Space Coyote

December 11th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^

But if they gave him a deadline, I think it's by far in his best interest to wait to see what else is out there. In my opinion, that's a solid fall back option, but you look around for something a little better first. I'm sure other jobs will open up that are better than UConn, think UConn likely tried striking and making him make a move too soon.

He probably has a very real interest in seeing this season out and coaching/winning a Rose Bowl, something that program and staff have been striving to do for 26 years, and I can't blame him.

Space Coyote

December 11th, 2013 at 2:07 PM ^

Similar to Strong's ability to get the Louisville job, which is a very good mid-level job. I think that's pretty much what Narduzzi is looking for.

Again, like I said, UConn isn't a bad backup option. But I don't think he'd be doing himself favors by accepting a job now before getting a full look at what's available.

bo_lives

December 11th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^

Other than the possibility that that same Charlie Strong you mentioned goes to Texas... what mid-level schools better than UConn will be seeing their coaches move up? And isn't the UConn bridge burned now that he turned them down?

Seems more likely he'll be MSU's DC for at least another year.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 11th, 2013 at 3:30 PM ^

I'm not sure why this idea exists that UConn is "settling."  It's a mid-level program.  The vast, vast majority of BCS coaches (not including the AAC) were head coaches elsewhere first, or hired from within for continuity's sake.  I can think off the top of my head three coaches that got their first head coaching job at a BCS level school and were hired from outside the program: Paul Chryst, Kevin Wilson, and Will Muschamp.  Muschamp is Exhibit A of why schools don't usually do that.  Wilson is at Indiana, which isn't exactly a destination.  And Wilson, like Narduzzi, is a Broyles Award winner - and Indiana is the job he ended up with.  If Narduzzi is holding out for a Florida type offer he's going to be at MSU a long time.  A job like UConn is right in the wheelhouse of what he ought to be looking for.

Leaders And Best

December 11th, 2013 at 4:00 PM ^

No traditional top 25 team is going to hire Narduzzi. I can name around 10 coordinators who are higher profile than Narduzzi. Guys like Charlie Strong, Steve Sarkisian, Kevin Wilson, and Will Muschamp were coordinators of national powers that competed for BCS National Championships. Those guys have recruiting credentials that Narduzzi does not. Most coordinators who get hired as head coaches at BCS schools (Big Ten, SEC, Pac 12, Big 12, and ACC) usually have coached for traditional national powers or were promoted from within.

Narduzzi's most likely opportunities are going to be an AAC/Big East program, MAC program, or wait to inherit the MSU job. Maybe he gets a Big Ten job like Rutgers down the road. I don't see him taking a Defensive Coordinator job at a higher profile program.

TheThief

December 11th, 2013 at 4:46 PM ^

Those guys were assistants at places like USC, Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas. Those are all teams that consistently have top 15 recruiting classes and wind up in the top 10 in rankings. They are juggernaut schools with tremendous resources. The resources MSU brings to the table look mediocre compared to a Texas or Florida. Narduzzi looks very markeatable to me and like a guy who might not get a top tier team, but are you telling me a bottom of the bowl BCS team wouldn't take him as head coach (I am excluding Uconn). He has arguably done more with less than most of those guys.

Leaders And Best

December 11th, 2013 at 5:59 PM ^

Those are the coordinators that get major head coaching jobs. They are perceived to be less of a risk than Narduzzi because they are higher profile coordinators who have at least recruited at the highest level and have more exposure making it easier to sell to boosters, the fanbase, and most importantly, the recruits.

