Pittsburgh Football Head Coach Search: Latest News and Speculation on Position
Pittsburgh looked all over for a head coach to replace Paul Chryst before settling on Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi.
Continue for updates.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Narduzzi and Pitt Finalize Contract
Wednesday, Dec. 24
ESPN's Joe Schad reports the deal is done:
Narduzzi Emerges as Front-Runner for Pitt Job
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports has an update on Pitt's head coaching search:
"Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next head coach at Pittsburgh, sources told Yahoo Sports on Monday.
Narduzzi had interviewed with both Pittsburgh and Colorado State within the last week, sources said. Narduzzi was the leading candidate for the CSU job as well, but sources say he was more interested in the Pittsburgh job. He’s been a candidate for several head-coaching jobs in recent years – he turned down Connecticut and interviewed with Louisville last year, and also was in the mix at Cincinnati before it hired Tommy Tuberville two years ago.
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Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated would go on to report that the two sides are nearing agreement on a deal for the position:
On December 20, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports had reported that Narduzzi was a strong candidate for the job.
Narduzzi, Holliday on Pitt's Radar
Friday, Dec. 19
Offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph will serve as the interim head coach for the time being, but KDKA-TV's Rich Walsh has a pair of names already on the school's radar:
Head coach at Marshall for the past five seasons, Doc Holliday has led the Thundering Herd to consecutive 10-win seasons, including a 12-1 showing this year fueled by an explosive offensive attack. He has over 30 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level and is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation.
He has been especially successful recruiting in the southeast corner of the country and could potentially extended Pittsburgh's pipeline.
"It’s just been a great area for us. I love South Florida kids," he said, via The Palm Beach Post's Dave George. "They’ve got big ol’ hearts, they love football and they’re extremely tough.”
Pat Narduzzi, the defensive coordinator at Michigan State, has been a candidate to leave for a head-coaching job for several years now.
Coming to Lansing with Mark Dantonio in 2007, the 48-year-old has established the Spartans as one of the most physical, dominant defensive teams in the country. They have been in the top seven nationally in yards allowed per game in each of the last four seasons, per Sports-Reference.com.
Pittsburgh has typically been a good defensive team over that span as well, but Narduzzi would bring a culture and toughness that is rare.
Ultimately, it's two very different targets for Pitt, and it's a decision the school needs to get right. The Panthers have had a ton of turnover at the position since 2010, and athletic director Steve Pederson was just let go for an inability to find the right leader.
Don't be surprised if Pitt takes its time with this one.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
