Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi speaks at ACC media days in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.1

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
nhiles@post-gazette.com
JUL 27, 2023 12:17 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While Pat Narduzzi claims to not be a fan of conference media events, he certainly doesn’t portray it. Dressed in a beige, checkered suit, white shirt and blue tie, Narduzzi once again was the center of attention during his team’s day to speak at the ACC Kickoff.
In the midst of television appearances, radio hits and press conferences, the Pitt head coach sat down with the Post-Gazette to speak 1-on-1 about his recent comments about Colorado coach Deion Sanders, this summer’s ACC realignment drama, his thoughts on today’s NIL landscape and more. Below is a transcript of the entire chat.
Post-Gazette: This summer, your comments about a certain Big 12 coach captured a great deal of headlines. I don’t really care to talk more about Deion but more the reaction your comments received. Were you surprised to see your words generate that type of reaction?
Narduzzi: I’m glad you brought this up. I remember having this talk with a few reporters I knew and one guy I didn’t know at all. There wasn’t anything I said that made either of the two reporters who know me write something about it. The other guy, I mean, whatever. That’s what some guys do. The big thing is — and I never read the article — but I never said one word about Deion Sanders. I don’t know Deion. All that I said was, “That’s not the way it’s supposed to be done. That’s not the way we do it here. It’s not college football.” That's about all I said, right there. I never said, “What is Deion doing? That guy is a knucklehead.” I never mentioned him by name. I just think it’s hard to build a football team that way and it shouldn’t be done like that. If you’re allowed to come in and cut the entire team after you get hired, what are we doing? This is still about education, isn’t it? These are still our student-athletes, right? I mean, what are we doing?
Pitt's M.J. Devonshire shows off his hardware during the 2023 ACC Kickoff July 26, 2023.
PG: One thing that I think can be said about you is that you’re never afraid to say what’s on your mind. Some coaches shy away from voicing their opinions, but you always seem to speak out when you feel something is wrong. Where does that come from? Was your dad the same way during his coaching career?
Narduzzi: Definitely. My dad had big fingers. He was known for pointing right at someone and telling it like it is. I think that helps in our locker room. Our kids know I will tell them like it is. I’m not going to beat around the bush, I’m not going to worry about hurting someone’s feelings. It’s only going to make a player better if they know [the truth]. Kids want to know. In relating this to coaching, kids want to know where they stand. They want to know where they are. I’m not going to tell them, “Just keep working hard.” They’ve been working hard. What is the problem? Let’s address what the issues are. To me, it’s always been about telling it like it is. I think when there is communication like that, at least everybody knows where they stand.
PG: What did you make of the realignment drama this summer? Most of the arguments made were about the $30 million revenue gap, with athletic directors claiming they wouldn’t be able to compete against schools from the Big Ten and SEC. Do you agree that ACC teams will be at a disadvantage due to the difference in media revenue?
Narduzzi: I’ll start with the last part of your question: The gap is the gap. How are we going to fill the gap? Also, the people with the biggest pockets don’t always win. We’ve already won an ACC championship. How’d we manage to do that if we’re so behind? We’ve won more national championships in the ACC compared to other conferences. So, the way I look at it, it’s not all about the money. It’s about coaching. It’s about development. It’s about having a cohesive football team. Do you want to be the team that has all the money? Yeah. Do you want to have a bigger spending budget? Yeah. But is that going to win football games, having shiny stuff over here and there? To me, there’s something to the love of the game, coaching the game for the love of the game. I always tell my players about how I turned down millions of dollars to remain a defensive coordinator. I turned down jobs in the past because it’s not all about the money. It’s about the place. Money does not make happiness, as I’m sure you’ve been told that for years. So the gap is the gap. But there’s gaps everywhere. Before NIL, there were gaps. I mean Dabo [Swinney] has a slide [at Clemson]. We don’t have a slide. There have always been facility gaps, but now, we’re talking about it more. I think it’s getting blown out of proportion. Also, the gap we’re talking about is a gap in the future. It’s not like right this second. We’re talking about, for a lot of these things, projections. It’s just reality right now. And as far as that “Magnificent Seven” stuff, again, I think that was blown out of proportion. I really do. You think about how it was laid out there. It was perfect timing when that report came out, right? It was a power play for them. They were trying to create leverage. It comes down to greed. Pitt, with Heather [Lyke] and our chancellor, they weren’t going for that. It’s still about the team, right? Team ACC, or at least that’s what I thought. But that’s what happens in life everywhere. It’s unfortunate.
PG: On the note of money, I feel like I’ve heard a lot of your players and coaches say that Pitt does NIL the “right way.” What does that mean? Are you handling things morally correct? Or are you taking a slower, organized approach so when new guidelines get passed, you won't be scrambling to make a ton of adjustments?
Narduzzi: Yeah, I mean the NIL continues to change. One thing that I don’t want guys to get caught up in is the money. I probably wouldn’t be at Pitt going on Year No. 9 if it was all about the money. I would’ve been somewhere else, probably as an assistant coach because I would’ve taken a crappy job to be a head coach and would’ve been fired three years later because I was in the wrong place. To me, it’s a slow process. NIL is ever-changing. I think we’ve done it right. Do we have the most money? No. But Alliance 412 has been incredible. It’s led by the right guy and it’s been put out there the right way. I talked with Kevin Colbert about how in the NFL, guys will get this big payday and all of a sudden, they don’t play as well. You worry about guys not being able to handle the money. You’re talking about 17- or 18-year-olds that are having to deal with that, which never was the issue. There’s nothing wrong with being a high school player going into college and just kinda doing it the old-fashioned way.
PG: I’m not looking for answers related to previous players, more just bringing up an observation I made. Last year, your team brought in a veteran quarterback through the transfer portal, but he wasn’t named the starter until the end of training camp. He also wasn’t one of your team’s media representatives at the 2022 ACC Kickoff. What has Phil Jurkovec done to inspire more confidence in your staff for him to receive these public endorsements of trust?
Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec speaks at the 2023 ACC Kickoff on July 26, 2023.
Narduzzi: I don’t remember saying he is the starter, but I’ll say this: At this point, Phil is the starting quarterback. I think he’s earned that. He’s played well. He’s protected the football. He’s been the thing you need to be at that position. But you still gotta go do it. If he goes out and throws a bunch of picks and doesn’t play well, things change. We’ve got a lot of faith in Nate Yarnell and Christian Veilleux. Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him. He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense. But it’s a totally different offense. This offense is NFL-style with sophisticated terminology. We’re going to see a different version of Christian. Nate has had a little taste of the offense, but he’s a baby.
Editor's note: Narduzzi made a point to express that his analysis of Penn State’s offense wasn’t intended to be disrespectful.
PG: You’re replacing a lot of talent on the defensive side of the football. Is this the most talent you’ve had to replace on one side of the ball during your time at Pitt?
Narduzzi: I don’t know. It’s hard to say. You look at Rashad Weaver, Patrick Jones II and Jaylen Twyman and those guys were some pretty good players that we lost. So I guess we’ll find out who is a Pro Bowler and who isn’t. We’ve done a good job recruiting. We just have to keep filling those voids. Which guys are good? Which guys complement each other up front? They all offset each other, I think, in the long run. You just have to keep recruiting guys and find good players that can play in your system.
PG: Final question: On the note of recruiting, how would you say your program’s recruiting efforts for the Class of 2024 have been so far?
Narduzzi: I’m happy with where we are recruiting-wise, right now. I’d actually be happier with less commitments. It’s about quality for me, but I’m happy with where we are.