It is easy, oh so easy to pile on every negative from a former coaching staff. It’s a natural tendency. Still our team. Our school. The change brings a renewed sense of optimism. That these guys get it. That the previous group were bozos who were holding everything back.
It’s not necessarily fair or even correct, but it sure is the feelings. Especially in the change from Paul Chryst’s first few weeks on the job to Pat Narduzzi. There’s an energy. An engagement that is happening, not seen in some time. From the hires made for the staff. To the engagement on twitter coupled with the goofy, yet confident photoshops about Pitt and where the coaches are recruiting. There is an enthusiasm for the program that is coming from the top down.
Yet, to me the biggest change right away is Narduzzi’s hiring practices. It isn’t simply the bigger budget that he obviously has to utilize in the hiring of assistants. It’s the way he’s put it to use.
With Paul Chryst, when he put his staff together, it wasn’t simply who he knew. It was the difference in experience on each side of the ball. Chryst was an offensive coordinator, and you could see the focus of his staff was there.
Chryst is an offense guy. He coached QBs. He was an offensive coordinator. There is no question that he was helping a lot more on the offensive side with first year OC Joe Rudolph last year. He also added experienced guys on offense in Desmond Robinson and Jim Hueber. Solid balance with first time position coaches in Bobby Engram and Brooks Bollinger.
Now look at the defense. Last year, the only experienced guy on the defensive side was the DC, Dave Huxtable. Everyone else on the defensive coaching staff had less than 4 years coaching experience at the college level.
That’s not horrible when the experienced guy is the DC. A guy who worked positions. Has been around and is experienced with teaching both players and young position coaches while planning a defense. With Huxtable’s departure to NC State, rather than make sure there was an experienced hand to guide the defense and the coaching staff, Chryst opted to promote a young position coach to the DC position. His solution for the experience issue was to bring in Palermo.
[Emphasis added.]
Narduzzi came from the defensive side of the ball. Take a look at the offensive coaches
Jim Chaney, OC: Over 10 years experience just as an OC.
Andre Powell, RB and Special Teams Coordinator: 27+ years experience in college.
Tim Salem, TE: More than 20 years experience.
John Peterson, OL: Almost 20 years of experience.
Kevin Sherman, WR: Over 15 years experience at D-1 level as a WR Coach.
That isn’t simply hiring a veteran OC to run the offense. That is hiring a veteran coaching staff for the offensive side of the ball. People who know what they are doing and won’t need extra help in running practices, preparing the players.
Now in contrast, on the defensive side of the ball, where Narduzzi does know a few things, it is much more a mix of experience and young, up-and-coming coaches.
Josh Conklin, DC: 2014 Broyles Award nominee; 3 years experience at 1-A; 9 years experience at 1-AA.
Tom Sims, DL: 12 years experience at 1-A level.
Rob Harley, LB: 1 year experience.
Renaldo Hill, CB: 1 year experience.
While Narduzzi has stated that he is more of a CEO type head coach who will let his coordinators run things. It is also readily apparent that he will be offering more assistance on the defensive side of the ball. Which is his very obvious strength.
…The Knockout Game.
The Looking Glass
Only people with high high incomes can afford them.
Plus the hush money involved.
Epstein for example was a multi-billionaire.
this creep even has a slight resemblance to Sandusky.
H2P
Comment by pmdH2P 01.21.15 @ 11:42 am
That’s hysterical. lmao
Maybe he was on the Pedo payroll and explained why were running in place for 3 years.
Time enough for Pedo U to get their sh*t together.
After all Wisconsin is a member of the Big Joke Fraternity. And this is after all…..all business.
I understand there is a whole industry for this in Thailand. Apparently there is the same thing going on in this country to a lesser scale.
Chyrst could not convince Godfather Barry that Matt House was good enough to be on the Wisky coaching staff. Or perhaps didn’t even try.
Yet he was allowed to be Pitt’s DC, to basically nil out a very good offense.
Plus I could never understand how a coach of almost 20 years and a supposed offensive genius, never could figure out how to protect Tom Savage, game after game after game after game.
Seems like we were almost sabotaged from within.
Those ones you mentioned were neighborhood girls those low-lifes captured and held.
The industry is not run from there however.
Is Matt House unemployed?
Nothing came up on a google search.
