8 college football coaches on the hot seat, including Houston’s Dana Holgorsen

Jimbo Fisher was the first major domino to fall in what could prove to be a wild coaching carousel.

In contrast with the chaos of the college football coaching market the last two years, it’s been a bit of a slow burn to start the 2023 carousel.

As the calendar turned to November, the only Power Five openings were Michigan State and Northwestern, both of which opened for non-football reasons. It looked like we could be heading for a relatively quiet cycle.

Then, a major domino fell. In what became something of a “Black Sunday” for college football coaches, Texas A&M decided to part ways with coach Jimbo Fisher (and pay the $76 million buyout that came with that decision).

Since then, we’ve seen a few more changes, including in the SEC West. Mississippi State fired first-year coach Zach Arnett just 11 games into his tenure after he took over last December after the death of coach Mike Leach.

In the Group of Five ranks, Boise State axed third-year coach Andy Avalos, and San Diego State (and former Michigan) coach Brady Hoke announced his retirement.

These were the first moves to be made, but if history is any indicator, they’ll be far from the last. Here are eight more coaches who find themselves on the hot seat with two weeks left in the regular season.

Former Penn State QB struggles as Pitt gets blown out at Notre Dame, Narduzzi rips talent

Pat Narduzzi’s offseason comments about Pitt’s ‘real offense’ continue to blow up in his face, and now he may have lost some of his players after a blowout loss to Notre Dame.

Things have not exactly been great for the Penn State offense the last couple of weeks, but things could always be worse. You could be the Pitt Panthers.

Pitt fell to 2-6 this season after getting scorched on the road at Notre Dame this weekend by a score of 58-7. The Irish led Pitt 17 at halftime and blew the game wide open in the third quarter with a 27-point quarter. Former Penn State quarterback [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] had a brutal outing in his latest start with 4 interceptions and -13 rushing yards.

Veilleux has taken over the starting quarterback job for the Panthers and is currently up to 774 passing yards with 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. The Panthers are 1-2 since Veilleux has taken over the starting job with an upset win over Louisville and back-to-back losses against Wake Forest and Notre Dame. Pitt has be

The Pitt offense now ranks 113th in total offense, 101st in scoring offense, 117th in rushing offense, and 92nd in passing offense. Now heading into November, it is worth taking a look back at some of the comments Narduzzi had to share about the Pitt offensive philosophy when asked about the transfer addition of Veilleux from the Nittany Lions.

“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in during the summer media day season. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”

Of course, this comment has already been revisited once this season. After Pitt scored 6 points in a rivalry game loss to West Virginia, we looked back at that quote, keeping in mind Penn State put 38 points on the board against the same Mountaineers team just a couple of weeks prior.

The state of Pitt’s “real offense” continues to take a beating after a horrendous showing against Notre Dame. And Narduzzi may be doing more internal damage than he can afford after his postgame comments about Pitt’s talent level were making the rounds on social media.

This comment was selectively taken a little out of context, as it was just a part of a response to a question where Narduzzi was attempting to explain the recent struggles starting with him, but it was enough to cause a stir online from some of Pitt’s players.

Narduzzi took to his social media account later to try and calm the noise a bit, but you have to wonder if it will resonate with his players well enough given how this season is going.

Narduzzi says Veilleux will remain Pitt’s starting quarterback moving forward. Veilleux and the Panthers will be in for another massive test next week when they host undefeated Florida State. Pitt is 2-6 and one more loss away from being ineligible for a postseason bowl game.

Meanwhile, in Happy Valley, Penn State has its own offensive concerns to address in the coming weeks. Penn State visits Maryland this weekend and will host Michigan next week. Penn State’s offense has to be cleaner and more crisp if it is going to avoid an upset at Maryland and compete with the two-time defending Big Ten champions.

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Notre Dame routs Pitt, gets Pat Narduzzi to call out talent of team

Pitt fans might want to buckle up as only more turbulence seems to be headed their way.

Pat Narduzzi has been the head football coach at Pittsburgh since the 2015 season.  He’s had success, winning the ACC just two years ago and going 62-41 previous to 2023.

