OT - UCONN requests MSU for an interview of Narduzzi for HC position

Submitted by M_Born M_Believer on

Title says it all, here is the link: (I hope)

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jeremy-fowler/24369000/uconn-requests-interview-with-michigan-state-dc-pat-narduzzi

 

He is a really good coach.  Now is he the heart and soul of MSU's defense?  I have not seen anything stating whether MSU has granted the interview or even if Narduzzi is interested.

jmblue

December 8th, 2013 at 7:46 PM ^

I believe he is from Connecticut, so I imagine he'd be interested.  I don't think MSU would refuse - that's not normal conduct.

 

LSAClassOf2000

December 8th, 2013 at 7:52 PM ^

Per a bio that I found a while back, he is indeed a native of New Haven, so this would be something of a homecoming for him. I believe he also spent most of the 1990s as an assistant in various capacities at Rhode Island as well. I actually wonder if he would seriously consider going back to his old stomping grounds, now that I think about it. 

ca_prophet

December 8th, 2013 at 7:52 PM ^

He's built good defenses out of two and three stars.  That skill should serve him well as a head coach at a program that doesn't usually grab top-tier talent.

 

rockydude

December 8th, 2013 at 7:54 PM ^

I can't vouch for the truth of it, but I also saw a tweet indicating that Mike Hart is interviewing for the head job at Eastern, so good luck to him in that . . . 

SF Wolverine

December 9th, 2013 at 12:38 AM ^

but it seems to me that Narduzzi's next move could be a step up from UConn.  I would think he would be attractive to lots of mid-tier programs in the power conferences.  Would expect to pair him with a very strong OC, but he clearly has the defensive chops and does pretty damn good work with recruiting classes generally well out of the top 25.

bj33smith

December 8th, 2013 at 7:59 PM ^

I can see Dantonio coaching another 5 or 6 years. There's no way Narduzzi waits to be his successor. Hopefully he takes it, I can't believe there's not better options for him quite frankly.

alum96

December 8th, 2013 at 8:09 PM ^

So it appear the Michigan fanbase believes we can only beat MSU once every 5 years as long as Narduzzi is there.  Kind of sad.  

 

His stated goal is to be a HC, but rooting for this by the UM fan base really shows how the roles have been reversed in this rivalry.

snarling wolverine

December 8th, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^

I think those things are possible, but I don't understand why I should want MSU to have arguably the best DC in the country.  One proposition does not require the other.  I don't think Peppers' commitment hinges on MSU having Narduzzi.  If anything, having him leave probably will help us in recruiting down the road.

 

 

 

snarling wolverine

December 8th, 2013 at 8:21 PM ^

I don't see anyone saying that we can't beat them more than once every five years if he's there.  But why would you want to face him if you don't have to?  Whomever they hire is almost certainly going to be a downgrade.  Right now I just want Michigan to get back to the top of the conference.  Once we get there, we can talk about wanting our rivals to be strong.

Did you feel bad that Ohio lost Tressel and Pryor in 2011?

 

 

alum96

December 8th, 2013 at 8:48 PM ^

UM Fan of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s - well up to 2007 could care less who was on the opposing staff other than Tressel at OSU.  (we were in fact happy Cooper was there).  So aside from that 1 exception I cannot recall so much of a fan base openly rooting for a coach to leave.  When UM has its shit in order it doesnt really care who opposing coaches were nor are there message boards where many come together to cheer on aother school taking a coach from any opponent (or pre internet, around a bar stool) 

It is a statment of where the program has fallen to.   And its fan base.  No shame in admitting it - if the internet was around in 1984 I cannot imagine any similar plaintive cry from our fanbase for a rival "to take it easy on us and please lose your coach".

What happened to "to be the best, we want to beat the best".  Not at UM I guess.

snarling wolverine

December 8th, 2013 at 8:51 PM ^

This is not true.  I was on campus in 1999 and I remember a lot of people being happy that Saban left MSU for LSU at the end of that season.  No one wanted to face him again.  And that was two years after a national title.  It was also before Saban became Nick Saban, Destroyer of Worlds.  At that point he was a guy who'd had one good season at MSU.  We figured MSU would have a hard time replacing him, so it was good that he left.