Your PSU son’s employment experience was a result of the massive PSU network among corporate managers. PSU management will hire one of theirs over the most qualified. I watched as PSUers made their way into and up the management chain repeatedly selecting other PSU graduates for hiring and promotion over better more qualified non-PSU candidates. It got so bad within the corporation where I work that the plant GM fired a failing department head (PSUuer)citing that his recruiting budget during the last 5 years was spent only in State College. That the dept lacked diversity of other schools of thought. In other words one PSU scratches the back of another overlooking quality of other candidates. It is called in-breeding, a PSU specialty.
Join us and we’ll take care of you….forever.
haha
However, I did stand in line 4 hours for tickets to Imaculate Reception game — (2nd year of college, 1st Monday of winter break)
Personally, I would like to think that same policy is in place now but it just may not be with the change of the Chancellor and AD. Not that I think the new Admin wants to be thug U. or anything but they may not put the velvet recruiting handcuffs on Narduzzi as they did Chryst.
PSU In breeding is academic and professional . Please I would hope that PSU is above blood in-breeding – lol.
Need some BIG time recruits !
Nobody thought what happened for at least a decade could have happened.
I mean with all the thousands of students, and thousand of PSU employees, etc, etc.
It was reported last night that Coach Duzz was with a top recruit. DE Shareef Miller. (big PSU expected Recruit).
During this full court press by the Nard Dog…. he was able to get Chancellor Gallager on the phone with this kid…
… at 11pm at night!
Now people are wondering if he is now leaning away from PSU…
The Chancellor, helping Nard Dog… recruit football players!!
He can help Dixon too! 🙂
few to none of these people were the early names mentioned who were all close to MSU either.
Certainly impressive work assembling his team…
LB Rippy – 4*
LB Bradley – 3*
DL Terrell Jackson – 3*
OL Gabe Roberts – 2*
TE JP Holtz – 3*
S Ryan Lewis – 3*
LB Mike Caprara – 2*
So – pretty good gets at the time. There might be five starters out of that group next season. Some have transferred but I recall everyone being pretty happy with the kids he brought onboard once hired.
I believe it was the IR game that made the NFL change the rule the folowing year to that if games were a sellout, it would be televised locally. I remember how unfair it was that everyone but Pgh saw one of the greatest games in Steeler and NFL history.
They did quite a few Steeler games it seemed.
Just a guess.
Bradley & Holtz could start, well at least Holtz.
The others, don’t think so.
The hell with penalizing them with one draft pick.
Just declare the Colts as the AFC representative in the game.
I see it mentioned above but no link… here it is.
I thought it was an Internet prank… take a look. actually boggles the mind if true.
Oh, and Whisky recruits are still saying little contact from new coaches….??
oh, btw… I guess Whisky recruits get flyers… Pitt recruits get the Nard Dawg Pack in their livingrooms…
Ps. still a chryst fan for what he did for us… sorry, this is just to irresistable..
Like I said, it was just a guess.
Wow, Pitt Band. Who would have thunk that since the Stiller never draft any Pitt players. At least not since 2000.
3/11/2011 – MSU LB Max Bullough (Alcohol Possesion/Eluding Police)
4/28/2011 – MSU DE Cory Freeman (Driving w/susp license and failure to disclose concealed weapon) *Suspended for Spring Game*
I only included the Defensive side of the ball but even with the offense included there were only 2 other players with minor incidents were arrested in the last 3 years. D’Antonio & Narduzzi ran a tight ship.
I had to call in to correct him.
This is why I don’t really want Pitt’s good name associated with their despicable name. Or playing them.
The majority of us are just normal sane educated people who live here because this is where we got a job, including a lot of Pitt alumni like myself. Most of the people I know thought Spanier and Curley were crooked d-bags long before this scandal. There are too many people on here who think they know the area because they’ve hung out in downtown bars full of idiot students or deal with loudmouthed fans who don’t live here. They do not represent the town or the university itself. The bastards responsible for the Sandusky thing are gone or dead – so just f*cking drop it.
I saw early this week that he was projected as early as 10th by Rangle but mid to late by others including Kiper and McShay. Here’s hopin he makes a good comeback as the week progresses. Would be awesome to get a two year streak of #1’s. Do we have a number 1 for next year ready to step up?
Paterno was an elitist who went to an Ivy League school (Brown). He was a sports elitist.
And he certainly was the King or Emperor of Creepy Valley for half a century.