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3 most overrated ACC football coaches ahead of the 2024 season

By Connor Muldowney

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney speaks with media before the first day of Spring practice at the Poe Indoor Practice Facility at the Allen N. Reeves football complex in Clemson S.C. Wednesday, February 28, 2024.
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney speaks with media before the first day of Spring practice at the Poe Indoor Practice Facility at the Allen N. Reeves football complex in Clemson S.C. Wednesday, February 28, 2024. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK
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3. Pat Narduzzi, Pitt

Is it really fair to call Pat Narduzzi "overrated" if he's just considered one of the better ACC coaches every year and not exactly elite? Yes, because his inconsistency should make him a mid-tier coach.

Narduzzi was one of the best defensive minds in the country at Michigan State before he took the head coaching job at Pitt back in 2015. He immediately saw success with back-to-back 8-5 seasons to kick off his Pitt coaching career and that's when everyone immediately jumped on the bandwagon. He followed that up with a 12-14 record the following two years before going 8-5 again in 2019.

Obviously the 2020 season feels like a wash so his 6-5 record shouldn't be held against him and he bounced back to go 20-7 in 2021 and 2022. Many believe that his 11-win season could be attributed to Kenny Pickett being one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and not necessarily Narduzzi's coaching and I'd tend to agree there.

What happened in 2023 with his offensive coordinator gone and two years removed from Pickett? Narduzzi and the Panthers went 3-9, missing a bowl game for a third time in nine years.

For a guy who misses bowl games 33 percent of the time, he sure does get talked up a lot and brought into a number of coaching carousel rumors for better jobs each offseason.

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