Pitt's Kade Bell on being an offensive coordinator: 'It's what I feel I was put on this earth to do'

At one point Wednesday during his first news conference as Pitt’s offensive coordinator, Kade Bell’s voice cracked, his emotions trickling out noticeably.

He was talking about how his father, Kerwin Bell, believed in him as a 24-year-old assistant coach at Valdosta (Ga.) State.

“You’re 24 years old and you’re a GA,” Bell said, “and the next thing you know, he’s telling you halfway through the season, ‘Hey, man, I want you to go to the box and call the plays. I think you’re ready.’ A lot of coaches think he’s crazy.”

Six years later with even higher stakes, Bell has found someone else who believed him.

Introducing new Pitt offensive coordinator Kade Bell … pic.twitter.com/PSFZ6DXsXj

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) February 7, 2024

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has entrusted Bell with the daunting task of resurrecting a Pitt offense that finished last in the ACC and 114th among 130 FBS schools in total yards per game in 2023.

“Coach Duzz believes in me. I think that means something,” said Bell, who quickly controlled his emotions. “So I’m excited.”

That display of human emotion was one brief spell in a 20-minute give-and-take with local reporters marked by Bell’s enthusiasm, optimism and joy for his job.

“It’s what I feel I was put on this earth to do,” he said of serving as an offensive coordinator. “I love the game. I want to be the best at it. That’s who I am every day.”

Even a child and during his time as a four-year starting quarterback at Jacksonville University, Bell was aware of Pitt.

“I’ve always liked Pitt. You can win here and win at a high level,” he said.

Bell is not a Pitt legacy, but he can say without being boastful, “My dad backed up Dan Marino (with the Miami Dolphins).”

During the interview process while Narduzzi was seeking a replacement for Frank Cignetti Jr., who was fired in November after two seasons, Pitt’s coach said he talked to “a lot of guys” in the search for his sixth offensive coordinator in nine-plus years.

“There’s nothing more stressful than hiring people. You lose sleep over it,” Narduzzi said. “The day after the season (ended), I started strategizing. What are we going to do? How are we going to do this? Hours and hours and hours of text messaging. It’s never easy. I take it personal. We have to get the right guy in here.”

Why Bell, who turns 31 this year?

“His enthusiasm. His energy. He’s really, really confident in what he can do,” Narduzzi said. “He’s a builder. He built his own offense. I built my own defense. He’s built in the same mold.

“Coach’s kid,” said Narduzzi, who is one himself. “Those guys are ball coaches. He’s got answers to everything.”

Which brings up the nature of the offense Bell has unveiled to his players over the past two months. He will teach it during spring drills and aim to polish it starting this summer and throughout the season.

It’s a speed-based offense that will have the ability to snap the football perhaps as quickly as 7 seconds after the end of the previous play. Slower, if the situation dictates it.

“Everyone says I like to throw the ball around a lot, right? Which I do.” Bell said.

Yet he pointed out that in 2018 Valdosta State ran for an average of 260 yards per game and threw for the same amount.

“We were the most balanced team probably in the history of college football,” he said. “You want to build everything off the run game. If you can run the football, if you can find ways to have success in the run game, it makes throwing the ball easy.”

The tempo will be something Bell can control with his game plan based on the opponent.

“We’re going to go fast when it’s time to go fast,” he said. “We’re going to do everything as fast as we want to do it. The way I built the system the past five years — I created my own system — if I wanted to go as fast as Tennessee can.

“We have the ability to do that but also have the ability to have the illusion of that and then getting to really good plays.”

The offense is different stylistically from the past two seasons, but Bell said, “(Narduzzi) is one to try something new and change.

“He wants to win and he wants to score points.”

Bell said the starting quarterback job is Nate Yarnell’s to lose entering spring ball, and he’s already more vocal than in previous seasons. Yarnell must fit into Bell’s aggressive tendencies because the new guy won’t be content to win games by a field goal.

“I tell our kids all the time, we could be up 21 and, like that in college football, you could be down seven,” he said. “If you’re not trying to separate from people, if you’re just trying to barely win, if you’re not trying to have confidence and be aggressive and step on people’s neck as I would say, bad things can sometimes happen.”