Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi celebrates after win against Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
PITTSBURGH — As the son of a college football coach, Pat Narduzzi lived in a lot of different places growing up.
But, there’s only one place he calls home — Youngstown.
“That’s where I grew up,” Narduzzi said. “I think it was third grade when we moved there. So when you spend third grade to your senior year in high school, that’s where you grew up.”
His late father, Bill Narduzzi, coached at Pittsburgh, Brown, Yale, Miami (FL) and Kentucky before taking over the head coaching job at Youngstown State for 11 seasons, where he led the Penguins to two Division II playoff appearances, including an appearance in the national championship game in 1979.
The Ursuline alumnus was one of six children — with two brothers and three sisters, but he was the one that gravitated towards football the most.
When the elder Narduzzi would come home from practice at YSU, young Pat was there to grill him on what happened that day. He’d ask questions about the team’s gameplan for that week or about the health of certain players on the team.
Narduzzi even served as a ball boy for the team. On those sidelines and in those locker rooms, he’d listen — learning and picking things up that would eventually shape who he’d become as a football coach himself.
“Growing up around my Dad, that’s what built me to what I am today,” Narduzzi said.
But before getting into coaching, Narduzzi was an All-Ohio performer as a defensive lineman for Ursuline in 1984. He played one year for his father at YSU, starting at linebacker as a freshman, before transferring to Rhode Island and becoming a three-year starter for the Rams.
Given his background and his blue-collar Youngstown roots, it seemed like a perfect fit when Narduzzi took over the head coaching job at the University of Pittsburgh in December of 2014.
“Growing up in Youngstown, it’s kind of like the city of Pittsburgh — it’s a tough town,” Narduzzi said. “I’ve got that tough Youngstown attitude and that’s got me to where I am today as well.”
During Narduzzi’s first six seasons leading the Panthers, he had just one losing season in 2017 before bouncing back to win the ACC Coastal division in 2018. Pitt has had three 8-5 seasons during Narduzzi’s tenure and won its first bowl game in 2019.
But in 2021, Narduzzi’s Panthers reached new heights.
Pitt went 11-2, winning the ACC Coastal division for the second time and then crushed Wake Forest 45-21 on Dec. 4 to win the program’s first ACC championship. Quarterback Kenny Pickett was also a finalist for the prestigious Heisman Trophy.
Since he was hired, what Narduzzi has built up to this point has all been part of a “process.”
“Things don’t happen overnight — you don’t click your fingers and win a championship,” Narduzzi said. “There’s a lot of institutions that don’t give a coach seven years, and we’ve won a lot of ball games over the years prior to this.”
“The difference is, this year, our kids grew together — they’ve played a lot of football together,” Narduzzi continued. “We have better players on the football field now than we did (when I first started) in 2015. It comes down to recruiting and getting the players that fit your scheme and play fast. That’s the key to success is when your players are better than the other guys’ players.”
Pitt’s reward for its success this season? A chance to face a team and program Narduzzi is all too familiar with — Michigan State — in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 in Atlanta.
Prior to being hired at Pitt, Narduzzi spent eight years as defensive coordinator for the Spartans under former head coach Mark Dantonio. During his final four seasons with Michigan State, the Spartans were the only team to rank in the nation’s top 10 in total defense and rushing defense each season from 2011-14.
“It’ll be fun to hear the fight song, it’ll be fun to see that Spartan helmet and all the traditions they do,” Narduzzi said. “But now you’re on your own sideline, you’ve got your own fight song and your own players and players you love. This one has a little special flavor to it, but it’s still a game. I don’t get to play in the game so that doesn’t really matter. I’ve got a lot of friends and colleagues up there at Michigan State — so many great people and it’s a great school. It’s interesting for everybody.”
Since before his time at Pitt, and even before his time at Michigan State, Narduzzi has maintained his local connections when it comes to recruiting.
While he was at Cincinnati with Dantonio from 2004-2006 and while he was with Michigan State, northeast Ohio was Narduzzi’s recruiting area — a connection that he still maintains with the Panthers. Pitt currently has eight players from northeast Ohio on its roster and has about 11 total players from the state of Ohio.
Considering the ethos of the area and based on his own experience, Narduzzi knows firsthand the kinds of players that northeast Ohio produces.
“We’re always in that area — we’re still in that area,” Narduzzi said. “If there’s a Youngstown player and we can get him, he’s got an upper leg because of our ties there, for sure.”