He and the Panthers have gone just 2-6 in 2023 however, with their latest defeat coming of the 58-7 variety at Notre Dame.  It was the biggest loss they’ve suffered under Narduzzi and the biggest blowout loss they’ve had since falling 60-6 to Notre Dame 27 years ago.

After the game Narduzzi took responsibility the latest loss, but only after questioning the overall talent of the 2023 Pittsburgh squad.

“You lose a lot of good players a year ago, you think as a coach you’re going to replace them, we obviously haven’t,” Narduzzi said. “It starts with me. I didn’t do a good enough job of coaching today. Put it on me. We’ve got to make plays. It comes down to making plays and doing a better job of coaching.”

Although Narduzzi stepped up and took responsibility for the rough state of affairs, some of his players weren’t thrilled upon seeing the quote.

Narduzzi followed that up with a tweet of his own shortly after, accepting responsibility for the loss.

It’s one of those things I think a few things can be true.  Narduzzi can be right that his team isn’t as talented as it was just a year ago, but I can promise you that saying his players lack talent immediately following another blowout loss isn’t exactly going to win back a locker room, and doesn’t simply just go away with a simple tweet.

Pitt players didn’t seem happy Pat Narduzzi partially blamed them after Notre Dame blowout loss

Some Pittsburgh players aren’t happy Pat Narduzzi seemingly threw them under the bus after losing to Notre Dame.

Pittsburgh football coach Pat Narduzzi might be in a bit of trouble with his locker room after comments in a postgame press conference seemed to indict his current roster.

After the team’s 58-7 disaster against Notre Dame, Narduzzi tried to talk about why his team isn’t in the best situation right now with a 2-6 record and a bowl game completely out of focus.

To Narduzzi, the team hasn’t necessarily replenished the talent it lost from the players who left the program.

“As a football coach, you lose a lot of good players a year ago, you think, as a coach, you’re going to replace them,” Narduzzi told reporters. “We obviously haven’t… Again, it starts with me. … I didn’t do a good enough job coaching today, and put it on me. … We’ve got to make plays.”

The part about not being able to replace the talent that left the program a year ago started to go viral after it was shared by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Noah Hiles.

Well, a number of Pittsburgh’s football players saw the post above and expressed their displeasure in their coach seemingly throwing them under the bus. You can see their responses below.

Narduzzi tried to play damage control with a Twitter post that put the loss on him completely.

However, he will likely have to do more to walk back his comments as a number of his players have now publicly responded to them.

Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi says Panthers ‘didn’t do a good job’ replacing talent, players react

Narduzzi said Pittsburgh lost talent and didn’t do a good job replacing it, a sentiment his players seemed frustrated by.

Pittsburgh lost to Notre Dame 58-7 on Saturday, and Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi teed off on his roster after the game.

“We lost a lot of good players last year,” Narduzzi said. “We thought we’d replace them and we obviously didn’t do a good job of that.”

Narduzzi expanded upon his thoughts more, saying it starts with him and he didn’t coach well enough on Saturday, but the damage was done. His comments ignited a firestorm in his locker room, with players like tight end Gavin Bartholomew, running backs Rodney Hammond and Derrick Davis, and defensive back Ryland Gandy all responding to the quote on social media with varyingly clear displays of frustration.

The coach clarified his comments further on social media after the game.

Narduzzi signed a contract extension through 2030 after the 2021 season, which saw the Panthers win the ACC behind Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett’s quarterback play. His buyout is not currently known, but the USA TODAY Sports database says the Pittsburgh coach is due to make $5,875,817 this season, the 28th-highest-paid coach in the sport.

Notre Dame football: Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi discusses Irish

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi met the media to start game week against Notre Dame. Here is everything he had to say about the Fighting Irish

Notre Dame has had its difficulties with the name Pat Narduzzi for quite some time.  Before becoming Pitt’s head coach, Narduzzi was the defensive coordinator at Michigan State from 2007-2014, coaching the Spartans to some of their finest seasons in recent memory.

Narduzzi took over the Pitt Panthers in 2015 and has gone 65-45 in that time, including a 42-28 record in the ACC.

