It’s a shame Pitt doesn’t play Penn State this year. Right before kickoff, the coaching staffs of both teams could get out of the same car at the 50-yard line.
All Penn State had to do Saturday was not score, and they beat Indiana. Go down at the 1, and Penn State wins. Instead, Penn State’s Devyn Ford waltzed into the end zone. That gave Indiana the ball with 1:42 left, an eight-point deficit, and a chance to waltz back into the game.
The Hoosiers did, and got the W in overtime – amid controversy. But that’s another blog.
Penn State’s James Franklin is an excellent coach, even if he’s got a big mouth. But instructions in that case have to be absolutely clear, and they obviously weren’t.
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi is not a good coach, and he’s got an even bigger mouth.
On Saturday against Notre Dame, Narduzzi quit on his players. Click HERE to check out an article at Pittsburgh Sports Now.
With 1:25 left in the first half and trailing 21-3, Pitt got possession at its own 25.
Pitt called three running plays, then a short pass. Narduzzi played chicken***t damage-control football just to get to halftime, eschewing the theoretical notion of scoring and getting back in the game. Pitt had time to execute a drive, but capitulated instead.
Making things worse, Notre Dame called time out, blocked Pitt’s punt, and fell on the ball in the end zone with 11 ticks left before intermission. That made the score 28-3, Notre Dame.It got even worse from there.
At his post-game media briefing, Narduzzi didn’t even try to put lipstick on this particular pig: “With [1:25 left] and the backup quarterback in there, [I] didn’t want to go slinging it around the park and see something bad happen.”
Those are cowardly words from a cowardly coach.
Bad things happened to Pitt all day, and there’s a reason for that: Pitt stinks. But there’s no excuse for waving a white flag.
Franklin is a good coach. On Saturday, he did some bad coaching.
Narduzzi is a bad coach and a low-rent blowhard. All hat, no cattle.
Pitt is 3-4 after a 3-0 start and a No. 21 ranking. At 3-0, Narduzzi and his players demanded "respect." HAW, HAW, HAW!
Rich Pitt boosters refuse to understand that Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino aren’t coming back, and that there’s a certain mediocre level Pitt won’t ever rise above.
Firing Narduzzi won’t change that. But it would enable Pitt to at least operate at that level with class and character. Narduzzi has neither.
Trouble is, Narduzzi is signed through 2024.
Pitt is a men’s soccer and women’s volleyball school now.
Courtesy of Getty Images