Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi Has Top 30 Salary in CFB

Pitt Panthers HC Pat Narduzzi has a top 30 salary in college football.

Oct 5, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi is one of the longer tenured coaches in the Division I FBS and his salary shows for it.

Narduzzi makes $6,699,551 this season, which ranks No. 27 amongst 125 FBS head coaches in the USA Today list of available salaries. This ranks ahead head coaches like Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame, Matt Rhule at Nebraska, Sherrone Moore at Michigan, Deion Sanders at Colorado and Sonny Dykes at TCU.

His salary also ranks No. 4 in the ACC, behind Clemson's Dabo Swinney at No. 1, who makes $11,008,575, Florida State's Mike Norvell at No, 2, who makes $10 million and Miami's Mario Cristobal at No. 3, who makes $7,783,059.

There were four ACC coaches who didn't have their salaries available including Bill O'Brien at Boston College, Manny Diaz at Duke and Fran Brown at Syracuse, all in their first season, plus ACC newcomer Troy Taylor at Stanford.

Swinney and Norvell are two of seven head coaches who make $10 million or more this season. This includes Georgia's Kirby Smart at No. 1, $13,282,580, Texas' Steve Sarkisian at No. 3, $10,600,000, USC's Lincoln Riley at No. 4, $10,043,418, Ohio State's Ryan Day at No. 5, $10,021,250 and Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, ranked tied at No. 6 with Norvell at $10 million.

Narduzzi has led the Panthers to a 6-0 start for the first time since 1982, when quarterback and future Hall of Famer Dan Marino was a senior. He last signed an extension in 2022 that keeps him with the program through 2030.

He is 71-50 since taking over as head coach of the Panthers in 2015, the second most wins in program history behind Jock Sutherland (1924-38) with 111. He also has 45 wins in the ACC since 2015, the second in the conference behind Clemson with 68, and also won the ACC Championship in 2021, the first outright conference title in program history.

He is also one of 27 coaches that the American Heart Association named to the 2024 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list.

Narduzzi has had to get some big wins out of his players throughout this season and also in some tough rivalry games.

The Panthers found themselves down 27-6 to the Cincinnati Bearcats midway through the third quarter on the road in the River City Rivalry in Week 2. They stood strong on defense and three touchdown drives and a final drive with a field goal with 30 seconds remaining got them the 28-27 victory.

The comeback for the Panthers was the biggest since Oct. 9, 1971, when they trailed Navy 35-10 at Pitt Stadium and scored 26 unanswered points to get the victory, 36-35.

Pitt also faced off against rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl at Acrisure Stadium in Week 3 and fell behind 10 points with five minutes remaining. They would rally behind quick touchdown, the defense forcing a three-and-out, another late drive to take a 38-34 lead and a game-sealing interception to complete anothre comeback.

The Panthers also had to play a close game this past weekend against ACC newcomer in the Cal Golden Bears. The offense struggled in the second half, but the defense made six sacks, stopped a two-point conversion and prevented the Golden Bears from making their comeback, as the Panthers held on for the 17-15 victory.

Pitt won blowouts at home against Kent State, 55-24 in Week 1 and vs. FCS opponent Youngstown State, 73-17 in Week 4. They also opened their ACC slate with a solid, 34-24 win over North Carolina, their first ever win in Chapel Hill, losing the previous seven matchups there.

Narduzzi will look to continue this winning this season and show that his performance is worthy of his salary.

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