Pitt's Pat Narduzzi defends best friend Mark Dantonio: Criticism 'ridiculous'

Allen Park — Pat Narduzzi was back in Michigan on Wednesday with the primary task of talking about his team’s appearance in the upcoming Quick Lane Bowl.

But the Pittsburgh coach had a message for fans of his former home.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Narduzzi said.

The fifth-year coach of the Panthers was responding to questions about his old boss, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, and the heat he is under from Spartans fans after another disappointing regular season ended with a 6-6 record and a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten East.

Narduzzi, of course, was the defensive coordinator at Michigan State from 2007-14 and Dantonio’s assistant head coach the final two seasons. That eight-year run came after three years as Dantonio’s defensive coordinator at Cincinnati.

So, the current Pitt boss knows a little something about Dantonio and what it takes to win at Michigan State as he helped build one of the best defenses in the nation and was part of a pair of Big Ten championships. And the pressure Dantonio might be feeling as the Spartans prepare to play Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl will only fuel what Narduzzi believes will be a short-lived dip in performance.

“Dantonio will feed off that. That’s what he does,” said Narduzzi, who was in Allen Park promoting Pitt’s matchup with Eastern Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl. “He’s been the underdog for years. I think what people fail to realize in the game of football is it’s hard to do it year after year. Think about all bowl games he’s been to, the Big Ten championships. He’s been in the playoffs, and you have a bad year and everybody wants to get after you.

“Be careful what you wish for. He’s a heck of a football coach and every Michigan State Spartan should be glad they’ve got him.”

Narduzzi understands the pressure of building a winning program. He just completed his fifth season at Pitt, and when the Panthers take on Eastern Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl on Dec. 26 at Ford Field, it will be the fourth bowl game in that five-year stretch.

However, after reaching the ACC Championship game last season and losing the eventual national champion Clemson, taking the next step is huge for the Panthers.

This season, Pitt (7-5, 4-4 ACC) was on the verge of something bigger as three of its five losses came within one score. The Panthers lost to Miami (Fla.) while kicking four field goals and allowing just 208 total yards and dropped the season finale to Boston College while turning the ball over four times.

But Narduzzi believes the Panthers are building toward something great, much like he did with Dantonio when they first arrived at Michigan State.

“I’m happy with where our program is going,” Narduzzi said. “You look at the benchmark in Clemson. They won the national championship and that’s the benchmark. That’s  what we’re trying to strive for. We’ve reached an ACC Championship game and our goal is not just to get there, our goal is to get there and win the thing.

“In the next couple of years we’re gonna win one. I guarantee you that. It’s just a matter of time, and things have to go right. We’ve got a good enough football team and our kids will play for each other.”

Losing the final two games of the regular season knocked Pitt out of contention in the ACC Coastal Division, which left its bowl positioning up in the air. Some projections had the Panthers playing Michigan State, either in Detroit or New York.

Avoiding playing his old boss got Narduzzi off the hook.

“I wouldn’t say it would be miserable, but it’s always tough to play your friends,” he said. “At the end of the day you don’t want to beat him, he doesn’t want to beat you, but you’ve got to beat him. If that would have happened there would have been a lot of signal changing, a lot of changes, period. They wouldn’t have to film the sideline to know what we like to do, what we need to do, what we are. I know all the fake field goals and all the fake punts through the years. I got everyone of them on tape. I can almost read his mind.

“So that would have been an interesting battle and maybe someday we’ll get to that, but to be honest with you I’m glad we’re playing Eastern in this game and really not my best friend.”

As Narduzzi talks, the admiration he has for Dantonio is obvious. They coached together for 11 seasons and when Narduzzi’s final game with the Spartans ended in the 2014 Cotton Bowl with a come-from-behind win over Baylor, the two coaches embraced with tears welling in their eyes.

“I don’t get where I am without him and the 11 years I spent with him at Cincinnati and then Michigan State,” Narduzzi said of Dantonio.

So, it clearly bothers Narduzzi when he hears about the criticism of Dantonio.

“Yeah, it’s ridiculous,” Narduzzi said. “But if I go on the phone everybody wants me out and everybody probably wants you guys out, too. He’s got an important position at Michigan State University and of course, you lose a game and everybody wants to get after you, but it’s part of it. Part of the ballgame. Part of the profession.

“I know he doesn’t read the newspaper. I don’t read the newspaper. He doesn’t read it. (Dantonio's wife) Becky doesn’t read it and it doesn’t matter. He’s got a job to do and he’ll do the job.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau