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.
Narduzzi: "We lost a lot of good players last year. We thought we'd replace them and we obviously didn't do a good job with that."
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) October 28, 2023
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.
I am 100% responsible for today’s loss. Like I said after the game, it starts with me. I didn’t do a good enough job coaching today. Put it on me! I remain committed to finishing the season strong with our team!
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) October 29, 2023
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.
Tight end Malcolm Epps
Naw ain’t no way I’m reading this right https://t.co/45azJ6LSt0
— One Of Gods Children (@_itsepps) October 29, 2023
Defensive back Ryland Gandy
lol crazy world… https://t.co/A3D9hX4jZe
— Ryland Gandy (@iamrdg10) October 29, 2023
Wide receiver Bub Means
Damn kuhh dats flaw https://t.co/I8X2gC9CkY
— sideshowbub ひ (@twoplayaBub) October 28, 2023
Wide receiver Kenny Johnson
Crazy https://t.co/UedyycMgbm
— Kenny Johnson (@Kennyjohnson05) October 29, 2023
Offensive lineman Jason Collier Jr.
— Jason Collier (@JasonCollier50) October 29, 2023
Running back Montravius Lloyd
— Montravius ( WIZZ ) Lloyd (@LloydMontravius) October 28, 2023
Safety Javon McIntyre
— 2️⃣0️⃣ (@JavonMcIntyre2) October 29, 2023
Tight end Gavin Bartholomew
— Gavin Bartholomew (@GavinBartholom6) October 29, 2023
Former linebacker Wendell Davis Jr.
You have great players you just didn’t do a good job replacing Whipple… https://t.co/jRkFZRfFiB
— Wendell Davis Jr. (@wendellwdj) October 28, 2023