Pitt has long been a rival of Notre Dame’s as the two met annually for the better part of 75 years.  Now they meet a bit more sparingly but still regular enough.

Narduzzi met the media on Monday to start off Notre Dame-Pitt week.  Here is what the Panthers head coach had to say about the 6-2 Fighting Irish.

Report: Pittsburgh benches Jurkovec, expected to start Veilleux next week

Phil Jurkovec, who has 2 TDs and 3 INTs over his past three games, will reportedly no longer be the starter for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The Pittsburgh Panthers have made a change at quarterback, according to a Wednesday report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles.

The Panthers will trade senior Phil Jurkovec for sophomore Christian Veilleux when they next take the field against Louisville on Oct. 14.

Jurkovec, a three-year starter at Boston College who transferred to Pittsburgh before this season, has struggled so far in 2023. He’s completed a career-low 50.9% of his passes, he’s thrown more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) over his last three starts, and he’s been given a QBR below 35 in three of his five games.

Hiles reported Jurkovec told his teammates about the move during a players-only meeting on Wednesday morning.

Veilleux spent the past two seasons at Penn State before he also transferred to Pittsburgh this offseason. He’s thrown 27 passes in this season, completing 12 of them for 145 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Coach who ripped Jordan Addison for transferring to USC is now in huge trouble

Pat Narduzzi criticized Jordan Addison when the receiver left Pitt and went to USC. Now, Pitt is at the bottom of the ACC. What a shame.

Remember when Jordan Addison transferred from Pitt to USC? Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t have to like his receiver’s choice, but then he chose to speak publicly about Addison instead of staying quiet. It wasn’t a good look.

As we noted in our coverage of this story, Narduzzi said that “We (Pitt) helped him win a Biletnikoff and be the player he is. He had one of the best quarterbacks in the country throwing the ball every day. I think sometimes people forget how they got where they are.”

Narduzzi also brought up the issue of tampering, clearly not liking the way that transfer went down with USC.

When talking negatively about Addison, Narduzzi also had uncharitable things to say about former Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who guided the Panthers to the 2021 ACC championship by using Addison so well in the Panthers’ offense:

“Our old offensive coordinator had no desire to run the ball,” Narduzzi said about Whipple. “Everybody knew it. He was stubborn. Wake Forest was 118th in run defense and we threw the ball every down. When we ran it, we ran it for 10 yards but that wasn’t good enough.”

Narduzzi wanted to run more and throw less.

Well, he got his wish.

As a result, Pitt — the 2021 ACC champion — is now at the bottom of the ACC. The Panthers lost to Virginia Tech on Saturday to fall to 0-2 in the ACC. Only Virginia is also 0-2 in the conference. Pitt is 1-4 overall. Only Virginia, at 0-5, is worse. Pitt might not win three games this season.

It’s a real shame, isn’t it? Jordan Addison is certainly chuckling as he watches Pitt fans lose their minds about Narduzzi, as you can see below:

Penn State’s ‘one-word’ offense scored more against West Virginia than Pitt’s ‘real offense’

Penn State’s ‘one-word’ offense did much better against West Virginia than Pat Narduzzi’s ‘real’ Pitt offense.

Remember when Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi made a comment about Penn State’s offense not being as real as Pitt’s offense this offseason? That comment seems pretty fun to look back on now after Pitt’s offense struggled against an opponent Penn State opened the season with a bang against.

Narduzzi was discussing Pitt quarterback [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag], who transferred to Pitt from Penn State in the offseason. Narduzzi suggested Veilleux would be in a better spot to thrive in what he referred to as  areal offense compared to Penn State’s “one-word offense.”

“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in a one-on-one interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”

Narduzzi tried explaining he was not taking an actual shot at Penn State and was stressing the different offensive styles between the two schools. That’s a fair assessment, because it is clear Penn State and Pitt have vastly different offenses this season. And now we have a common opponent to compare and contrast the two, much to the chagrin of Pitt’s head coach.

Penn State opened the season against West Virginia and won by a score of 38-15. Starting quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] made his first college start and ended his night with 325 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in the win for the Nittany Lions. Allar also completed 21 of 29 pass attempts against the Mountaineers with no interceptions to show for it. Penn State’s offense totaled 478 yards of offense in the win as well.

