Bates says Pitt ‘right place’ for him now

idea, he’s got the right goals, and that’s why I chose to come to Pitt — because we do have a chance to take this as far, in my opinion, as to the national championship.”

In the same breath, Bates quickly cited 1976 as the previous time the Panthers have done that. And, as anyone new to this town might do, he reeled off a treasure trove of Pittsburgh references as if he was digging through an old box of memories in his attic.

“I was collecting Iron City beer cans back then,” Bates said with a smile before taking a trip down memory lane. “I still have the Pirates ‘We Are Family’ album. I have Willie Stargell’s autograph at home, I can now bring that back out. Roberto Clemente, I havehis autograph.”

Indeed, Bates considers his new school something of a homecoming for a football lifer who has risen through the ranks from Division III to coordinator at a power five school. Oh, and with a stint as a Naval Officer from when he coached at the academy in Annapolis, Md.

Narduzzi has been a fan of Bates since his one season as defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, then grew to appreciate him even more as Narduzzi’s Michigan State defenses battled Northwestern over the years. Entering his fourth year at the helm of Pitt, Narduzzi acknowledged that he interviewed acting head coaches and sitting defensive coordinators for the position, but didn’t find anyone who fits better than Bates.

“I think he’ll be a great motivator. I think he brings a ton of energy into our defensive staff room, into our defensive team room,” Narduzzi said. “When we sit down with the defense, I think he brings that. He’s got the ability to lead that half of the room, those 50 guys, and take us to the next level.”

The crux of any addition to a college football staff is to make the program better. But that’s even more crucial when hiring a coordinator, so naturally Narduzzi had to bring aboard someone who can elevate a unit that has hardly been a source of success the past three seasons.

While the Panthers have held opponents under 20 points just 10 times in 38 games since Narduzzi arrived, Bates looks forward to shaping a defense that made some progress late in 2017 with just one senior starter.

“We spent a lot of time talking about what we’re doing here and what I’ve done previously, and so there’s a lot more overlap than anything else,” Bates said. “What we’ve talked about is maybe throwing a few little changeups in that I’ve used, maybe, to make the defense better, to enhance the defense, but over the years, coach and I, we have very similar philosophies.”

And for his part, Narduzzi insisted the Panthers in 2018 and beyond will be Bates’ defense, not his. He also affirmed that was the case under previous coordinator Josh Conklin, now head coach at Wofford.

Bates, who said he’ll keep all terminology the same for Pitt’s players, has “all the power,” according to the boss.

“I was fortunate enough at Michigan State to never have the head coach ever make a defensive call. I don’t know if he made a suggestion. … Very rarely would he ever interject, and I wanna be the same type of guy,” Narduzzi said. “If I wanted to continue being a defensive coordinator, I would’ve stayed at Michigan State.

“You wanna be able to leave that room and know it’s under control, and I think with his experience, his attention to detail, everything in his resume, we’ve got the right guy.”