For Narduzzi, Pitt is a 'destination job'
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Pat Narduzzi doesn’t know - and probably doesn’t care - what any other coach thinks about the head coaching position at Pitt.
He knows what he thinks about leading the Panthers, and in the wake of signing a contract extension that will keep him in the South Side through the 2030 season, Narduzzi spoke loudly and clearly on Tuesday morning about the value of stability and his view on the Pitt job.
“It starts with the leadership and I’ve always said we’ve all got to be going in the same direction. That’s why Chancellor (Patrick) Gallagher hired me: to have stability. I think he wanted somebody that’s going to stay here and work at it and have a passion to do what we do here and coach and develop a program, and that’s kind of what we’ve done. It’s a step-by-step, doing it the right way with integrity.
“But it says a lot about this place and it’s a destination job. Period. It is. But it’s only a destination job for someone that’s from this area, that loves this are, that has a passion about Pittsburgh. It might not be a destination job for somebody else that’s maybe not from this area. So I think that’s the key.
“This is a great job, I love Pitt and I love these kids.”
Narduzzi’s love for the Pitt job, for the University of Pittsburgh and for western Pa. as a whole has never been in question. He embraced the school and the area from the time he was hired in December 2014, and he has maintained his commitment for the last seven-plus years.
That’s not to say there weren’t rough patches. Narduzzi was hired by Gallagher and interim athletic director Randy Juhl while the University Chancellor worked to find a replacement for Steve Pederson, who was fired in the wake of Paul Chryst’s departure for Wisconsin.
Narduzzi then found himself with a new athletic director when Barnes left for Oregon State and Heather Lyke was hired in March 2017.
The following season was Narduzzi’s worst, as the Panthers struggled with quarterback issues and finished 5-7 in a performance that was salvaged only by a season-ending upset win over then-No. 2 and undefeated Miami at Heinz Field.
Lyke rewarded Narduzzi for that win - and showed her commitment to him - with a contract extension in December 2017. That extension was set to carry Narduzzi through the 2024 season, which meant that he entered this year inside a window where recruits start to question the future of a coaching staff.
The Pitt coaches are working to build their 2023 recruiting class and form connections for the 2024 class, but if Narduzzi’s contract was set to run out at the end of the 2024 season, it could leave those players with a new staff.
Extending the contract through 2030 eliminates those questions, and Narduzzi said Tuesday that having a public show of commitment like that is crucial in recruiting.
“I think a lot of parents - it’s a big question. You see coaches hopping all the time and I think it’s a big question from kids - are you going to be here?” He said. “As a matter of fact, I had that question Saturday. We had a bunch of recruits on campus and that question came up two or three times. I said, ‘Just wait for Monday.’ I kind of said, ‘You’re the first to know on Saturday that it’s coming out Monday,’ so it’s important to families, as far as knowing who’s going to coach you.”
Those recruits who visited Saturday - as well as every other day of spring camp so far - are down the road. The coaches have to work hard to maintain constant contact with them, of course, but the 2023 prospects haven’t even started their senior years yet and the recruits in the 2024 class have two more years of high school to finish.
That’s all yet to come, much like Narduzzi’s legacy at Pitt is yet to be written. So when he was asked about that very topic on Tuesday - his legacy - the Youngstown native kept his focus much more narrow and far more immediate.
“The thing I think about right now is winning another championship,” he said. “Let’s do it again. Let’s prove that it wasn’t just a one-year deal. It’s a two-year deal in a row. So that’s what we’re working on. I’m not worried about legacy. I’m worried about our players and continuing to get better as a program.”