “Let me tell you, like walking out of that game with a win and not playing very good on offense, what’s better than that, right? I mean, there’s nothing better than that. You know, just sat in a receiver-quarterback meeting last week, whatever day that was, just listening to them get coached up.

“We learned a lot of things from that game, and our players learned a lot. You gotta learn from your mistakes, but there’s no lost trust in Eli. I think he’s spectacular. I think he’s going to bounce back. But sometimes when you try too hard, that’s a problem. But he’s going to be fine.”

Narduzzi took a risk on Bell — and in Holstein — and it’s paid off in a major way this season. And it isn’t unlikely that the best is yet to come for Bell and the offense.