Pitt OC Search

Once again, the Pitt football program is in the midst of another coaching search.  This time it is not a head coaching search, but for the 2^nd straight year Pat Narduzzi is looking for an Offensive Coordinator.  I know nothing of the personal ties that Narduzzi has with other coaches in the coaching world that he may be considering, but I decided to put together a list of candidates that I think would be good fits at Pitt and with Coach Narduzzi.

1) Tim Beck, Co-Offensive Coordinator and QB coach at Ohio State -
Beck is from Youngstown, OH, the home of Pat Narduzzi.  That being said, I don’t know of any connections the two have with each other.  I do recall Beck being a name rumored for the position 2 years ago, when Narduzzi got the Pitt job.  However, Beck was hired by Ohio State instead to replace Tom Herman.  He has coached at Kansas where he was the WR coach and Passing Game Coordinator on a Jayhawks team that went 12-1 and ranked 2^nd in the nation in scoring.  From there he went to Nebraska when Bo Pelini (another Youngstown guy) was hired.  He spent 9 years in Lincoln holding various positions including RB coach, QB coach and OC.  He then joined Urban Meyer at Ohio State where he currently coaches the QB’s and shares Offensive Coordinator duties.
2) Mark Helfrich, former Head Coach at Oregon -
This one has next to no chance of happening, but it is an intriguing name that is available, so I’d be remiss to not include him on this list. Helfrich was the understudy to Chip Kelly at Oregon.  He has spent his last 8 years coaching the Ducks.  His 1^st 4 years were as the OC and QB coach and the last 4 were as a head coach.  Like I said, this is very unlikely to happen.  Helfrich has no ties at all to Narduzzi from what I can tell and has never coached anywhere west of Boulder, CO.
3) Alex Van Pelt, QB Coach with the Green Bay Packers -
Former Pitt great that still holds many offensive and passing records at the school.  Van Pelt spent 11 seasons in the NFL, the final 10 with the Buffalo Bills.  He began his coaching career in 2005 as a volunteer assistant at University of Buffalo.  He then moved to the NFL where he has been coaching the past 11 season.  He started with the Buffalo Bills, he eventually was became their offensive coordinator after 3 seasons.  He then was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he spent 2 seasons.  He has been with the Green Bay Packers the past 3 seasons, coaching both their running backs and QB’s.
4) KC Keeler, Head Coach at Sam Houston State -
An Eastern PA guy, Keeler would be an interesting candidate because he is currently a head coach.  Nick Saban says that he loves having other former head coaches on his staff, because they know the demands and responsibilities that a head coach has to go through and they are able to divvy up duties and responsibilities when needed.  Keeler has been somewhat that many people have expected to get a FBS head coaching job, but it just has not happened.  He was even rumored to be a candidate at Temple just last week.  Keeler has won everywhere he has coached, starting at D3 Rowan.  In 9 seasons at Rowan he made 5 National Championship games and made it to the semifinals 2 other times.  That success got him a job at Delaware, where in 11 seasons he made the playoffs 4 times, including 3 National Championship appearances and 1 Title.  He is now at Sam Houston State, where he has made the playoffs in 3 consecutive seasons, with 2 semifinal appearances and losing in the quarterfinals this year.  He has an overall record of 208-83-1 in 23 seasons as a head coach.
5) Kendal Briles, Former Offensive Coordinator at Baylor -
Briles has all types of stink on him because of his last name and because of where he recently coached.  Briles is the son of former Baylor Head Coach Art Briles who was fired over the summer for the misconduct of his players and losing control of the football program, to put it nicely.  Kendal is one of the best young coaches in the country and coaches the same system as his dad, which is the Air Raid Attack.  Briles was a 2015 Broyles Award Finalist (as Matt Canada was this year) which goes out to the best assistant coach in college football.  There is no doubt that Briles can coach, but the question with him, like Tom Bradley after the Sandusky Scandal at Penn State, is what did he know and what did he do about it?  As long as the law suits are being filed and investigations continue, Briles would be a risky hire by any program.  That being said, that doesn’t take away from his ability to coach an offense and develop QB’s.
6) Kevin Wilson, former Head Coach at Indiana -
Like Briles, White is a great offensive mind with a lot of baggage due to recent accusations.  White was let go by Indiana last month from what both parties called “philosophical differences” which many believe relate to the manner in which White coaches and disciplines his players.  White has run high powered offenses for the past 25 starting at Northwestern before moving to Oklahoma, where he spent 9 season with Bob Stoops and the Sooners.  He was the 2008 Broyles Award winner while at OU.  He then took the head coaching job at Indiana in 2011.  After inheriting an 1-11 team White led the Hoosiers to a bowl game in 2015, the schools 10^th all time, and just their 2^nd in 22 seasons.  He coached the Hoosiers again this year to a bowl game, marking the 1^st time since 1990-91 that they went to bowls in back to back seasons.
