After Paul Chryst left Pitt to take the Wisconsin job and athletic director Steve Pederson was fired, Pitt chancellor Patrick Gallagher made it clear that he was looking to make a splash with the Panthers next head coach.
He may have just done that.
As expected, Pitt announced that Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is the program’s next head football coach.
Narduzzi spent the past eight seasons as the Michigan State defensive coordinator under coach Mark Dantonio. He was promoted to assistant head coach before the 2013 season. That season he was honored with the Broyles Award given to the best assistant coach in college football.
His mantra is defense and it showed as the Spartans ranked in the Top 10 in the nation nationally in defense the past four seasons.
The 48-year old Narduzzi grew up in Youngstown and is Pitt’s fifth full-time head coach since the 2010 season. If you count the interim coaches, he will become the eighth guy to coach a game for Pitt in a five-year span.
He takes over a team that is loaded with talent on the offensive side of the ball, including All-America tailback James Conner, talented receiver Tyler Boyd and quarterback Chad Voytik, all of whom will be juniors next season.
Narduzzi got the job over Marshall head coach Doc Holliday, Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell and Pittsburgh assistant Joe Rudolph, which all were confirmed that they interviewed for the position.
Rudolph will coach the Panthers in the Armed Forces Bowl against Houston on January 2.
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