Michigan State Football: Is Pat Narduzzi Mark Dantonio’s heir apparent?
After spending seven years leading the Michigan State football defense to national prominence could Pat Narduzzi soon be returning to East Lansing with a new role?
Mark Dantonio and Pat Narduzzi have history.
After spending the 2003 season as Miami of Ohio’s defensive coordinator, Pat Narduzzi was offered an opportunity to lead Mark Dantonio’s defense at the University of Cincinnati. The team improved from 4-7 to 8-5 under the duo’s tutelage, which ultimately led Dantonio to receive numerous head coaching offers from Power Five schools.
Upon accepting Michigan State’s head coaching position, the opportunity for Dantonio to supplement his new staff with Narduzzi was simply too good to be true. The duo would go on to spend eight seasons together in East Lansing, with extremely successful results.
Michigan State renaissance
After inheriting a 4-8 team, Dantonio and Narduzzi would go on to win 70 games in eight years. After rebuilding the team’s fledgling roster, Narduzzi’s defense would not be ranked any lower than 10th in the nation in his final four seasons with the Spartans.
Narduzzi’s stingy 4-3 Cover 4 defense only allowrd 274.25 yards per game in his final four years in East Lansing, which, in the age of spread offenses, was almost unprecedented. By 2013 his defensive dominance drew interest from schools like the University of Connecticut, but instead of leaving he instead decided to stay with Dantonio at Michigan State as the team’s new assistant head coach.
After fielding the No. 1 defense in the country in 2013 the demand for Narduzzi’s coaching prowess would be simply too prominent to ignore. After interviewing for the head coaching job at Colorado State University Pat ultimately accepted the vacant head coaching position at the University of Pittsburgh.
Following Michigan State’s final game of the season, the 2014 Cotton Bowl against Baylor, Narduzzi shifted his focus to rebuilding a Pitt team that had been drowning in mediocrity in a tough ACC Conference.
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Spartans Last Stand
Michigan State didn’t miss a beat in their first season without Narduzzi, going 12-1 in the regular season and taking part in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, culminating in a 38-0 loss to No. 2 overall Alabama.
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The 2016 season, however, would not go as well for the Spartans. The team would fall to an embarrassing 3-9, including losses to Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.
To make matters worse, the team also had to deal with a number of internal conflicts and a plethora of off the field issues.
Everyone believes that Dantonio is a great coach, who could easily right the program’s ship, but at 61 does he really want to spend the fleeting years of his coaching life rebuilding a program?
As recently as last season, rumors surfaced about programs like LSU showing interest in prying Dantonio away from Michigan State. While these rumors obviously didn’t come true, it is worth wondering if Mark would consider moving on to a larger school in the coming years after witnessing firsthand the Big Ten’s recent renaissance.
If Dantonio does choose to move on from Michigan State, there is an obvious candidate for his job.
Pitt Pedigree
In his first two season at Pitt, Pat Narduzzi’s team found near immediate success.
The Panthers went 8-5 in their first two seasons under Narduzzi, including a miracle 43-42 victory against Clemson in an absolute shootout.
Even though Pitt’s defense never ranked higher than 27th in his short tenure with the team, the Panther’s offense, lead by future NFL players like James Conner and Nate Peterman, consistently found ways to win games.
After wading in the dredge of mediocrity for almost half a decade, Narduzzi’s squad gave Pitt fans hope. Midway through their rookie campaign, the team found itself ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since the 2010 season.
The best part for Pitt fans is that the team could very well still be trending up. Narduzzi inherited a team with veteran leaders like Peterman, Connor and Tyler Boyd already in place, which allowed for immediate success for the first time head coach, but as those players graduate and move onto the NFL, Pat will now be able to build Pitt’s roster with his preferred players.
Pitt currently has the number 31-ranked recruiting class in the nation, only nine spots lower than Michigan State. While they surely aren’t stealing away Alabama or Florida State’s prime recruits, it is a promising sign for a team on the rise.
Narduzzi is know for his defensive brilliance, so fielding the 98th-ranked defense last season is obviously not ideal. As Pitt signs more players who fit Narduzzi’s 4-3 Cover 4 scheme, the team’s defense should naturally improve as well.
What’s next?
If Michigan State does not right the ship in the forthcoming season, the roars of displeasure from fans, players and boosters alike will be hard to ignore. While Mark Dantonio is a great coach, a change may be in order if Michigan State is ever to return to their early 2010’s dominance in a much improved Big Ten conference.
While few players remain from his time in East Lancing, Pat Narduzzi would be the ideal next head coach for the Michigan State Spartans. Narduzzi is one of the best coaches to come out of Michigan State’s coaching rankings in some time, and his return home would be an incredibly compelling story.
In addition to already having numerous connections throughout Spartan country, Narduzzi has proven that he can turn around a muddling program. His infectious energy and fire could help to inspire a franchise who isn’t used to loosing.
Simply put, Narduzzi would be the perfect next head coach for Michigan State, but only if he remains available.
Even last season Narduzzi was linked to the vacant Purdue head coaching job, and the interest will only grow if he continues to win at Pitt. If a prime job opens up at a school like Notre Dame in the next year or two it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Pat’s name on the tops of potential replacement lists.
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Michigan State’s window to reunite with Narduzzi may be small, but could prove to be the answer to returning to national dominance.