7) Frank Cignetti, Jr., QB Coach with the New York Giants -
Remember this guy?  Cignetti is a Pittsburgh guy through and through.  Born in Pittsburgh, Cignetti got his start in coaching as a Grad Assistant under Mike Gottfried.  After leaving Pitt, Cignetti spent the next 20 years coaching at all levels, including the NFL.  He then returned to Pitt in 2009 for 2 seasons, working under Dave Wannestedt.  In his 1^st season, he led the Panthers offense to over 32 points per game, while scoring 30+ points in 7 of the 3 games.  The Panthers climbed to as high as 9^th in the national rankings that year and produced the Big East Offensive Player of the Year in Dion Lewis as well as other offensive stars like Jonathan Baldwin, Dorin Dickerson.  That team also produced 8 1^st or 2^nd team All-Big East members on offense.  In 2010, the Pitt team as a whole took a step back, finishing 8-5 and firing their entire coaching staff.  Since then, Cignetti has been with Rutgers, then the Rams and Giants of the NFL.
8) Lonnie Galloway, Co-Offensive Coordinator and WR coach at Louisville - Galloway has spent his entire career working in the ACC footprint on the offensive side of the ball.  As a quarterback, he played his college ball at Western Carolina.  He got into coaching in 2003 at East Carolina where he was a WR coach.  He then moved to Appalachian State for 3 years.  Galloway then jumped back and forth between West Virginia (2008-2010) and Wake Forest (2011-2012) and West Virginia again (2013-2015).  He left West Virginia last year to become the Co-Offensive Coordinator at Louisville this year, while still coaching WR’s.  Galloway is also a strong recruiter and was named ESPN’s Big East Recruiter of the Year in 2010, when he recruited 2 future 1^st round draft picks to WVU in Tavon Austin and Bruce Irvin. (EDIT UPDATE: Since posting this, more information has come out about the Wake Forest Investigating, showing that Lonnie Galloway was directly involved.  I would think that Lonnie won't be getting many looks for promotions any time soon, and I'd assume he loses his current job at Louisville.)
9) Mike Bajakian, QB Coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -
Bajakian is a long-shot candidate that has a nice background with strong recruiting ties.  Bajakain is from NJ and went to school at Bergen Catholic, a school that produces division 1 talent annually. He has coached in both college and the pros.  He got his start as a GA with Rutgers, before then moving to Michigan for the same position.  He then became the QB coach at Central Michigan for 2 seasons before moving to the NFL and the Chicago Bears.  Bajakian returned to Central Michigan with Butch Jones as his offensive coordinator.  He then followed Jones to Cincinnati and to Tennessee before leaving last year to coach the quarterback, specifically the Bucs 1^st round pick, Jameis Winston.
10) John DeFilippo, QB coach with the Philadelphia Eagles -
This is another name that was floated around the past 2 offseasons while Narduzzi has been looking for an offensive coordinator.  DeFilippo, another Youngstown guy, has spent his entire coaching career working with the quarterback position.  Starting as a graduate assistant with Notre Dame, he then spent 5 years in the NFL working with the Giants, Raiders and Jets.  He returned to college as the QB coach at San Jose State in 2010.  The following year he also had the offensive coordinator title.  He then jumped back to the pros, working again with the Raiders for 3 seasons, before being hired by the Browns in 2015 to be their offensive coordinator.  He now is currently working with the Eagles rookie QB Carson Wentz.
11) Kenny Edenfield, Offensive Coordinator at Troy -
Edenfield comes from the south and has lots of recruiting connections in hotbeds like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and other areas.  Edenfield has worked most recently at Troy, where he has been the offensive coordinator and WR coach.  He has been there since 2008.  After taking over the coordinator job in 2010 he has led Troy to becoming one of the most explosive offenses in the nation.  Edenfield runs a very pass happy offense, in his time at Troy they have led the conference in passing for 4 of the 7 seasons and have ranked in the top 16 nationally in those 4 seasons.  He is known for developing quarterbacks.
12) Mike Denbrock, Assistant HC and WR coach at Notre Dame -
A Michigan man, Denbrock has worked in college for the past 30 years.  He started at Grand Valley State where he played then became a Graduate Assistant.  He has also coached at Stanford and Washington between two stints at Notre Dame, where he currently is.  Denbrock could be the replacement at Notre Dame to the recently departed offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, who is the new head coach at Western Kentucky.  If he doesn’t get that position, he could be someone that is looking around for a fresh start elsewhere.
13) Brian Wright, Offensive Coordinator at Toledo -
