OT: D1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I always said that Curt probably would have lost the Ashland and Rock games in 2017.

One thing i will say about him is that anytime somebody told me they met him outside the realm of football they all said the same thing----that he was an awesome guy. It sounded like the football coach part of him was not quite as congenial.

Well, they could easily have went 0-2 vs Ashland instead of 2-0. Both games were nail-biters.

That 2017 win at SRU started in disaster fashion. Samir's 95-ish yard run turned the whole game. SRU had like 9,800 there that day. After that big run the whole game changed. Tort ended up winning fairly easily.

I always thought Curt got a little passive in those big games rather than really playing to win. He also had some real odd crap happen down at Adamson.

Recall the program in that era burned through players like crazy. He recruited many, many studs. Many also left town.

Curt wasn't the players' coach that Tort is. That's a good and bad thing.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Getting back on track ... I don't think Curt would be the guy at Pitt.

Earliest they buy out Duz is after next year. He's just owed too much. I think if they'd can him tomorrow he'd leave Oakland with a check for $16m. No way they cut that check just to get rid of him.

My perfect candidates today would be either Bill O'Brien, James Franklin or Luke Fickel.

I loved Fickel the last time around. He was young then. Now he has Cincy rolling. Cincy would whip Pitt's a$$ right now.

I say Franklin because his leash is getting short up in Creepy Valley. Ohio State is going to whip them next week. He'll be 0-2 and season over. O'Brien is intriguing. He lost luster in the NFL but had a good run.

[Fightingscot82]

The Duz is just owed too much money. Pitt won't buy him out. So, this off-season he'll make some assistants walk the plank, etc.

That's it right there, but the last time Pitt made a rash decision on their football coach, they let Wannstadt go and a lot of people think that in hindsight was a bad decision. This is a different AD who seems to not be swayed by Pitt nostalgia or boosters. If I were a Pitt fan I'd trust her judgment. They've invested in Narduzzi for the long haul. I think continuity is a good thing for the program.

IMO, we have to see Pitt for who they are: a second-tier program in the ACC. I think Pitt will always struggle with whomever is the current strong program in the South; right now, that's Clemson but it used to be Florida State and Miami. I guess you can throw Notre Dame in there too because they play such an ACC-heavy schedule. Pitt fans should expect and accept winning seasons. 6 and 7 win seasons. 8 and 9 win seasons in good years. Anything more is lightning in a bottle. Yes that seems like accepting mediocrity, but Pitt isn't an elite program. Even when they were Top 25 frequenters with Walt Harris they weren't considered elite. They're North Carolina.

[IUP CRIMSON HAWKS]

Getting back on track ... I don't think Curt would be the guy at Pitt.

Earliest they buy out Duz is after next year. He's just owed too much. I think if they'd can him tomorrow he'd leave Oakland with a check for $16m. No way they cut that check just to get rid of him.

My perfect candidates today would be either Bill O'Brien, James Franklin or Luke Fickel.

I loved Fickel the last time around. He was young then. Now he has Cincy rolling. Cincy would whip Pitt's a$$ right now.

I say Franklin because his leash is getting short up in Creepy Valley. Ohio State is going to whip them next week. He'll be 0-2 and season over. O'Brien is intriguing. He lost luster in the NFL but had a good run.

Have to concur here. Pitt ate the contract of former hoops coach Kevin Stullings which cost them plenty of cash. I think the Duz does deserve another season to be honest. He's not great but he has done some positive things. But if not for that extension that he signed last year he very well may be out of a job come December.

Yeah, I like Luke Fickel as well. But his next job will be a good one at a big-time school. He is sure to follow the Brian Kelly model and use the Cincy job as a stepping stone to something bigger and better.

[shipfbfan1]

That's it right there, but the last time Pitt made a rash decision on their football coach, they let Wannstadt go and a lot of people think that in hindsight was a bad decision. This is a different AD who seems to not be swayed by Pitt nostalgia or boosters. If I were a Pitt fan I'd trust her judgment. They've invested in Narduzzi for the long haul. I think continuity is a good thing for the program.

IMO, we have to see Pitt for who they are: a second-tier program in the ACC. I think Pitt will always struggle with whomever is the current strong program in the South; right now, that's Clemson but it used to be Florida State and Miami. I guess you can throw Notre Dame in there too because they play such an ACC-heavy schedule. Pitt fans should expect and accept winning seasons. 6 and 7 win seasons. 8 and 9 win seasons in good years. Anything more is lightning in a bottle. Yes that seems like accepting mediocrity, but Pitt isn't an elite program. Even when they were Top 25 frequenters with Walt Harris they weren't considered elite. They're North Carolina.

I agree given the ACC make up Pitt at best can compete for 7 wins each season and a mid-tier bowl, in exceptional years maybe 9 wins and a NYE bowl but with Clemson, Miami (now that they've resurrected their program) and ND in the conference for football they'll pretty much be shooting for 4th best ACC team each year with luck maybe 3rd or 2nd if they catch lightening in a bottle as FightingScot82 said. Pitt, NC State and UNC all are in that 2nd tier. Poor Florida State has been reduced to the 3rd tier with the likes of Wake, GT and Duke.

