Pitt might just have it right with new AD
The conversation kept coming back to Pat Narduzzi. In a 30-minute interview last week, new Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes must have mentioned Narduzzi’s name a dozen times. Barnes said he isn’t going to turn around Pitt’s football program, which has been irrelevant for years. He said he and Narduzzi are going to do it together.
“I love him. I love his energy. I love his vision. I love his expectations and the way he’s raised the bar,” Barnes said.
Narduzzi has done nothing but impress since Pitt chancellor Patrick Gallagher hired him as football coach Dec. 26. Of course, Narduzzi hasn’t coached a game yet. Todd Graham was impressive, too, at least until he lost his first game. He left Pitt after one 6-6 season, adding to what Barnes called “the coaching carousel” that made Pitt football a national joke. Counting interim coaches, Narduzzi is the program’s sixth head coach since Dave Wannstedt was fired after the 2010 regular season.
“We have an opportunity for stability with him being from Youngstown,” Barnes said of Narduzzi. “Stability and continuity are important. He and I both look at Pitt as a destination job.”
Barnes, the athletic director at Utah State the past seven years, was hired by Pitt April 24 and will take over July 1. Clearly, his biggest challenge is resurrecting the football program. It has lost its way in our pro town. Former longtime Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg, who stepped aside last summer after a terrific administrative career, called it his greatest failure.
Barnes didn’t seem intimidated. To the contrary, he brings a beenthere, done-that attitude to Pitt.
“We came from obscurity at Utah State … 15 years of apathy,” Barnes said, quickly reciting the pertinent proof of the Aggies’ resurrection: 30 wins in the past three
years, including bowl wins in each season.
“We did it in three facets. We hired Gary Andersen as coach and came up with better salaries for his assistants. We improved our facilities. And we scheduled the right way.”
Pitt has done the same thing for Narduzzi and his coaches. Pitt’s shared facilities with the Steelers also are first-rate, although many foolishly stubborn fans still long for an oncampus stadium. It’s the scheduling facet that will test Barnes. He has to find a way to put fannies in the seats at Heinz Field, which often has been half-empty on football Saturdays. Scheduling games that Pitt should win isn’t enough. The opponents have to be attractive.
A long-term commitment with Penn State? Barnes said he was “shocked” to hear the schools haven’t played in football since 2000, although the series will resume in 2016 for the first of four consecutive seasons. And how about West Virginia? Surely, Barnes has heard of the “Backyard Brawl.”
“Absolutely, we have to look at those rivalry games,” he said, stopping well short of making any promises. “As you know, scheduling is done a long time in advance. It’s going to take some time to move the needle.”
Barnes did promise to “engage” Pitt’s alumni base. “That’s where we’ll start. That has to be our priority because our alumni base goes beyond the city of Pittsburgh.”
That strategy must come as wonderful news to many prominent Pitt people, who often found Barnes’ predecessor, Steve Pederson, to be cold and aloof.
“I want to invite people in to see what we’re doing and to understand why we’re doing it,” Barnes said. “Keeping the lines of communication open with our stakes-holders is critical to me.”
It’s a tough line to walk for an athletic director. On one hand, he is asking for big money from his school’s donors. On the other, those donors can’t be allowed to hire, say, the football coach. Barnes has walked the line well. He has drawn rave reviews for his fundraising, but he isn’t afraid to say, “At the end of the day, it isn’t a democracy. The chancellor and the athletic director will make the decisions.”
Barnes’ background is in basketball. He played at Fresno State and professionally in Germany. This year, he was chairman of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament committee. But don’t suggest to Barnes that he is just a basketball man. He takes offense.
“I played basketball, but I’m an athletic director. I’m looking to build all of our programs. Football gives us our greatest opportunity for growth. I’m a big believer that a rising tide lifts all ships. If football succeeds, it will benefit our entire athletic department. We can invest better in our Olympic sports. We can sustain and grow the great work Jamie [Dixon] has done with our basketball program.”
It’s an enormous challenge, too big for one man. Narduzzi had better be good as Barnes says.
“Together, we’ll look at everything and ask the tough questions,” Barnes said. “‘What haven’t we done that needs to be done? What do we need to do to achieve a higher level of success both athletically and academically with our football program?’ We’ll put a plan in place that allows us to compete at the national level. We’re going to do it the right way. We’re going to make people excited about Pitt football.” It’s a nice thought. Maybe this time, Pitt finally got it right.