 

 

 

 

 

alum96

December 8th, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^

The same Nick Saban which Carr beat 45-29, 23-7, 29-17 and lost twice to by a grand total of 6 pts?  The same Nick Saban who had MSU finish at 5th or 6th place in the conference 4 out of his 5 years?  The same Nick Saban who led MSU to a 0-3 record in bowl games, and junky ones at that.  That one?  Yes I remember the celebrations after he left - he owned Michigan and the Big 10.

Nick Saban was a solid coach but not the Nick Saban we know today.   Sorry I dont recall any outward rooting throughout the 1999 UM seasons that Nick leave so Michigan had a chance in the Big 10, and could actually beat Sparty more often than not.

Until Dantonio, Tressel was the only guy who had UM's number like this and the only guy I ever remember people clamoring to "leave".

snarling wolverine

December 8th, 2013 at 9:12 PM ^

I remember all that - again, I was on campus at the time.  

The '99 game was painful - they physically dominated us and we couldn't run the ball at all.  Brady led a great comeback in the 4th quarter but we fell short.  The final was close but it felt pretty clear whom the better team was that day, and it was a bad feeling.  There was a feeling that Saban might be hitting his stride.  People were relieved when he left.  It's dishonest to pretend otherwise.   And it's not an indictment of anyone.  It's normal to not want your rivals to do well, especially when it's a rivalry that a lot of people on our side like to pretend doesn't even exist (UM - MSU).  It's easier to do that when they aren't good.

 

 

 

 

newtopos

December 8th, 2013 at 9:09 PM ^

To be the best, you need to hire the best, or at least individuals who are elite.  We have a .500 head coach is a basically a DL coach who recruits well.  (And he reunited the fan base initially, which was a very good thing.)  As a pure delegator, he is reliant on his coaching staff.  What other program wanted Borges when he washed out from the SEC?  Who is coming to learn at the footsteps of Funk?  We are so far away from the best, to put that as a goal is not fair to the kids who have to struggle under this coaching staff.  (One area in which our coaches are overachieving is compensation.  While Michigan previously underpaid its coaches for the privilege of coaching at Michigan, the fact that we are now paying one of the highest salaries in college football to a coach that has never won a conference championship on any level and that no one elite program would want is somewhat jarring.)

Brandon, and many others, did not want the best -- they wanted the familiar and the non-threatening.   A "man who won't need a map to Ann Arbor."  Hoke fit that perfectly.

Even some posters here have thrown out the name Scott Loeffler as a potential Borges replacement because he is a Michigan man and therefore familiar.  This is despite the fact that the Loeffler-led Auburn team last year lost every SEC game it played, and in the first year under Malzahn's new coaching staff, they are headed to the national championship game.  (But it takes five years to evaluate coaches, right?)   

 

 

clarkiefromcanada

December 8th, 2013 at 10:33 PM ^

Don't really know where you're going with the Loeffler issue. While his Auburn offense was brutal you might also look over his record as OC/QB coach at Temple which, as alumni and interested observer, I would state qualified as phenomenal. Clearly, the guy can coach if he can make it work in Philly. Auburn was a terrible fit.

 

Brodie

December 9th, 2013 at 2:35 AM ^

or it was an outlier in a very weak conference with good talent inherited from a previous staff that represents just one of six seasons of data since he left Michigan. The other five consist of:

 

  • The only 0-16 team in NFL history, and a lot of that was down to the abysmal QB play
  • Tebow's worst college season + the Brantley tire fire at Florida
  • The one good year at Temple
  • The horror that was Auburn
  • A bad offense even by VT standards

At BEST his resume is still way less impressive than Borges'. I'd rather hire someone competant like Shawn Watson than waste time on Loeffler because he's a MICHMAN