When it comes to Kade Bell there's nothing that seems ordinary. His offense is fast-paced and creative, his demeanor is energetic and slightly eccentric and the way he structures his practice and teaches his players is uncommon.
However, Pitt's new offensive coordinator is winning over his fellow coaches and players by just being himself.
During his time in Charlotte at the ACC Kickoff event, Nate Yarnell spoke about Bell expecting perfection from the offense, not just in their play on the field, but in how they prepare each day. So, I asked Pat Narduzzi about the structure and standard Bell has implemented during his short time at Pitt and what he thought of it.
He said this: "Coach Bell seems like a younger Pat Narduzzi back in the day. Kind of aggressive, young, emotional, and again, just demanding excellence. You can't be perfect. We're not going to be perfect. You're not going to be perfect. Nobody is perfect. But we're demanding excellence out of our players."
That's the type of standard that Bell is setting with the offense, but he's doing it in his own unique way, the same way he's done it throughout his coaching career, which included stops at Western Carolina, Valdosta State and as an offensive analyst at the University of South Florida. In his last season at VSU, the Blazers went 14-0, won the NCAA Division II national championship and averaged a national-best 52 points per game, scoring a total of 728 points, an NCAA Division II record.
During his time at VSU, where he coached under his father Kerwin, who was a former Florida Gators quarterback and played professionally, Bell and his father would often both structure the playbook for their upcoming matchup and they often came up with the same approach, which always seemed to be an aggressive one. Like father, like son, right?
However, when the time finally came for Bell to call plays, his dad asked him if he was nervous. Despite his lack of calling plays in real games, Bell knew he was prepared.
"I’m like ‘Oh yea, I’m ready.’ I go, 'I’ve called more 3rd and 7s than you have,'" Bell recalled telling his father
"What do you mean," his dad responded.
"I go, 'Dad, I’ve been playing Madden and NCAA football since I was five years old. I’ve called a lot more 3rd and 7s than you have," Bell said with a smile.
It's one unique aspect that Bell brings to the Panthers. On top of teaching his players on the field, he sees video games, like Madden or NCAA College Football 25, as a teaching tool for his players. He compared video games to a pilot learning how to fly a plane by using a simulator and for him, football is football. The more you watch it, or play it, the more you learn about it.
Bell estimated that most of the players on his team probably learned what Cover 3 was by playing video games when they were younger, so his job is just meshing the two together. It's not his full philosophy, but it's something he can use to connect with his players and the game.
"Shoot, man, you go play Madden and call a bunch of 3rd and 7s and it’s no different than calling them in real life," Bell said. "For me, it’s football. It’s no different than calling plays in real life. I call the play that’s on the game and I just go through my reads."
Yarnell said he could see how it would be helpful and said "It’s still reading defenses, maybe not exactly the way it should be but it’s definitely a representation of the game. It’s good to just get more reps."
Calling plays in practice is another thing Bell does differently. Most coaches will script their plays for practice to get the most out of the time they have with their players on the field. Not Bell. He calls everything off feel in practice and scrimmages, just like he would in a game. That way, players get to understand how he calls plays. He doesn't have anything set in stone. He reacts to what is happening on the field, how certain players are playing and how the defense is reacting to the offense.
I asked multiple players if they've ever had a coach do that before and none of them have. However, that doesn't mean that they don't understand the benefits of it, or enjoy it.
"That’s the way it’s going to be, if I’m not prepared for practice, I’m not going to be prepared for the game," Yarnell said "So I like the way he does it. He’s calling it the way he’s going to do it, so I definitely haven’t had that, but it’s been a lot of fun."
Gavin Bartholomew added: "I do like it because you never know what's coming. It's like a real game rep, you don't know what play is coming and you just have to go out there and execute it. It's definitely something new, I've never had any coach that's done that, but I do like it."
Bell also brings an endless amount of energy to the practice field every day. During Pitt's media day, Bell hosted a scrum of reporters for just over a half hour. He never took a break and his enthusiasm to talk about his new team, players, fellow coaches and football in general never seemed to diminish. It was ongoing, even after he stepped away from the table he was seated at.
I asked Alabama transfer quarterback Eli Holstein about Bell's energy later in the session and he said Bell brings it even more in practice. That type of energy only helps the team as well, as Holstein has experienced.
"Coaches like that, that can bring the energy, are really gonna, you know, light that fire, and motivate us to bring energy as well and, you know, get better every day," Holstein said.
Everything about Bell is unique and understandably so. He's doing things his way. He's injecting life and energy into a Pitt offense that was dull and unimaginative last year and the Panthers are running with it. They are going to be fast-paced and creative and it seems as though -- we'll hold until Aug. 31 for a definitive answer -- that they'll be really fun to watch.