Wright, another Youngstown guy, grew up in Wooster, OH, an area Pitt recruits hard.  He is in his 21^st season coaching, 9 of which came at Youngstown State.  He has held the offensive coordinator title at every school he has coached at including YSU, Montana State, Florida Atlantic and now Toledo.  His 4 years coaching at Florida Atlantic couldn’t hurt recruiting in the Sunshine State either.  He has had high powered offenses nearly everywhere he has coached.  He has also worked directly with quarterbacks at each of those schools, specializing with the dual threat type passers.
14) Ryan Day, QB coach with the San Francisco 49ers -
Day is an East Coast guy that moved out west for this season with the 49ers, but had never worked outside the eastern time zone.  Day is a disciple of Chip Kelly’s playing quarterback for him at New Hampshire.  He began coaching at New Hampshire after finishing his playing days.  He then moved to BC, Florida, Temple, back to BC, back to Temple and once again to BC before joining Kelly with the Eagles last season.  He stayed with Kelly this year as they moved out west with the 49ers.  In all likelihood, Day will be looking for a job in the upcoming weeks as it looks more and more likely that the entire 49ers staff will be fired after this season.
15) Matt LeFleur, QB coach with the Atlanta Falcons -
Another Michigan guy, LeFleur could help with the recruiting in and around the Detroit area.  LeFleur has bounced back and forth between the college and pro coaching ranks.  He worked with the Mike and Kyle Shanahan while with the Washington Redskins, and Kyle became somewhat of a mentor to him.  He worked with both Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins while with the Redskins.  After the Shanahan’s were fired from Washington, LeFleur returned to the college game, spending a year working under Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, coaching their quarterbacks.  He has since rejoined Kyle Shanahan on the sidelines, as a quarterback’s coach for the Atlanta Falcons, where Kyle is the OC.
16) Brennan Carroll, OL coach with the Seattle Seahawks -
Another Pitt guy.  Carroll, son of Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, played at Pitt under Walt Harris.  Upon graduating from Pitt, he joined his father at USC where he coached for 8 seasons.  He is known to be an outstanding recruiter.  He was the recruiting coordinator at both USC and Miami, along with holding other on field coaching roles.  At USC, he coached tight ends.  At Miami, he coached both tight ends and wide receivers.  He currently coaches the offensive line in Seattle.
17) Tony Franklin, Offensive Coordinator at Middle Tennessee State -
Franklin has literally coached all over the country.  He began coaching under Hal Mumme, the inventor of the Air Raid Offense and Franklin obviously incorporates that in his offensive systems to this day.  He has been the offensive coordinator at Kentucky and Auburn in the SEC as well as at Cal in the PAC 12.  In that time, he coached Tim Couch and Jared Lorenzen at Kentucky.  He recently coached at Cal for 3 years, developing last year’s #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Jared Goff.
18) Frank Ponce, Offensive Coordinator and QB coach at Appalachian State -
I am very intrigued by the possibility, but I don’t think it is very likely.  Ponce has incredible ties in and around the Miami high school football scene, having coached there for the 1^st 15 years of his coaching career, some of which were at some big-time high school football programs.  He has been a college coach since 2007, his 1^st 6 years at FIU, followed by 4 years at Appalachian State. While at App State, Ponce has been the QB coach and co-offensive coordinator, overseeing the passing game for the 1^st 3 years, before becoming the primary offensive coordinator this season.  He has also had great success developing QB’s at App State.
19) Brian Schottenheimer, QB coach with the Indianapolis Colts -
Son of a former Pitt Panther, Marty, Schottenheimer doesn’t have any direct ties to Pitt, but has coaching in his blood.  He “played” QB under Steve Spurrier at Florida.  After graduating from Florida, he jumped into coaching in the NFL, beginning with a year each with the Rams and Chiefs before going back to college where he was a WR coach at Syracuse, and a TE coach at USC.  He then spent the next 6 seasons as a QB coach under his father, coaching 1 season with the Washington Redskins and 5 in San Diego with the Chargers.  He then moved up to Offensive Coordinator with the Jets, spending 6 seasons there, before joining the Rams in the same role for 3 years.  Last year he went back to college and was the OC & QB coach at Georgia under Mark Richt.  This year he is currently working with Andrew Luck in Indianapolis as their QB coach.
20) Scott Turner, QB coach with the Minnesota Vikings -
Another Pitt guy, kinda.  Turner coached at Pitt with previously mentioned Frank Cignetti, Jr.  Turner is from Virginia, but went to school at UNLV.  He was a high school coach in Virginia when Dave Wannestedt hired him to his staff.  He spent his 1^st two seasons at Pitt as an offensive assistant, before being promoted to WR coach for his 3^rd and final year in 2010.  He then moved on to the NFL, working 2 years in Carolina, 1 with the Cleveland Browns and he is in his 3^rd year with the Minnesota Vikings.  He has worked directly with Vikings young QB Teddy Bridgewater in his time in Minnesota.

