The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

Chris Gates | The Pittsburgh Football Podcast

Pitt’s 52-23 loss to Miami on Saturday was ugly. There’s really no other way to describe it.

The Panthers were thoroughly outmatched by the No. 1 team in the country, suffering their third consecutive loss after opening the season 5-0. And, predictably, the conversation among Pitt fans has once again turned to the future of head coach Pat Narduzzi.

• Is it time to move on?
• Has the program reached its ceiling under Narduzzi?
• Would Pitt be better off starting over with someone new?

Those are fair questions. And after watching Pitt struggle through the last three weeks, I certainly understand the frustration.

But I don’t think it’s time to fire Pat Narduzzi.

That doesn’t mean I believe everything is going well. It doesn’t mean Narduzzi and his coaching staff are above criticism.

And it certainly doesn’t mean Pitt should be satisfied with the direction this season has taken.

I just think there are some important realities surrounding this program that need to be considered before deciding a coaching change is the answer.

And perhaps more importantly, I think there’s a reasonable path forward that gives Pitt an opportunity to improve without tearing everything down.

Mason Heintschel’s Injury Changed Everything

First and foremost, we need to acknowledge just how dramatically Pitt’s season changed when Mason Heintschel went down with an injury.

Before that happened, Pitt was 5-0. Heintschel had established himself as one of the ACC’s most productive quarterbacks, throwing 14 touchdowns against just one interception.

He was playing excellent football, and Pitt looked like a team capable of winning nine or ten games, perhaps even more.

Then he got hurt.

Since then, Pitt has lost three consecutive games, including one-score losses to North Carolina and Boston College.

I genuinely believe Pitt would have won both of those games with Heintschel at quarterback.

That’s not an unreasonable assumption considering how those games unfolded. Pitt struggled tremendously to generate offense with Holden Geriner and Corey Dailey, and it’s not difficult to imagine Heintschel providing the additional touchdown or two that would have changed those outcomes.

If Heintschel stays healthy, Pitt could very realistically be sitting at 7-1 right now, with its only loss coming against the No. 1 team in the country.

And even that Miami game likely would have been more competitive.

Instead, Pitt is 5-3, and fans are questioning whether the entire program needs to be rebuilt.

That’s an enormous difference in perception, and much of it can be traced back to one injury.

Now, I’ve heard the argument that Narduzzi and his staff should have recruited a better backup quarterback.

In an ideal world, absolutely.

But Pitt doesn’t operate in an ideal world.

The Panthers are already working with limited resources compared to many of their Power Four competitors. They invested heavily in retaining Heintschel, and there’s only so much money available to construct the rest of the roster.

Finding a backup quarterback capable of replicating Heintschel’s production isn’t as simple as identifying someone in the transfer portal and bringing him to Pittsburgh.

It takes resources. And those resources are limited.

Losing your starting quarterback is devastating for almost any college football program. For one operating with Pitt’s financial limitations, it can completely change the trajectory of a season.

That’s exactly what’s happened here.

And I have a difficult time holding Narduzzi personally responsible for that.

There Are Still Legitimate Reasons to Criticize Pitt’s Coaching Staff

None of this means the coaching staff deserves a free pass.

Far from it.

Pitt’s performance over the last two games has exposed some serious problems, particularly on defense.

Against Boston College, Pitt allowed quarterback Mason McKenzie to throw for 295 yards. The Panthers also committed 13 penalties for 133 yards, an unacceptable display of discipline.

Against Miami, the defensive problems continued.

The Hurricanes converted 10 of their 15 third-down opportunities. Boston College had converted 8 of 13 the previous week.

That’s 18 conversions on 28 attempts over two games, a staggering 64.3% success rate.

And it wasn’t simply a matter of Miami having superior talent.

There were obvious schematic problems.

On one Miami touchdown, Malachi Toney lined up alongside two other receivers on the wide side of the field, where Pitt had just one defensive back positioned to defend the formation. Miami took advantage of the numbers, threw the ball outside, and Toney essentially walked into the end zone.

Those are the kinds of situations that should never happen.

Pitt’s coaches have repeatedly emphasized that the defensive problems are related to execution rather than scheme.

But at some point, that explanation stops being sufficient.

If your players consistently cannot execute the scheme you’re asking them to run, it’s the coaching staff’s responsibility to make adjustments.

Continuing to put players in situations where they’re unable to succeed isn’t good coaching.

Those are legitimate criticisms of Narduzzi and his staff, and they need to be addressed.

But I also think there’s a difference between identifying coaching deficiencies and concluding that the entire program needs to start over.

Especially when the biggest factor contributing to this losing streak is the absence of Pitt’s starting quarterback.

Pitt Can’t Ignore the Financial Reality of Firing Narduzzi

There’s another major consideration in this conversation, and it’s one that I don’t think gets nearly enough attention.

Money.

Pitt simply isn’t operating with the same financial resources as many of the programs it’s trying to compete against.

Earlier this season, The Athletic published information about college football roster spending, and Pitt was near the bottom of the ACC and Power Four.

That matters.

• It matters when you’re trying to retain talented players…
• Recruiting the transfer portal
• Building depth
• Hiring assistant coaches
• Trying to keep pace with programs that have significantly larger financial commitments

And it certainly matters when you’re discussing firing a head coach.

Moving on from Narduzzi wouldn’t simply mean paying his buyout.

Pitt would potentially need to pay out assistant coaching contracts, hire a new head coach, assemble an entirely new staff, and then provide that staff with the resources necessary to build a competitive roster.

We’re talking about an enormous financial commitment.

And that’s before considering the possibility that a coaching change could create additional roster turnover in an era when players can enter the transfer portal.

For a program already struggling to keep pace financially, that’s a significant risk.