Narduzzi has never been a head coach, never worked for a national college power, never recruited at a high level, and has zero ties to prospect rich areas like the South or West Coast or a major power. He is about to turn 48 years old (about as old as Urban Meyer) with zero head coaching experience. How is that guy marketable to the 65 major college schools compared to whom they've been able to hire? Wake Forest (arguably one of the worst programs among the major 5 conferences) just hired Dave Clawson who served as OC at Tennessee, won big as a head coach at the FCS level, and just won the MAC title as a head coach at Bowling Green. Look at the recent Pac 12 hires (Chris Petersen, Steve Sarkisian, Mike Leach, Rich Rodriguez, Todd Graham, Sonny Dykes, and Mike MacIntyre). Don't even start with the recent SEC hires. Their credentials blow Narduzzi's away.

Narduzzi is going to have to prove he can lead a mid tier program like UConn, Cincinnati, or a MAC school as a head coach before any major program outside of the Midwest even sniffs at him. His only chance at a major college job if he stays at MSU is succeeding Dantonio at MSU or competing for a lower tier Big Ten job when one may open up. But even that may be a hard sell and risky. I could see him maybe competing for the Rutgers job if it opens up in a year or two.

TheThief

December 12th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^

However, when you consider that it has been a stepping stone for guys like Dantonio, Brian Kelly, and Butch Jones, I would think that Cinncy is a much more desirable job than Uconn, especially since the biggest move up was for Edsall who went to Maryland.

I think you actually make my point if Narduzzi has put together the best defense in the country with a bunch of 3 stars, it could be argued that with greater resources he could have a giant ceiling. Also, 48 is a great age for a head coach, not too young not too old. The only knock is that he was never a head coach, but that could literally be a knock on every coordinator who took his first HC job.

WolvinLA2

December 12th, 2013 at 12:25 AM ^

I think Cincinnati is a little better than UConn, but not by enough to really worry about.  Frankly, I'm surprised Narduzzi passed it up.  Diaco is getting 1.5mil a year to start, which has to be about triple what Narduzzi makes at MSU.  

I just don't see a job that is noticeably better than UConn wanting a guy like Narduzzi.  He has been a high level DC for a handful of years, but not like 15 years or anything, and he's completely unproven as a HC.  This is why Diaco jumped at the UConn job.  

bo_lives

December 11th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^

Almost all the top HCs had to prove themselves at a mid-level school on par with UConn before making it to the top. If he's waiting for a better offer he's looking at an extremely fine window of schools that are better than UConn but still willing to hire a coordinator as HC. For 2013, that window is zero unless Charlie Strong bolts to Texas.

08mms

December 11th, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^

While UConn isn't bad, were I Narduzzi, I'd keep my eye on somewhere like Cinci that has enough of a recruiting profile I could not worry about starting from ground zero in those first couple of years as a head coach.  His performace at State is high profile enough that ADs at major programs will be keepign an eye on him right away and a bust could be a big career set-back.  Its a shame Tuberville isn't going anywhere any time soon.

AMazinBlue

December 11th, 2013 at 1:54 PM ^

Urbs reportedly met with Texas Boosters the day after OSU beat Michigan.  And the only mountain left for Saban to climb is the NFL.  He failed miserably at Miami and he can see what Carroll has done since his first stint in the NFL and how Harbaugh has done.

What else is there for Saban to prove in college?  He doesn't need the money and why rebuild again when you have a dynasty.  The NFL is the only place left besides Bama for 3 more years and then TV.

I Like Burgers

December 11th, 2013 at 2:18 PM ^

Texas is not a sideways move from Ohio State.  Ohio State is a good job, but not Texas good.  Texas has WAY more to offer than OSU does -- money, talent bed, facilities, etc.  Texas is arguably the top job in CFB.  Ohio State is meerly a top 10...maybe top 5 job.  So if Texas comes calling, you listen.

CRISPed in the DIAG

December 11th, 2013 at 2:41 PM ^

I call BS - but only on the extremely relevant part that a meeting didn't take place.  The world is too small to have sneaked a meeting in the day after The Game.  