There is a distinct possibility that Pat Narduzzi hires NONE of these candidates.  Trying to predict head coaching searches is extremely difficult, trying to predict assistant coaching jobs is nearly impossible.  That said, hopefully this gives you some insight on some of the candidates that COULD be out there.

Pitt Panthers Mid Season Report

We are now at the mid-way point in the college football season, so I wanted to go back and take a look at the 1^st 6 games for the Pitt Panthers.

OVERVIEW:
Pitt is 5-1 for the 1^st time since the 2009 season, when the Panthers started 9-1.  Of those 5 wins for Pitt, 3 of them have come against teams that beat them last year (Akron, Virginia, Georgia Tech).  They also have wins against Youngstown State, who they lost to the last time the two teams played in Paul Chryst’s debut and Virginia Tech, who was considered to be one of the two favorites in the ACC Coastal this season (Georgia Tech the other).  Pitt has played 4 of 6 games on the road, winning 3 of them.  The Panthers only loss has come to an undefeated Iowa team on the road in a game that ended on a 57-yard field goal to give the Hawkeyes a 27-24 victory.

The Panthers are 3-0 to start conference play, something that last happened in 2010 as a member of the Big East.  Pitt still has 5 ACC games remaining on the schedule, to go with a non-conference game against Notre Dame. 

OFFENSE:
The Pitt offense suffered a major loss in the 1^st half of the 1^st game of the season when they saw the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year, James Conner, go down with a season ending knee injury.  They have also seen their returning starter at quarterback, Chad Voytik, get replaced by graduate transfer Nate Peterman.  The offense has not been the same without these 2 players on the field.  It currently ranks 105^th in the nation in total offense, averaging 346 yards per game.  Last year the Panthers were 40^th in the country, averaging nearly 100 more yards per game.

Peterman offers a different style of play than Voytik.  Peterman has a bigger and better arm than Voytik, but really seemed to struggle grasping the system early on, making many fans, myself included, wonder why he was the choice over Voytik.  I think the biggest problem with the offense has come in the many differences between the Peterman and Voytik.  The thing that made Voytik so good last year was his running ability.  Last year he had 2 games in which he ran for over 100 yards.  Peterman isn’t that type of player.  He is a pocket passer, which Voytik is not.  Although both quarterbacks are learning a new system under new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, this system is a much better fit for Peterman than Voytik.  Peterman has gotten better in each of his last 3 games as quarterback, with his 3 touchdown performance against Georgia Tech on Saturday being his best game of the year.

With Conner out for the year and a new quarterback at the helm, a lot of defensives have stacked the box to take the run away, while also trying to shutdown Tyler Boyd, thus forcing Peterman and the inexperienced wide receiving corp to beat them.  To this point nobody has been able to take Boyd out of the game, as he has 41 of the teams 91 receptions, despite being suspended for the season opener.  Also, the trio of Qadree Ollison, Chris James and Darrin Hall have been just good enough at running back to keep the running threat in play.

The play of the offensive line coming into the season was a question mark due to injuries.  Since then, the Panthers have stayed somewhat healthy and the unit as a whole has performed well.  Pitt has allowed just 14 sacks in 6 games this season and have averaged just over 5 negative plays per game on the offensive side of the ball.  Considering some of the more high profile type offenses in the country like, West Virginia, Boise State and Arizona State all average nearly double that, 5 isn’t all that bad.  Nationally that ranks around 50^th out of the 127 teams in college football this season.

Basically, the offense is a work in progress.  It has been just good enough to this point in the season to produce the results necessary for this team.  This is a young and inexperienced unit that will only get better the more they play together as a group.  That is a good thing for this Panther team.

