Here are 5 coaches Pitt should consider for its offensive coordinator job
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Lacking the most important element in trying to pinpoint the identity of Pitt’s next offensive coordinator — that being the key to the desk drawer where Pat Narduzzi keeps his list of candidates — we are left to speculate.
Coach searches are typically secretive endeavors for obvious, professional reasons. The hunter doesn’t want to look bad if a candidate backs out; the man being hunted would like to keep his ambitions to himself, especially if he already has a good job.
What follows is a list of men Narduzzi might consider to replace Frank Cignetti Jr. (Emphasis on the word might).
Not everyone on this list will want the job, but Narduzzi must convince his top choice that there is a chance for future success at Pitt. (Which there is, by the way.)
The new OC will be Pitt’s sixth in 10 seasons. Mark Whipple, the best of the bunch (by far), holds the distinction of being the longest tenured offensive coordinator to work for Narduzzi (only three seasons, including tutoring and gaining the trust of a Heisman Trophy finalist and helping win an ACC championship). Whipple didn’t coach in 2023 after spending one post-Pitt season at Nebraska last year.
Narduzzi didn’t ask for any advice from his friends in the media. If he asked, though, the goal should be to find someone who looks like he might stick around long enough to break Whipple’s record.
Former Syracuse coach Dino Babers
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to tap into Babers’ desireable traits of knowledge and loyalty, and his familiarity with Pitt and the ACC.
After Syracuse defeated Wake Forest on Saturday, he sent a message to his players. Players also showed their feelings for their coach on social media.
Congratulations to all the @CuseFootball players and staff on a hard-fought, well-deserved victory last night. Grandpa watched every snap. You all sent the seniors out the right way and earned the right to play one more! Proud of you all. Can’t wait to watch the last one!! ????
— Dino Babers (@CoachBabersCuse) November 26, 2023
Thank You Coach Babers for everything you have done for this team. That one was for you.
— Justin Barron???? (@justinbarron22) November 25, 2023
Babers, 62, has been around college football as head coach or assistant since 1984. He was Pitt’s running backs coach under Walt Harris in 2003 and has been an OC at Texas A&M and Arizona. In 1998, he directed a Top 20 offense at Arizona, helping the Wildcats finish fourth in the final polls. He has an overall record of 78-70 as a head coach at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Syracuse.
Narduzzi and Babers have developed a friendship over the years, and many of these hires occur because of the respect two men have for each other.
James Madison offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan
A former Pitt wide receiver, Shanahan, 33, is a Norwin graduate who ranks 10th on the Panthers’ all-time receiving yards list with 2,276.
He never played for Narduzzi — his last year was 2012 — but he has made a name for himself at James Madison, which is 11-1 and ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll. Shanahan has been James Madison’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, directing an offense in its second year of transitioning from FCS while averaging more than 35 points per game.
In 2022, Shanahan’s offense ranked top 30 in six FBS categories, including. seventh in yards per completion (14.5), 13th in scoring (37) and 29th in total offense (452.5).
He’s a young, sharp guy who will be a Power 5 OC someday.
Former Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich
Narduzzi may be partial to an OC with Power 5 experience, and Yurcich certainly meets that requirement.
He was fired at Penn State this season, but he also has been a coordinator at Texas, Ohio State and Oklahoma State. coaching such notable college quarterbacks as Justin Fields, Mason Rudolph and Sean Clifford. He was the coordinator at Oklahoma State in its 45-38 and 59-21 victories against Pitt in 2016 and 2017.
Born in Euclid, Ohio, Yurcich, 48, has Western Pennsylvania ties, having started three years at quarterback for California (Pa.) and coached at Edinboro.
Akron coach Joe Moorhead
Moorhead will get plenty of support from area fans, having grown up in Penn Hills and attended Central Catholic.
His Akron experience has not been a good one with back-to-back 2-10 records the past two seasons. But his play-calling experience includes conference championships at Oregon (2020), Penn State (2016), Fordham (2014), Connecticut (2010) and Akron (2005). He also was head coach at Mississippi State in 2018-2019, with back-to-back bowl berths, and Fordham, where he was 38-13 from 2012-2015.
This will catch Narduzzi’s attention: In 2021, Moorhead, 50, helped Oregon’s ground game rank 18th in the nation with an average of 214 yards per game, including 34 touchdowns.
Colorado assistant coach Sean Lewis
Colorado coach Deion Sanders confused many college football observers when he demoted Lewis from OC at midseason while the Buffaloes were averaging 32.1 points per game.
Lewis, 37, was head coach at Kent State from 2018-2022, hired at 31 as the youngest head coach in FBS. He was 24-31, but 22-21 the final four seasons.
He is known to bring creativity to his offensive units, something Pitt was lacking this season. Lewis has served as co-offensive coordinator at Bowling Green and Syracuse, both times under Babers.