Narduzzi signs contract extension with Pitt thru 2030

Pitt Athletic Director Heather Lyke announced Monday morning that Pitt had come to an agreement on a contract extension with head football coach Pat Narduzzi that would keep him as the program's head coach through 2030.

Narduzzi was entering his eighth season as Pitt football's head coach with his contract set to end after the 2024 season. The agreement is a six-year extension to keep him as head coach just months after Pitt football finished with its first eleven-win season since 1981, won its first ever ACC Championship, and finished ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press, the program's highest ranking finish since 1982. Lyke, in speaking to the media last Tuesday, had said the extension was "imminent."

"Our ACC championship season was the result of a strong culture and foundation that Pat Narduzzi has tirelessly built for Pitt football," Lyke said in a Monday statement. "That foundation has our program positioned for sustained success well into the future. Continuity of leadership, especially outstanding leadership like Coach Narduzzi and his staff have provided, has been integral to our program's rise. We know that we are poised for even more history-making moments in the years to come with Coach Narduzzi on our sideline."

In seven seasons, Narduzzi has developed a 53-37 record and won the ACC Coastal Division twice. When talking to Pitt's players from veteran leaders to new transfers and freshman, it's clear he's established a strong culture and football environment for the program which players enjoy to be around and has produced 18 players being drafted to the NFL. That includes six players who were selected last year, and that number will be added to with at least Kenny Pickett and Damarri Mathis, and potentially more, with the 2022 NFL Draft.

"I love Pitt football and the University of Pittsburgh," Narduzzi said in a statement alongside Lyke's. "Pitt is truly home for my family and me. We are proud to represent this outstanding university and live in this tremendous city. I am so appreciative of our players, coaches and staff. Nothing great can be accomplished without their efforts and commitment. I've always talked about the importance of pushing together in the same direction. We have that at Pitt across the board."

For years, Pickett, as team captain, would finish practices or break down pregame and postgame huddles by having the team say in unison, "ACC champs," as an effort to inspire focus to win the conference for the first time in program history. After achieving that goal, Pitt players like SirVocea Dennis, Jordan Addison, Deslin Alexandre, Dayon Hayes and more have all said the team's goal has now risen for the Panthers to win the national championship.

"That's why it was such a special moment down in Charlotte to hand that ACC championship trophy to Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and Heather Lyke, our athletic director," Narduzzi continued. "Their support and belief in what our football program can achieve has been vital. They are fully committed to the success of our student-athletes in every respect—academically, athletically and personally. It shows why Pitt is such a special place. Our goal is to bring more championships back to Pitt. I can't wait to lead this team into the 2022 season, starting with our nationally televised opener against West Virginia."

What can't be denied along with Narduzzi's recent success is how his program has produced several talented players recruited to play for Pitt. He's coached seven First Team All-Americans, including Pickett, Addison and Cal Adomitis in 2021. Addison led the country with 17 touchdown receptions during his 2021 season that earned him the Biletnikoff Award for the most outstanding receiver in football, typing Pitt with Alabama and Oklahoma State for having three such award winners, the most in college football history. That offensive success helped attract two of the biggest names at quarterback and wide receiver in the Transfer Portal in former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis and former Akron wide receiver Konata Mumpfield.

Meanwhile, Pitt's defense has established a physical, aggressive brand of play that making it more noticed around the country by opposing teams and by recruits who want to join the program. Just in February, several of Pitt's early enrollees explained it was that brand of defense that attracted them to the program and encouraged them to commit to Pitt. That style of play has led to Pitt having one of the best defenses in the country against the run, finishing third in rushing yards allowed in 2020 and sixth in 2021. Pitt's recent rankings in total sacks have been even higher in the NCAA, as the Panthers finished with the third-most sacks in the country in 2019, the most sacks in 2020 and the second-most sacks in 2021.

It's clear Pitt football is trending towards having more success under Narduzzi's leadership, which made the importance of his extension much greater after 2021. If nothing else, the program he's built has set a foundation for Pitt to reach new heights in the coming years and give the Panthers a better chance to have higher success on a national stage than the Panthers have seen since their glory days of the early 1980s and throughout the 1970s.

• After quarterback Davis Beville left Pitt football in the Transfer Portal last week, the Panthers have quickly replaced that scholarship spot with a new linebacker in Tylar Wiltz II from Missouri State:

Wiltz is a 6-foot-1, 230 lbs. junior linebacker coming from the FCS whose tape looks like a linebacker who plays well in space and would fit Pitt's aggressive mold. He had four forced fumbles last season along with three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.