[Fightingscot82]

I agree given the ACC make up Pitt at best can compete for 7 wins each season and a mid-tier bowl, in exceptional years maybe 9 wins and a NYE bowl but with Clemson, Miami (now that they've resurrected their program) and ND in the conference for football they'll pretty much be shooting for 4th best ACC team each year with luck maybe 3rd or 2nd if they catch lightening in a bottle as FightingScot82 said. Pitt, NC State and UNC all are in that 2nd tier. Poor Florida State has been reduced to the 3rd tier with the likes of Wake, GT and Duke.

It's not unlike the PSAC. There is some fluidity between tiers but long term success has more variables.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I agree given the ACC make up Pitt at best can compete for 7 wins each season and a mid-tier bowl, in exceptional years maybe 9 wins and a NYE bowl but with Clemson, Miami (now that they've resurrected their program) and ND in the conference for football they'll pretty much be shooting for 4th best ACC team each year with luck maybe 3rd or 2nd if they catch lightening in a bottle as FightingScot82 said. Pitt, NC State and UNC all are in that 2nd tier. Poor Florida State has been reduced to the 3rd tier with the likes of Wake, GT and Duke.

One of the hardest things in sports is being a Pitt fan. Sure, you'll get the occasional big moment. But those are surrounded by a litany of S.O.P. (same old Pitt) dissapointments.

This season is just the latest disaster. Oddly, Pitt's brass truly beleives they are always a step away from being an elite program. They think it's a destination job.

Every year gives new hope. But, then September turns in to October. And, well, by November another season is long lost.

It's not a great job. Pitt will alwiys be at best 4th-fiddle in Pittsburgh. The elite players in Pitt's backyard almost all leave town for actual destination programs.

Pat Narduzzi has proven he's not the guy to take them up a level. He's fine for being that Same Old Pitt and dangling at or slightly above .500. He's a B-list coach for a B-list program in a D-list college sports town.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

#Sparty


Poor Jim

[IUPbigINDIANS]

14-0 Buckeyes. Quick.

JoePa may get blown outta Beaver.

[jrshooter]

Maybe, but Jahan Doston did just make a few catches that Pitt receivers can only dream of. :)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Maybe, but Jahan Doston did just make a few catches that Pitt receivers can only dream of. :)

What the heck does Pitt have to do with it? Lol.

[IUP24]

I'm not checking the board as much with no D2 football occurring, so I'm real late on the discussion that was going on. But here are my two cents...

I don't think many, if any, head coaches get fired in FBS this year unless they don't have a large buyout. These athletic departments are bleeding money. Unless some dirt came up on a coach or things got really, really ugly, most schools aren't making a change. Financially it might be possible, but not logical.

I'm a lifelong Pitt fan (I'm 27) and have only seen one real season in my lifetime that was actually a special year, which was 2009. But even that season ended in heartbreak with losses to WVU and Cincy in a defacto Big East championship game. You can say in hindsight they probably never should have fired Wanny. The real issue was that they made two incorrect hires after moving on from him - Mike Haywood (who lasted 2 weeks) and Todd Graham (who lasted 9-10 months). That program went 2 years without actually even having a recruiting class. When Paul Chryst took over, they were at rock bottom. He provided some level of stability and was what Pitt needed at the time.

I'm disappointed that Narduzzi hasn't gotten the program to the level that Wanny had them at in 2009. But I don't expect Pitt to be a team that wins 10 games a year, either. This is his best team, on paper, and he's in Year 6. I'm not sure what the real "issue" is, but the program is going in the wrong direction. And it's not for a lack of talent. Patrick Jones, Rashad Weaver, and Jalen Twyman are Sunday players. So is Paris Ford. Kenny Pickett will get drafted. They have as much NFL talent as teams at their level. And the recruiting has gotten much better under Narduzzi as his tenure has progressed. Don't look at the "stars." Look at the offer sheets. He's getting guys that 5-6 years ago they had no shot of getting. The real issue is that Pitt and the coaching staff aren't developing the players they are bringing in well enough. THAT... Is a coaching issue.

If and when Pitt moves on from Narduzzi, they need to hire a young coach with something to prove and accept that he will leave at some point. Very few schools have continuity like you want or hope for at the coaching position because very few schools are destination jobs. And when they hire their next coach, it's gotta be a guy that is offensive minded. Pitt's issues are almost solely on that side of the football. College football today is simply about holding teams to under 30 points and outscoring them. Coaches who disagree with that notion are failing. It's why it simply hasn't worked out for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. He's getting great recruits, but stylistically, he's in the stone ages with regards to how he wants to play.

