Pat Narduzzi had no problem taking an unprovoked swipe at Penn State’s playcalling a few weeks ago.
Pat Narduzzi used his own radio show as the format to rip Notre Dame.
Pat Narduzzi even gave a jab in the ribs to a beat writer covering his team over the quality of his writing this week.
Yup, Pat Narduzzi LOVES to dish it out.
Too bad he can’t take it.
Man, is the coach of the Pitt Panthers thin skinned or what!? He gets apoplectic on the sidelines any time an official’s call goes against him. He threw his own offensive coordinator under the bus after last Thursday night’s loss to North Carolina. And any time he’s asked a proper question by the media, he never just answers it like an adult. He’s always got a snippy, combative comeback.
For instance after Saturday’s 42-30 loss to Notre Dame, Narduzzi was asked if he tried to make any adjustments during the game against Irish receiver Will Fuller who shredded the secondary for 152 yards and three TD’s. Seemed like fair question to me. But that elicited this response from Narduzzi:
“We changed it up a little bit. But what are you going to do? He’s a good football player. We coulda called you out of the stands and see if you could cover him. But I don’t think that would have helped much.”
Woah! Simmer down coach ‘Duze! I don’t think the pencil pushing media guy was suggesting that he could guard a future NFL draft pick. I think he was just asking what your strategy was in an attempting to do so with the Division I scholarship athletes on your roster. That’s all. You didn’t get that I suppose?
The podium tough guy also offered up this gem when asked another completely legit question: “Coach, was there supposed to be safety help on any of those TD’s to Fuller?”
Narduzzi took a look down his nose and flippantly grumbled back- “I gotta go back and look at the tape. Gotta see what the splits were and all that stuff that you guys wouldn’t understand anyway.”
Oh, sorry coach. I hope that reporter goes back in a corner with his dunce cap on and starts drooling on himself.
Hey, Pat, I freely admit you’ve forgotten more football than I’ll ever know. And I understand it’s not as simple as it looks. But you’re explaining a football coaching decision. Not nuclear physics. And if the concept of your “splits” is REALLY that complex, maybe take the extra time you normally spend making yourself look like a preening hard ass and better use it explaining what the splits actually are?
Or maybe they are too complex to begin with and that’s why your team has made the last two QB opponents look like Heisman finalists.
Or you could just continue this weak sauce impersonation of an early-90’s era Bill Cowher that you are trying to rip off.
Because that’s the way it comes off ‘Duze. You look like an elevated coordinator who is having a rough time adjusting to being the public face of a team. Freaking out on the refs, grinding on your assistants, sparring with the media…Cowher did all that early in his career too.
And hey, it turned out great for him. But it also took him a while. Thirteen years in fact before he won a Super Bowl. And he had better players at his level of competition than you do. And his program was more established than yours when you both took over your respective positions.
Do you really think you are going to get thirteen years at Pitt?
Nobody is expecting you to be perfect, Pat. You are learning how to be a head coach. And your team is learning to win. It’s taken some strides under you quickly. You’ve avoided those ghastly losses so commonly associated with the Pitt Panther football team.
You know what else you’ve avoided, however? A quality win. Based on record, the best team you’ve beaten so far is Youngstown State. So check yourself. You haven’t accomplished anything yet.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just another media guy that can’t cover Will Fuller either.
