Where Does Pat Narduzzi Rank Amongst Power Four Coaches?

Pat Narduzzi is about to embark on his 11th season as the head coach of Pitt football.

Narduzzi is the the 12th longest-tenured coach at the FBS level and his time at Pitt has seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows.

The 2021 campaign saw Narduzzi bring an ACC Championship to Pittsburgh and a New Year’s Six Bowl appearance. A year later, Pitt won nine games bringing the two-year win total to 20 — the last time that happened was during the 1981-1982 seasons.

However, Pitt was abysmal in 2023, losing nine games and missing out on a bowl game for the second time under Narduzzi.

Pitt bounced back in a big way to start the 2024 season, winning the first seven games and returning to the national rankings. That promising start took a nosedive as the Panthers lost their final six games, including an overtime loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Bowl.

Narduzzi’s tenure at Pitt has seen it all and it begs the question of where he stands among the other Power Four head coaches?

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi September 21. 2024 Photo by David Hague/PSN

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli released a ranking of college football coaches at the Power Four level on Wednesday that included Narduzzi right in the thick of it.

Narduzzi was ranked as the No. 37 coach on the list.

“Narduzzi will remain one of my favorite coaches regardless of results, simply because I enjoy the man’s personality,” Fornelli wrote in his reasoning. “The 2024 season was a nice bounce back for Narduzzi and the Panthers, recovering from a 3-9 mark in 2023 to go 7-6. However, I suspect that’s not good enough in Narduzzi’s eyes, as this is a program that won the ACC in 2021 but has only been 10-14 in league play since.”

Just ahead of Narduzzi was Kentucky’s Mark Stoops (36), TCU’s Sonny Dykes (35), Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (34) and Deion Sanders (33). West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez returns to the list at No. 42.

Narduzzi and Pitt will look to take another step towards its old self as a double-digit win program and return to ACC contention. The Panthers return quarterback Eli Holstein, All-American all-purpose back Desmond Reid, All-American linebacker Kyle Louis and several other key contributors.