I agree with FightingScot's assessment about expectations, but 6 wins is not correct. Pitt should work hard to and strive to win 8 games a year. There's a lot that goes into that. Getting the right coach, recruiting well, and developing your players certainly. Proper scheduling is important as well. What Heather Lyke needs to do is work to begin scheduling more in line with what most other schools are doing in terms of their non-conference schedule. In 2018, Syracuse was the darling of college football. It was the year they went 9-3 and upset Clemson, but they played UCONN, Wagner, and Western Michigan in non-conference games. Nobody cared though. They won 9 games and perception indicated they were good. Pitt went 7-5, was a laughingstock going into the ACC Championship Game, and lost to three top tens teams in non-conference games (Penn State, Notre Dame, and UCF). Three winnable NC games was the difference between Pitt getting laughed at for being unranked at 7-5 and 9-3/10-2 and ranked 10-15 in the country. It's more important for programs to simply win games rather than lose games by trying to prove something. Minnesota last year is a great example of a non-football school's perception getting changed simply because they win games. Last year the Gophers went 10-2 in the regular season with wins over Fresno State and two FCS schools in their non-conference schedule, all of them one possession games. Pitt is much better served trying to schedule games they can win. And as much as I like playing big time programs outside of the ACC, I would like to see Heather Lyke take that approach.

Pitt can certainly win 8 games a year with the right coach and by scheduling correctly. I'm not asking them to win 10 games a year. What MOST people don't recognize is that Pitt wins MOST of their ACC games. Entering the year, only Clemson, FSU, and Miami had won more ACC games than Pitt since they joined the league. Which tells me that Pitt doesn't have any less talent than some of the other schools perceived to be lightyears above them in their own league (Virginia Tech, UNC, Virginia, etc.). You've got Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama on a different level. Then you have a group of about 6-8 teams who are pretty good and might have it all come together on a given year to be at that next level, but not every season. Then you've got pretty much the rest of the country. Pitt has just as much talent as a good chunk of the schools in that "rest of the country" category. Number of ACC wins bear that out, recruiting bears that out, etc. The issue with Pitt is coaching and developing the talent.

[IUP24]

As far as coaching candidates. I would love to see Mike Yurcich have a try at the Pitt job if they are in the market for a new head coach. He's 44 years old and has had some great experience working at major programs and is an incredible offensive mind. From the Cleveland, Ohio area (not that a coach's roots have anything to do with anything, but he's not that far from "home"). Tutored Zach Zulli and was the architect of the record setting Ship offense in 2011 and 2012. Had excellent success with Mike Gundy at OK State as QB coach and OC. Had high marks from Ryan Day at OSU last year for really helping to design their offense with Justin Fields as their passing game coordinator and QB coach. He's at Texas now as the OC. That's the type of guy that I would love to see Pitt hire.

No interest in Matt Canada. He's burned bridges every place he's been and had a full season to audition for the Maryland job and they passed on him.
No interest in Bill O'Brien.
Luke Fickell... Lol there is a greater chance of me being the Pitt head coach.
Curt Cignetti. No thanks. Never a head coach beyond FCS and is almost 60.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

As far as coaching candidates. I would love to see Mike Yurcich have a try at the Pitt job if they are in the market for a new head coach. He's 44 years old and has had some great experience working at major programs and is an incredible offensive mind. From the Cleveland, Ohio area (not that a coach's roots have anything to do with anything, but he's not that far from "home"). Tutored Zach Zulli and was the architect of the record setting Ship offense in 2011 and 2012. Had excellent success with Mike Gundy at OK State as QB coach and OC. Had high marks from Ryan Day at OSU last year for really helping to design their offense with Justin Fields as their passing game coordinator and QB coach. He's at Texas now as the OC. That's the type of guy that I would love to see Pitt hire.

No interest in Matt Canada. He's burned bridges every place he's been and had a full season to audition for the Maryland job and they passed on him.
No interest in Bill O'Brien.
Luke Fickell... Lol there is a greater chance of me being the Pitt head coach.
Curt Cignetti. No thanks. Never a head coach beyond FCS and is almost 60.

Cincy is one of the best teams in D1 right now. They will likely crack the Top 5 soon -- and would whack Pitt. They'd need major coin to lure Fickel. Major.

Reality is his next stop will be at an elite program. He's earned it. It's already being rumored he will be USC's top target.

[IUP24]

Cincy is one of the best teams in D1 right now. They will likely crack the Top 5 soon -- and would whack Pitt. They'd need major coin to lure Fickel. Major.

Reality is his next stop will be at an elite program. He's earned it. It's already being rumored he will be USC's top target.

Money talks, but Pitt isn't a better program than Cincy. My next comment is in no way, shape, or form a discussion of him coming to Pitt, or Pitt luring a major candidate, but they are no longer a "poor school" when it comes to football spending. Heather Lyke knows what she's doing. The current chancellor and administration view athletics, specifically football and basketball, as big time tickets to the university gaining big prominence. Pitt is spending a ton of money on football. More than most schools. A lot of people won't believe that. But there's financial metrics from the last few years that show they are spending money with the likes of some big programs. They are trying. That's the point.