DEFENSE:
When Pat Narduzzi came to Pitt, most people figured he would bring his tough, physical and stingy defense with him, they just didn’t think it would produce so quickly.  With a lot of the same players back from last year, the defensive side of the ball has put up considerably better numbers.  The Panthers are allowing 60 yards and 5 points less per game this season.  In just 6 games, they have also already surpassed their total sack numbers from last year (19 to 22).  Pitt is ranked in the top 20 national in 1^st Downs Allowed (6^th), Passing Yards Allowed (12^th), Sacks (3^rd), Tackles for Losses (19^th), Total Defense (17^th).

Two of the players this season that have helped the defense improve are freshman safety Jordan Whitehead, who leads the team in tackles and senior defensive lineman Ejuan Price, who has been a menace in opposing backfields, leading Pitt tackles for losses and 2^nd on the team in sacks.  Whitehead, a highly touted recruit last year, has come right in and contributed immediately.  Price, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, but finally seems healthy and playing to his potential.

The Pitt defense has been what has kept the Panthers in games this season while the offense was trying to find its footing.  That is a complete role reversal of the two units from last year, when the Pitt offense had to outscore their opponents because their defense couldn’t stop anyone.

The one area that Pitt could certainly improve at on the defensive side of the ball is in the takeaway department.  Pitt has only forced 8 turnovers this season (2 fumbles, 6 interceptions).  The Panthers only forced 14 turnovers all of last season, so they are ahead of that pace, but that is still well below the national average.

This unit has been a pleasant surprise for the Panthers this season and they have needed it to be with the offense being sluggish at times.  The defense is playing fast and aggressive and the more success they have the more confidence the players will get.  The defense has been very good this season and should get even better as the season progresses.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Pitt Special Teams unit hasn’t been all that special this season.  While they have had their moments of greatness, they have been just average for the most part so far.  Pitt has scored 2 touchdowns on PT this year, a kick return for a score in the opener vs Youngstown State and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown at Iowa.  In the kicking game, although Chris Blewitt made a clutch 56-yard FG to win the game against Georgia Tech, he has just been okay overall this season, going just 6 of 9 in field goals.  He has made all 21 extra points, but if you are a scholarship kicker in division 1 football, you should make all your extra points.  The punting of Ryan Winslow has been good, but not great.  He has shown the ability to place the ball and have some touch punting inside the 20, but he hasn’t done it on a consistent basis.  In the return game, Pitt hasn’t been great on returns or on kick coverage.  I guess the best way you can look at it is that they are averaging about 7 yards more per kick return than allowed and almost 3 yards more per punt.  That net yardage can add up and shift field position, which is never a bad thing.  The Panthers have blocked 3 kicks this year, which is tied for 2^nd in the nation.  That is obviously pretty good.

For me the having an excellent Special Teams unit is a bonus.  Special Teams can be a game changer for you if you do things right.  At the same time, it can cost you a game if you do things poorly.  Pitt has done just enough on special teams to impact games for a positive, while not having their special teams cost them any games.

COACHING:
Another season, another coaching staff.  That is just the way things have gone at Pitt in the past 5 years or so.  The excitement that came in with Pat Narduzzi and his staff has certainly not worn off to this point.  One of the things that Narduzzi preached early on and has continued to talk about was changing the mindset of this team.  He wanted them to expect to win and be confident.  I feel that the Panthers have done that in every game this season.  In years past, Pitt would not have been 5-1 at this point.  They have only outscored their opponents by an average of 6 points, yet are still 5-1.  That means that they are winning close games.  They are winning in the 4^th quarter.  That has historically been when Pitt decided to fold.  Not this year.  I think the coaching staff is the reason.

LOOKING FORWARD:
Pitt has 6 games left beginning this Saturday at Syracuse.  After that, the Panthers leave Heinz Field just once, a road game against Duke.  That means Pitt gets 4 of their final 5 games at home.  If Pitt can get past Syracuse this week, they will be 6-1 with 5 of those 7 games on the road.  Coming home for that final stretch could be the difference for this team.  They will get North Carolina at home in a game that should greatly impact the ACC Coastal division.  With both undefeated in ACC play, the winner will be in the driver’s seat going into the final month of the season.  They also get Notre Dame at home.  The Irish have much more talent than Pitt this season, but that hasn’t stopped the Panthers in previous years against Notre Dame.  Pitt has won 2 of the last 3 at Heinz Field between these 2 teams and each of the last 6 meeting have been decided by a touchdown or less.

In the Panthers final 6 games they have 3 games in which they should win (Syracuse, Louisville, Miami), 2 games in which could go either way (UNC, Duke) and 1 in which they will be considered an underdog (Notre Dame).  That said, we know how Pitt works, they could go 1-5 with their lone win being against ND and I don’t know if I would be surprised.  Either way, it should be a fun final 6 games.