But whoever made the point about UT being a better job than Ohio - they're right.  Ohio is likely seen as a *top 10* whereas UT is going to be #1 based on everything mentioned above - money, recruiting base, facilities, tradition and academics.  Futhermore UT is located in a city generally considered to be one of the nicest and most progressive in the country  - in a state that has been growing both economically and in population.  Notwithstanding my utter distaste for anything in Ohio, you'd be insane not to speak with Texas if you have an opportunity regardless of where you are coaching.  Including Bama.

MGozer

December 11th, 2013 at 5:54 PM ^

had three options for penalty-free buyouts.  One was OSU, one as Michigan, and one was Notre Dame.  The media referred to Notre Dame as his "dream job" (which may be true), but he clearly had a top three if the terms of his contract are any indication.

In any case, Texas was not a special case he wanted to keep an eye on, but OSU was.

Here's a link decribing that Florida contract, FYI.  

FWIW, I'm not sure what the buyout on his family contract was.  HIYOOO!

AMazinBlue

December 11th, 2013 at 7:20 PM ^

job.  Texas is probably the No 1 job in the country.  The best recruiting bed in the coutry and they will beat down the door to play at Texas.  The only place that outdoes football in SEC country is Texas.  It's more than religion down there.  OSU is the best job in the B1G and certainly in the top 10 in the country, but even with Texas?  No way.

I have no facts, just word from someone I know that has contacts in visible places that Urbs went to Austin on Sunday after the Michigan game.  If he flew on a buddy's jet and met at someone's house and met several big time people there, it's possible.

The boosters at Texas run that school they have BIG money and they buy what they want and usually get it.

It may not be Urbs, it won't be Saban, he's not enough of an ass-kisser.  Saban's mountain to climb is a Super Bowl.  He'll get a Parcells type job coach GM and build the roster he wants and see what happens.

MGozer

December 11th, 2013 at 6:03 PM ^

to use a potential employer's offer to get more money from your current employer - that just makes sense.  If someone else thinks you're worth more than your current employer, you go there.  If your current employer matches their offer, you stay for the convenience.  I don't see how that's "irrational."

It's possible that Meyer is a sociopath, but this isn't evidence of that.

mGrowOld

December 11th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^

I dont blame him either and this definitely is NOT OT.  He is an exceptional Defensive Coordinator and should get offers from stronger programs after the season ends and Head Coaching changes begin in earnest.

PurpleStuff

December 11th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^

Is he really a guy who is going to get the keys to the kingdom at a big job?  Not too familiar with his personality, but based on other's opinions he sounds like a hillbilly Norm Chow who just isn't going to be made the face of a top-20 program.

His move seems to be to take a shitty job like UCONN and hope for quick success (otherwise he probably won't get another shot), take a higher profile DC gig as a stepping stone to an elite HC job (where again, he risks tarnishing his reputation if the pieces aren't in place), or riding it out at MSU with a series of steady pay increases.

Brown Bear

December 11th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^

Yea I don't see him getting a perennial top 20 team hc job. He can take a mid level team and do great things and get a better gig. Charlie Strong who was considered a great coordinator just like narduzzi and head coaching candidate for a few years only landed a job at Louisville in which he has done a great job and will probably land a big job from it.

Leaders And Best

December 11th, 2013 at 4:19 PM ^

There are only 65 major conference schools. He has no SEC or West Coast ties as he has coached in the Midwest his whole life. As a coordinator, that pretty much makes him a candidate for Big Ten jobs and a handful of ACC jobs in the Northeast. Remove top 25 traditional programs from that list, and you only have a handful of jobs.

I Like Burgers

December 11th, 2013 at 4:45 PM ^

I could see him landing at a school like Virginia (or Virginia Tech if Beamer ever decides to retire).  Mike London has one of the hottest seats in CFB.  If he gets canned, giving Narduzzi a shot there could pay off.  Plus (assuming he could keep them) they have two big 5-star defensive recruits in Andrew Brown and Quin Blanding that he could build around.

And given that Virginia is in the quasi-south, if he succeeds there, that would open up a lot of bigger ACC and SEC jobs.