Semi-OT/CC: Pitt says no on Schiano, targeting Narduzzi instead

I hope you are right about Narduzzi and I hope Pitt puts together an attractive offer for him.

It's a perfect stepping stone job for him.  He is a Youngstown OH guy (east Ohio) and Pitt is in west PA.  I think he grew up within 100 miles of campus.  His dad was a position coach at Pitt.  He recruits that area.  His personality is suited for that sort of town vs say Colorado Springs.   And no he is not getting any better offers - every single high level job in the Big 10 has been open in the past 12 months not named OSU and he was not sniffed for any of them (UM, Wiscy, Nebraska, PSU). 

Pitt is in the crap side of the ACC (akin to the Big 10 west) and the conf as a whole might be the only one as bad as the Big 10.  If he is a good coach he should be winning 8 games a year and then can leave in 3 yeas.  Chryst actually turned that team around pretty nicely - they ranked top 50 in both offense and defense this year with the offense farther ahead (Chryst being an OC).  So in theory he comes in an does the same for the defense and he has a young team handed to him from Chryst.

I dont see Dantonio going anywhere for at least 6 years so if Narduzzi is not a creation of Dantonio and actually decent on his own he probably gets his own decent P5 job after this.

In principle, I agree, but if you ask me, Pitt is making a mistake going after Narduzzi instead of Schiano.  Schiano was successful at Rutgers and he is an excellent fit for Pitt.  If it came down to Schiano vs. Narduzzi, I would take Schiano in a heartbeat.   

FWIW, Schiano has a stronger resume than Narduzzi and is experienced recruiting the East Coast. Narduzzi is clearly talented but has no offensive upside...would be interesting to see him put together a staff (and who he takes out of EL, obviously).

The Sparty myth making and narrative about Narduzzi would be interesting: either a) it's Dantonio who makes the D and they can "live without him" or b) their defense will be a question mark with him gone. Since no Sparty is rational, I'm predicting every single one of them goes with a.

The reality, in this stinking year of our lord 2014, is next in line at MSU is a way better situation than HC at some backwater like Pitt.

I get that but a bigger part of me just wants a win however it happens.  MSU losing Narduzzi makes that more likely.

First thanks for the avatar

Second no that defense can be beat with an accurate and consistent QB.  2013 was an exception as the D was truly elite with 2 NFL 1st round CBs on it.  That is almost unheard of at the NCAA level.   But all other years you need a QB who can throw 8-15 yard patterns consistently.  We have not had one with all due respect to Denard and Devin.   Purdue put out a QB in his 2nd game of his career and he put up 31 pts on that D.   OSU and Oregon go without saying, nearly 100 pts between the 2.  When you have one weak corner in that system it starts to fail.  But most Big 10 QBs are so trashy they cant take advantage.

In the Pac 12 and the Big 12 the QBs would exploit that D way more than Big 10 or ACC teams can.  Lack of NFL type QBs in those 2 leagues.  Gary Nova was the 3rd best starting QB this year in our league.

It's a defense totally committed to stopping the run - its break dont bend defense.  If you break it, you have big plays all over the place.  But it requires a good QB to break it.   You need the pass to set up the run, otherwise they just committ 8 guys to the run.   Its the perfect defense for the Big 10 where until even last year every team had a bunch of run based QBs (even Braxton Miller who was inaccurate as a thrower).