PITTSBURGH — The wheels have officially fallen off at Pitt, as the Panthers are now in the midst of a four-game losing streak. And while the first three losses of the streak were close and competitive, the latest loss was not.
The Panthers looked hapless and powerless Saturday as they were pounded, 45-3, by Notre Dame at Heinz Field. And that is the kind of loss that leaves an athletic administration with far more questions about the future of the program than they have answers.
Naturally the calls for Pat Narduzzi to be fired have gotten louder and more intense. That isn't a surprise after a loss like this, but I still maintain that it is premature and not necessarily the best path for Pitt.
I have already laid out the case for why Pitt should think twice before making a move to fire another football coach. That case is built on the premise that starting over at this point would be a mistake. There are other ways to move a football program forward and help a coach who seems to be floundering before firing him.
That case is getting tougher to make, though, and not necessarily just because Pitt lost to Notre Dame. It is how they lost that is troublesome because it was one of the few times a Narduzzi-coached team appeared to throw up the white flag and just quit. The trademark for his teams has been to fight and battle until the end of games, but on Saturday they looked like a defeated team by halftime.
Narduzzi didn't help their confidence or desire to win at the end of the half, when he opted to get into the locker room rather than cut into a 21-3 deficit. And that blew up in his face when, after failing to run the final minute off the clock, the Panthers were forced to punt, it got blocked and Notre Dame picked it up in the end zone for a 28-3 halftime lead.
At that point, the game was over. Not just because Pitt was down 25, but because Narduzzi sent a message to his team that he didn't trust them enough to let the offense try to score in that spot. That's a bad look and it also could be the first step toward Narduzzi losing his team and locker room altogether.
That's why these final four games should be so important to Pitt's athletic administration in the evaluation of Narduzzi at the end of the season. The Panthers could still salvage the season enough — and save Narduzzi's job — with a strong finish.
That would suggest Narduzzi has not, in fact, lost the locker room and that perhaps he is the man to continue to lead the program. No matter what happens, he will need to make some big changes on the coaching staff, mostly on the offensive side of the ball, but that's part of remaking a program without firing a coach.
Pitt's next two games are particularly important because they are absolute must-win games if Narduzzi is to avoid a total disaster. Florida State is a mess and one of the worst Power 5 teams right now, and Georgia Tech is only marginally better. I don't believe Pitt can lose either of those games and make a case to stay the course.
That would get them to 5-4 with games against Virginia Tech and Clemson left. Pitt would need to win one of those two — and either would be a good win — to salvage a winning regular season. If the Panthers were able to win three in a row and then finish with a much better effort against Clemson than they gave against Notre Dame, even with a loss it would mean they finished the season strong.
A 6-5 season would be a disappointment given expectations, but with two one-point losses and the loss of Kenny Pickett for at least a month, there would be at least some things to look at as positive signs the program is still indeed close to getting over the top.
Anything less than that becomes a much tougher hill for Narduzzi to climb to convince his bosses to stay the course. Certainly if they were to finish 1-3 or even 2-2 with bad blowout losses to Virginia Tech and Clemson, it would suggest that he lost his locker room and might no longer be the man to move the program forward.
Based on what we saw from Pitt this past weekend, there is no reason to believe the Panthers can beat anyone, much less win three of their final four. But the season isn't over and Pitt still has a chance to turn things around, so it is too soon to make a call on Narduzzi's future.
There are some who think Pitt's season is over and there is nothing left for the Panthers to play for. I would disagree, as I think Pitt's administration and fans should watch these next four games closely as they will hold the answer to the question of whether or not a coaching change needs to happen.
