Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh Panthers agree on contract extension

Pat Narduzzi and Pitt agreed on a well-deserved contract extension. 

Credit Pittsburgh for making one of the best college football coaching moves of the season. They’ve signed head coach Pat Narduzzi to a 2-year extension following his impressive first year at the helm of the Panthers.

The best way to keep a head coach from moving on to another job is to stop him from ever looking. That’s why Pittsburgh athletic director Scott Barnes deserves a lot of praise for moving proactively on the Narduzzi deal. The former Michigan State assistant wasn’t rumored to be out there looking for another job, but any good administrator knows that it only takes one phone call to turn a coach’s head. This contract extension tells potential Narduzzi poachers that he’s not available this off-season.

It also sends a clear signal to the Panthers fan base that they are serious about football. By locking up Narduzzi through 2021 they can move on to address other things within the football program (facilities, budgets, etc) with confidence. Pitt’s athletic administration realizes how much a winning football program can inject life into an entire athletic department. They’ve seen the start of that given Narduzzi’s 8-4 start to this season, but the effects on the overall program, and the school itself, could become even greater.

Pittsburgh is slated to take on Navy in the Military Bowl to finish off the season after their 8-4 campaign. That record doesn’t tell the whole story, though. Their four losses came by a total of just 27 points and their only double-digit loss of the season came against Notre Dame. Perhaps their best performance of the season was a narrow three-point loss at Iowa in September. The point is that Pittsburgh was in every game they played and with a few breaks, could have had a truly special season in the ACC.

By locking Narduzzi up before he started to look elsewhere, Pitt’s administration has given the football program a chance to really flourish. With him at the helm, they’ll have an opportunity to build on their solid season and push forward to compete for ACC championships in the near future.