 Narduzzi in 2015 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Pittsburgh |
| Conference | ACC |
| Record | 80–59 |
| Annual salary | $5.8 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1966-04-22)April 22, 1966 (age 59) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1985 | Youngstown State |
| 1987–1989 | Rhode Island |
| Position | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1991 | Miami (OH) (GA) |
| 1992 | Miami (OH) (WR) |
| 1993–1997 | Rhode Island (LB) |
| 1998–1999 | Rhode Island (DC) |
| 2000–2002 | Northern Illinois (LB) |
| 2003 | Miami (OH) (DC) |
| 2004–2006 | Cincinnati (DC) |
| 2007–2014 | Michigan State (DC) |
| 2015–present | Pittsburgh |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 80–59 |
| Bowls | 2–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1ACC (2021) 2 ACC Coastal Division (2018, 2021) | |
| Awards | |
| Broyles Award (2013) | |
Patrick Regan Narduzzi (born April 22, 1966) is an Americancollege football coach and former player. Since 2015, he has been thehead coach of theUniversity of Pittsburgh. He was formerly thedefensive coordinator atMichigan State. He attendedYoungstown State University and theUniversity of Rhode Island. He earned hismaster's degree fromMiami University.
Narduzzi was born on April 22, 1966, inNew Haven, Connecticut. He began his playing career atUrsuline High School inYoungstown, Ohio, leading the Fighting Irish to theSteel Valley Conference championship and the state playoffs as a senior in 1984. He was named to the All-Ohio team that year.[2]
In 1990, Narduzzi began his coaching career atMiami University inOxford, Ohio, where he was agraduate assistant in 1990 and 1991 and where he tutoredwide receivers in 1992.
From 1993 to 1999, Narduzzi coached at theUniversity of Rhode Island, where he coached thelinebackers from 1993 to 1997 and wasdefensive coordinator from 1998 to 1999. From 2000 to 2002, he was linebackers coach atNorthern Illinois University. He returned to Miami University as defensive coordinator in 2003 before joining theUniversity of Cincinnati as defensive coordinator in 2004.
Narduzzi became the defensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati in 2004, and left in 2007 to coach atMichigan State University. Narduzzi was a candidate for the head coaching position at Cincinnati, butCentral Michigan University head coachBrian Kelly was named to the post on December 3, 2006. Narduzzi had informed University of Cincinnati officials that if he was not offered a permanent head coach position, he would followMark Dantonio toMichigan State University as defensive coordinator.
Narduzzi was brought along by Dantonio to revamp the depleted Michigan State defense that previous coachJohn L. Smith left behind. Led by Narduzzi's stingy defenses, the Spartans improved dramatically, amassing four seasons of 11 or more wins, twoBig Ten Conference championships, and six victories over rivalMichigan in seven years. From 2011–2014, Michigan State was the only team to rank in the FBS Top 10 in total defense and rushing defense. Narduzzi was pursued for other jobs, including as defensive coordinator atTexas A&M University and head coach atUniversity of Connecticut. Narduzzi chose to remain at Michigan State and helped the2012 team and the2013 team lead the Big Ten in total defense. In 2013, he won theBroyles Award, which is given to the nation's best assistant coach.
In hislast game as MSU's defensive coordinator, the Spartans won the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic by rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter and finished the season with an overall record of 11–2. Dantonio said of Narduzzi after the game: "You want the best for your people. To win the last game like that for Coach Narduzzi was something that we could to send him out with and that will be a memory for life. He's been incredibly loyal here. He's an extremely hard worker. He's been extremely successful. And now it's time for him to grow. He'll grow as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. They're getting a great football coach and a great person and a guy who is going to impact young people. So it's going to be very exciting for him as well as his family."[3]
On December 23, 2014,Sports Illustrated reported Narduzzi would become the new head coach of theUniversity of Pittsburgh football team.[4] On December 26, 2014, Narduzzi was officially introduced as the 36th head football coach.
In 2015, Narduzzi led Pitt to an 8–5 record and a trip to theMilitary Bowl where they lost toNavy, 44–28. In 2016, Pitt recorded another 8–5 record as they went to thePinstripe Bowl, but lost toNorthwestern, 31–24. His second season was highlighted by two wins against top-five teams, a 43–42 upset win over eventual national championClemson and a 42–39 victory over eventual Big Ten championPenn State.
Pitt opened 2017 with optimism over QBMax Browne but endured a tumultuous season. After struggling in a 28–21 win over FCS Youngstown State and losing 33–14 the next week to Penn State, Narduzzi's defense faltered in a 59–21 loss to #9 Oklahoma State and a 35–17 defeat in their ACC opener to Georgia Tech. Despite wins over Duke (24–17) and Virginia (31–14), they also lost to Syracuse (27–24), #20 NC State (35–17), North Carolina (34–31), and Virginia tech (20–14). On Black Friday, Pitt shocked #2 Miami 24–14 and finished the season 5–7 (3–5 in the ACC).
In 2018, after a slow start to the season, Narduzzi led Pitt to its first ACC Coastal Division title, going 6–2 in conference play and 7–5 overall. Pitt then faced Clemson in the2018 ACC Championship Game, where they lost 42–10. Pitt went to the Sun Bowl but lost to Stanford, 14–13, to finish the season 7–7.
In 2019, Narduzzi led Pitt to another 7–5 regular season record, with a notable win over UCF, ending their 27-game regular season win streak.[5] Pitt competed in the Quick Lane Bowl against Eastern Michigan University, winning 34–30 and earning Narduzzi his first bowl victory during his tenure at Pitt.
In 2021, with the emergence of Heisman finalistKenny Pickett, Narduzzi led Pitt to a 11–3 record, ACC Coastal Division title, ACC Championship victory, and an appearance in the Peach Bowl.
Narduzzi entered 2022 as the third-winningest coach in Pitt history, behind only Hall of FamersJock Sutherland andPop Warner. A year later, a victory over Miami vaulted him past Warner for second place on Pitt's all-time wins list.
Narduzzi is the son ofBill Narduzzi, who was the head coach atYoungstown State University from 1975 to 1985. Pat played football for his father in 1985 as a freshman. Narduzzi is married and has four children.[6]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Atlantic Coast Conference)(2015–present) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Pittsburgh | 8–5 | 6–2 | 2nd(Coastal) | LMilitary | ||||
| 2016 | Pittsburgh | 8–5 | 5–3 | T–2nd(Coastal) | LPinstripe | ||||
| 2017 | Pittsburgh | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–4th(Coastal) | |||||
| 2018 | Pittsburgh | 7–7 | 6–2 | 1st(Coastal) | LSun | ||||
| 2019 | Pittsburgh | 8–5 | 4–4 | T–3rd(Coastal) | WQuick Lane | ||||
| 2020 | Pittsburgh | 6–5 | 5–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 2021 | Pittsburgh | 11–3 | 7–1 | 1st(Coastal) | LPeach† | 13 | 13 | ||
| 2022 | Pittsburgh | 9–4 | 5–3 | T–2nd(Coastal) | WSun | 22 | 22 | ||
| 2023 | Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 2–6 | T–11th | |||||
| 2024 | Pittsburgh | 7–6 | 3–5 | T–10th | LGameAbove Sports | ||||
| 2025 | Pittsburgh | 8–3 | 6–1 | TBD | |||||
| Pittsburgh: | 80–59 | 52–37 | |||||||
| Total: | 80–59 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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