Patrick Regan Narduzzi (born April 22, 1966) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. He was formerly the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. He attended

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

and the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

. He earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Career

Early years

Narduzzi began his career at

in 1990 where he was a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

in 1990 and 1991 and where he tutored the wide receivers in 1992. From 1993 to 1999 Narduzzi coached at the

coaching the

linebackers Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

from 1993 to 1997 and as the

from 1998 to 1999. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the linebackers coach at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

. He was defensive coordinator at Miami University in 2003 before joining the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

staff as defensive coordinator in 2004.

Assistant coach

Cincinnati

Narduzzi became the defensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati in 2004, and left in 2007 to coach at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. Narduzzi was a candidate for the head coaching position at Cincinnati, but

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

head coach Brian Kelly was named to the post on December 3, 2006. Narduzzi had informed University of Cincinnati officials that if he was not offered a permanent head coach position, he would follow

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

as defensive coordinator.

Michigan State

Narduzzi was brought along by Dantonio to revamp the depleted Michigan State defense that previous coach John L. Smith left behind. Led by Narduzzi's stingy defenses, the Spartans improved dramatically, amassing four seasons of 11 or more wins, two

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championships, and six victories over rival

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in seven years. From 2011–2014, Michigan State was the only team to rank in the FBS Top 10 in total defense and rushing defense. Narduzzi was pursued for other jobs, including as defensive coordinator at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and head coach at

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. Narduzzi chose to remain at Michigan State and helped the 2012 team and the 2013 team lead the Big Ten in total defense. In 2013, he won the

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little R ...

, which is given to the nation's best assistant coach. In his last game as MSU's defensive coordinator, the Spartans won the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic by rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter and finished the season with an overall record of 11–2. Dantonio said of Narduzzi after the game: "You want the best for your people. To win the last game like that for Coach Narduzzi was something that we could to send him out with and that will be a memory for life. He's been incredibly loyal here. He's an extremely hard worker. He's been extremely successful. And now it's time for him to grow. He'll grow as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh. They're getting a great football coach and a great person and a guy who is going to impact young people. So it's going to be very exciting for him as well as his family."

Pitt

On December 23, 2014, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' reported Narduzzi would become the new head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team. On December 26, 2014, Narduzzi was officially introduced as the 36th head football coach. In 2015, Narduzzi led Pitt to an 8–5 record and a trip to the

Military Bowl The Military Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that has been played annually each December in the Washington metropolitan area since 2008. The game was originally held a ...

where they lost to

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, 44–28. In 2016, Pitt recorded another 8–5 record as they went to the

Pinstripe Bowl The Pinstripe Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game that is held at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City. First played in 2010, the game is organized ...

, but lost to Northwestern, 31–24. His second season was highlighted by two wins against top-five teams, a 43–42 upset win over eventual national champion Clemson and a 42–39 victory over eventual Big Ten champion

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. Pitt opened 2017 with optimism over QB Max Browne but endured a tumultuous season. After struggling in a 28–21 win over FCS Youngstown State and losing 33–14 the next week to Penn State, Narduzzi's defense faltered in a 59–21 loss to #9 Oklahoma State and a 35–17 defeat in their ACC opener to Georgia Tech. Despite wins over Duke (24–17) and Virginia (31–14), they also lost to Syracuse (27–24), #20 NC State (35–17), North Carolina (34–31), and Virginia tech (20–14). On Black Friday, Pitt shocked #2 Miami 24–14 and finished the season 5–7 (3–5 in the ACC). In 2018, after losing 51-6 to Penn State. Narduzzi led Pitt to its first ACC Coastal Division title after going 6–2 in conference play and 7-5 overall. Pitt then faced Clemson in the 2018 ACC Championship Game, where they lost 42–10. Pitt went to the Sun Bowl but lost to Stanford, 14–13, to finish the season 7-7. In 2019, Narduzzi lost to Penn State again, this time by a score of 17-10, then led Pitt to another 7-5 regular season record, with a notable win over UCF, ending their 27-game regular season win streak. Pitt competed in the Quick Lane Bowl against Eastern Michigan University, winning 34-30 and earning Narduzzi his first bowl victory during his tenure at Pitt.

Personal life

Narduzzi is the son of Bill Narduzzi, who was the head coach at

from 1975 to 1985. Pat played football for his father in 1985 as a freshman. Narduzzi is married and has four children.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Pittsburgh profile

2aDays reactions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narduzzi, Pat 1966 births Living people American football linebackers Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Northern Illinois Huskies football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Rhode Island Rams football coaches Rhode Island Rams football players Youngstown State Penguins football players Miami University alumni Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut Sportspeople from Youngstown, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio