Pat Narduzzi has made his fair share of guarantees. At halftime against No. 2 Miami in 2017, he told ESPN’s sideline reporter that Pitt would pull off the upset. At ACC media days in 2018, he predicted Pitt would be back in Charlotte for the conference championship. Before the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl, Narduzzi claimed Pitt would win an ACC title “in the next couple of years.”
Now, Narduzzi has made another guarantee, another commitment: He will be at Pitt for the long haul.
Narduzzi, after the program’s best season in four decades, has signed a contract extension through at least the 2030 season, Pitt announced on Monday. If he stays at Pitt through 2030, Narduzzi will be the longest-tenured coach in program history, surpassing Jock Sutherland (1924-38).
“I love Pitt football and the University of Pittsburgh,” Narduzzi said. “Pitt is truly home for my family and me. We are proud to represent this outstanding university and live in this tremendous city. I am so appreciative of our players, coaches and staff. Nothing great can be accomplished without their efforts and commitment. I’ve always talked about the importance of pushing together in the same direction. We have that at Pitt across the board. … Our goal is to bring more championships back to Pitt. I can’t wait to lead this team into the 2022 season.”
“Our ACC championship season was the result of a strong culture and foundation that Pat Narduzzi has tirelessly built for Pitt football,” athletic director Heathery Lyke said. “That foundation has our program positioned for sustained success well into the future. Continuity of leadership, especially outstanding leadership like Coach Narduzzi and his staff have provided, has been integral to our program’s rise. We know that we are poised for even more history-making moments in the years to come with Coach Narduzzi on our sideline.”
Narduzzi, Pitt’s second-longest tenured coach of the last 50 years, is 53-37 overall and 36-17 in ACC play. This is the second extension he has signed in his eight-year tenure. The former Michigan State defensive coordinator, who was hired in Dec. 2014, was given a seven-year extension through the 2024 season after a 5-7 record in 2017.
Pitt does not disclose contract details. But Narduzzi earned $4.81 million during the 2020 fiscal year, according to tax documents made public by the university.
Narduzzi, 55, repaid the faith Lyke had in him in 2017 with a historic 2021 campaign. Pitt went undefeated on the road, beat Clemson at home and captured its second Coastal division title under Narduzzi. Pitt pounced on its chance in Charlotte, throttling Wake Forest and securing its first-ever conference title.
Pitt finished 11-3 overall, just the fifth time in program history it has won 11 or more games (1976, 1979, 1980, 1981). The Panthers were ranked 13th in the final Associated Press top 25 poll, their best finish since 1982.
Individually, Narduzzi has plenty of people to thank, most notably Heisman Trophy finalist Kenny Pickett. The quarterback exploded in his fifth and final year, breaking Dan Marino’s records and elevating Pitt to the national spotlight. Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison caught 17 of Pickett’s 42 touchdowns. And Narduzzi’s defense, operated by play-caller Randy Bates and accentuated by defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, produced 54 sacks, third-most nationally.
Pitt’s 2021 season and, subsequently, Narduzzi’s extension were years in the making. As the confetti settled after Pitt’s ACC title win, players harped on the culture Narduzzi and his staff created. They noted that since Narduzzi’s arrival team huddles have been broken down with “ACC champs on three.” And now that they’ve reached that height, there’s internal belief it can be maintained.
That won’t be easy, of course. Pickett is gone, as is offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. But with the addition of USC transfer Kedon Slovis and the return of 16 starters, there’s an opportunity for the Panthers to capitalize on an ACC in a state of flux. Four schools in Pitt’s division — Miami, Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech — have new head coaches. Even Clemson, winners of six straight ACC titles before Pitt broke through, lost both its offensive and defensive coordinators this offseason.
Narduzzi has provided Pitt with stability, a foreign concept in the years prior to his arrival. Pitt was a revolving door after Dave Wannstedt was forced out in 2010. Mike Haywood was hired and fired within weeks in 2011, Todd Graham left for Arizona State after one season, and Paul Chryst stuck around for three years before returning to his alma mater, Wisconsin.
When Narduzzi was officially introduced at Pitt, he emphasized the desire to “build this program to national prominence.” While those standards were met in 2021, the journey was imperfect.
After back-to-back 8-5 seasons, beating both Penn State and Clemson in 2016, Pitt disappointed in 2017. At the time, it was a curious move for Lyke to extend Narduzzi and his 21-17 mark. Pitt reached the ACC title game in 2018, but finished 7-7. It lost games it should’ve won and eked out an 8-5 mark in 2019. And it fell short in a COVID-affected 2020 season, declining a bowl invitation with a 6-5 record.
In a lot of ways, 2021 was a make-or-break year for Narduzzi’s program. If it wasn’t going to happen then, it might never. But to the coach’s credit, the Panthers met their own expectations and exceeded what everyone else thought was possible — locking in Narduzzi’s long-term future with the Panthers.
