Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi on Relationship With Johnny Majors

Ahead of the Johnny Majors Classic, Pat Narduzzi remembered his relationship with the legendary coach of the Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- When the Pitt Panthers and Tennesse Volunteers meet at Acrisure Stadium this weekend, they will be celebrating a common history. The late Johnny Majors, a legendary coach for both the blue and gold and orange and white, will be featured prominently as two top-25 teams meet in Pittsburgh. 

Ahead of the Johnny Majors Classic's second installment between Pitt and Tennessee, Pat Narduzzi reflected on his relationship with Majors. 

"I had a great relationship with him. He was just a special guy, great personality. I’ve met him about 25 times. He was always around, came to a lot of games. ... There are some special moments we had with Johnny Majors.”

Majors oversaw one of the most successful runs in Pitt football history. His inaugural season in Oakland was unspectacular - 6-5-1 capped with a loss in the Fiesta Bowl - but he slowly worked his way up to one of the program's highest peaks. 

In 1976, powered by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett's more than 2,100 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, plus a stingy defense that ranked seventh in the country in points allowed per game, the Panthers dominated Georgia, 27-3, in the Sugar Bowl to claim the Pitt's ninth national title. 

Majors' Panthers didn't lose that year, even against ranked rivals No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 16 Penn State. Their average margin of victory during the 1976 campaign was 20.5 points. 

His teams benefitted from Majors' outstanding recruiting, efforts which Narduzzi claim was aided by chancellor Wesley W. Posvar, who was willing to spend whatever was necessary to get the best players. When told Majors had 93 scholarships, Narduzzi said he's heard Majors got more with a simple visit to Posvar.

"I think it was more than that, at least the stories he told," Narduzzi said. "I never looked at the roster. They got a bunch of commitments and he went to the chancellor and said ‘I need more scholarships’. So he gave him 20 more. It was like unlimited. So he had the chancellor’s wallet.”

Majors has a decorated resume from his time at Tennessee as well, where he spent three years as a running back during his college days in the mid-1950s. In addition to racking up 1600 career yards on the ground for the Volunteers, Majors led them through an incredibly successful run in the 1980s and 90s that included six top-15 finishes and six wins in major bowl games. But Narduzzi recalls more than just the on-field success. 

“Number one, he was a fantastic coach," Narduzzi said. "But he was a great person too. He had a great personality."

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