I understand the argument that Pitt should find donors willing to cover those expenses.

But who are those donors?

Where is that money coming from?

And perhaps most importantly, if Pitt could suddenly find millions of additional dollars to spend on its football program, would firing the coaching staff really be the best use of those resources?

I’m not convinced it would be.

Why Not Invest More in the Program Instead?

Here’s where I think Pitt has an opportunity to take a more practical approach.

Rather than spending an enormous amount of money to replace Narduzzi and his staff, what if Pitt found a way to direct additional resources toward making the existing program more competitive?

Other schools have explored similar approaches.

Wisconsin, for example, faced considerable pressure to move on from Luke Fickell after disappointing seasons. Rather than immediately making a coaching change, the school invested additional resources into the program and gave Fickell another opportunity to turn things around.

That approach has produced encouraging results this season.

Maryland attempted something similar with Mike Locksley, although that situation ultimately ended with a coaching change.

The point isn’t that investing more money guarantees success.

It doesn’t.

The point is that there’s an alternative to immediately paying millions of dollars to start over.

And for Pitt, that alternative seems particularly reasonable.

The university has been working to strengthen its fundraising infrastructure, including initiatives like H2PNIL and the involvement of Pat Bostick in the fundraising arm of the athletic department.

Those efforts need to produce results.

If Pitt can increase its roster spending, improve its ability to retain talented players, and become more competitive in the transfer portal, then Narduzzi and his staff should have an opportunity to demonstrate what they can accomplish with those additional resources.

And if they can’t produce better results?

Then the conversation changes.

The 2027 Season Could Become a Defining Moment

I think the way Pitt finishes this season will have a significant impact on how we should evaluate Narduzzi moving forward.

Despite everything that’s happened, I still believe Pitt has an opportunity to finish 8-4.

The Panthers have Georgia Tech, Florida State, Louisville, and Cal remaining on the schedule.

None of those teams are Miami.

There are certainly challenges ahead — particularly against Florida State and Louisville — but there are also winnable games.

Geriner showed improvement against Miami, throwing for 268 yards and a touchdown while appearing increasingly comfortable pushing the football downfield.

Pitt also has talented offensive players like Blue Hicks, Damon Ferguson, Lavell Wright, and Carson Kent.

If the offense can continue improving and the defense makes some necessary adjustments, winning three of the final four games isn’t out of the question.

But what if that doesn’t happen?

What if Pitt finishes 6-6, or even 5-7?

Then I think the pressure on Narduzzi should increase significantly.

And that’s where 2027 becomes so important.

Assuming Heintschel returns healthy and Pitt can retain much of its young talent, there should be a reasonable foundation for success next season.

The Panthers will need to replace some offensive linemen and address other roster needs, but there are plenty of players currently contributing who could return.

With additional investment and a healthy starting quarterback, Pitt should be positioned to compete at a high level.

And if that doesn’t happen, if Pitt struggles through another disappointing season in 2027, then I think the university has to seriously reconsider the future of the coaching staff.

At that point, the argument that injuries derailed the program becomes much harder to make.

And the argument that Pitt needs a different direction becomes much stronger.

Because…

College Football Isn’t Going to Wait for Pitt

There’s another reason why I think this timeline matters.

The college football landscape is changing rapidly, and the next several years could fundamentally reshape the sport.

With discussions surrounding an expanded College Football Playoff and another potential wave of conference realignment, the future of the ACC remains uncertain.

By 2030, college football could look dramatically different than it does today.

Perhaps the ACC remains intact. Perhaps it merges with another conference. Perhaps the Big Ten and SEC further separate themselves from the rest of the sport.

Nobody knows exactly how things will unfold.

But Pitt needs to be prepared.

The university cannot afford to enter the next major period of realignment with a struggling football program, limited resources, and no clear direction.

• It needs stability.
• It needs investment.
• And ideally, it needs to be winning football games.

That’s why I don’t think Pitt has an unlimited amount of time to figure this out.

Giving Narduzzi another opportunity to build on what he’s established makes sense to me.

Giving him another five years without meaningful improvement does not.

There needs to be urgency, accountability, and a clear expectation that this program will get better.

Pitt Needs Improvement, Not an Emotional Reaction

I understand why Pitt fans are frustrated.

I’m frustrated, too.

Watching a team start 5-0 and then lose three consecutive games is exhausting, particularly when some of the same problems we’ve seen in previous seasons continue to emerge.

But I also think it’s important to evaluate the program with some perspective.

Narduzzi has shown that Pitt can compete at a high level. The Panthers won the ACC championship in 2021, and they’ve had other stretches of significant success during his tenure.

Even over the last two seasons, Pitt has demonstrated that it can put together impressive winning streaks when its roster is healthy and its quarterback is playing well.

There have been legitimate coaching mistakes along the way. There have also been injuries, financial limitations, and talent disparities that have contributed to disappointing results.

Both things can be true.

And when I look at the current situation, I don’t see a program that’s completely fallen apart.

I see a program that lost its most important player, struggled to adjust, and now faces some difficult questions about how to move forward.

Those questions need answers.

But I don’t believe firing Pat Narduzzi right now is necessarily the right one.

I’d rather see Pitt invest more resources into its football program, work to retain its talented young players, and give this coaching staff an opportunity to demonstrate meaningful improvement.

If the Panthers can’t turn things around this season, the pressure heading into 2027 should be substantial.

And if 2027 brings more of the same, then Pitt may very well need to make a change.

But for now, I think the smarter approach is to recognize what went wrong, address the problems that can be fixed, and give the program an opportunity to move forward.

Because Pitt doesn’t just need a different head coach.

It needs a sustainable plan for competing in modern college football.

And whoever is leading the program, that’s going to require more than simply changing the name on the office door.