This past weekend, Pitt got a chance to attack that same West Virginia team, although this time the Mountaineers were playing at home instead of in a packed stadium on the road. So how did Pitt’s “real offense” do?

Not well.

Pitt starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec struggled all night long. Jurkovec completed just 8 of his 20 attempts for a grand total of 81 yards. He threw no touchdowns and was picked off three times, and Narduzzi was left in a tough spot defending his quarterback and starting quarterback decision after the game.

Could Pitt about to be making a quarterback switch in favor of Veilleux? If things continue down this path in western Pennsylvania, it could be happening soon. Pitt is 1-2 after their loss to West Virginia, and ACC play is about to get fired up.

Now, it is worth pointing out that this weekend also saw the least impressive showing by Penn State’s offense so far this season. Penn State struggled to get much going on offense in their first road game at Illinois, but Allar did not make any costly mistakes with a turnover-free game and over 200 yards of passing despite a mediocre pass-completion rate.

Drew Allar and Penn State’s “one-word” offense will prepare for a top 25 battle with Iowa this weekend in front of a whiteout crowd in Beaver Stadium on Saturday night.

Pat Narduzzi takes another apparent shot at Penn State’s offense

Pat Narduzzi takes another apparent shot at Penn State’s offense

You have to love talking season, especially when Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi gets in front of a microphone. While Penn State was going through the Big Ten media day fun in Indianapolis, the ACC football kickoff was showcasing its programs in North Carolina. And Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi almost couldn’t help taking what was perceived by some as a shot at Penn State’s offensive system and quarterback play.

Asked about his quarterback options and depth for the season, Narduzzi commented on Christian Veilleux, the former Penn State backup quarterback who transferred to the Panthers this offseason. Narduzzi praised Veileux and suggested he was coming along with getting used to a new offensive system, suggesting Pitt’s is more advanced than what Penn State operates with.

“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand-new for him,” Narduzzi said in a one-on-one interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense.”

Ahh yes, there is the subtle shot at the Penn State offense that Narduzzi just couldn’t help unloading. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted Narduzzi stressed this was not intended to be disrespectful of Penn State, but that won’t stop many from believing Narduzzi knew what he was doing with his quote. He is not one to typically hold back with his comments. But it is fair to suggest Pitt and Penn State run two totally different offenses, and there is a wide range of offensive styles found throughout the world of college football.

For example, Pitt’s “real offense” is coming off a solid season in which the passing game ranked 79th in the nation with 223.5 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions thrown.

By contrast, Penn State’s “one-word offense” struggled with the nation’s 46th ranked passing offense with 252.5 yards per game and just 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions. And all that culminated in a Rose Bowl victory over Pac-12 champion Utah to close the season. Sean Clifford was named the game’s offensive MVP in his swan song with the Nittany Lions.

Narduzzi seems to be riding on the coattails of the one season in the past decade in which Pitt had a top-30 passing offense, with Kenny Pickett electrifying the ACC and leading Pitt’s eighth-ranked pass offense in 2021. But outside of that one blip on the radar, there has not been much to crow about with the success of the Panthers’ pass attack over the years under Narduzzi. Perhaps the 2021 season was the exception to the norm in western Pennsylvania.

But maybe we shouldn’t be too hard and overreact to this line from Narduzzi. Because he does have a point in saying that Pitt’s offense is designed differently than what Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has cooked up in State College.

“But it’s a totally different offense,” Narduzzi said. “This offense is NFL-style with sophisticated terminology. We’re going to see a different version of Christian.”

And this is a very good point to consider. Veilleux, who backed up Sean Clifford the past couple of seasons and saw the writing on the wall with the addition of five-star Drew Allar in the Class of 2022 (even though James Franklin insists there is actually a quarterback competition for this season). Veilleux will have a great chance to thrive at Pitt, one that he likely was not going to have at Penn State.

And we’ll all be watching to see how Veilleux does with the Panthers, even if out of just pure curiosity. Meanwhile, a reminder one last time that a one-word offense can do some serious damage against the right opponent. And Narduzzi is well aware of that.

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