Inside The Panthers

Pitt Football Promotes New Assistant Head Coach

The Pitt Panthers made a number of coaching changes this offseason, including the promotion of a new assistant head coach.

Dominic Campbell

Jul 26, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi answers questions from the media during the ACC 2023 Kickoff at The Westin Charlotte. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 26, 2023; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi answers questions from the media during the ACC 2023 Kickoff at The Westin Charlotte. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers made a number of changes to their football coaching staff this offseason, as they look to get past a poor 3-9 record in 2023.

Pete Thamel of ESPN announced on his Twitter that Panthers safeties coach Cory Sanders earned a promotion to assistant head coach. Sanders takes over the position that former defensive line coach Charlie Patridge had before he left for the Indianapolis Colts in February.

Pitt also announced the news shortly afterwards, confirming the report.

Sanders is heading into his seventh season at Pitt in charge of the safeties group. He has a talented position unit, with seniors Donovan McMillon and Phillip O'Brien Jr. and redshirt junior Javon McIntyre coming back to provide starting snaps. Redshirt freshman Cruce Brookins also looks primed to earn more snaps in 2024, receiving rave reviews from teammates and coaches.

He played in college for Saint Joseph's in Collegeville, Ind. at the Division II level from 2003-06. He earned four-time All-Conference honors, served as team captain three times, won two conference championships and make 30.5 tackles for loss, ranking fifth in program history when he graduated.

Sanders then coached defensive backs at both North Central College in 2007 and Elmhurst College from 2008-09, before heading back to his alma mater.

He worked as a defensive back for Saint Joseph's in 2010, before taking over as head coach for the next four seasons. The team struggled his first season, 2-8, but he finished the next three seasons with winning records, including 6-5 in 2012, 7-3 in 2013 and 8-3 in 2014.

Sanders ended his time with Saint Joseph's with a 23-18 record and 16-10 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

He then went to West Florida at the end of 2014 and spent 18 months building the new Division II program into a team that would compete. His work as defensive coordinator helped West Florida finish 2016, their first ever season, 5-6 overall, the most wins for a first-year Division II program in over a decade.

Sanders then earned his first position at the Division I level, spending the 2017 season as a defensive backs coach at Western Michigan. He helped cornerbacks Darius Phillips and Sam Beal earn All-MAC honors that season, with Phillips also playing in the Senior Bowl. Phillips and Beal also earned NFL Draft selections, from the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals, respectively.

His work at Pitt led to great careers in college to progress into the NFL. Some of the players he worked with in past seasons include Paris Ford, Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson, Erick Hallett II and Brandon Hill, who all earned All-ACC honors.

Hamlin, Jackson, Hallett and Hill all play in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans, respectively.

The promotion of Sanders to associate head coach is just one of a number of coaching changes for Pitt this offseason.

Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi fired offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., along with offensive line coach Dave Borbely, tight ends coach Tim Salem and running backs and special teams coach Andre Powell after a bad 2023 season, that saw the team struggle mighily on offense.

Wide receives coach/passing game coordinator Tiquan Underwood left for the NFL, like Partridge, taking an assistant wide receivers coaching position with the New England Patriots.

Pitt replaced these coaches this offseason as well. Kade Bell took over as offensive coordinator and brought with him Jeremy Darveau for offensive line and JJ Laster for wide receivers.

Jacob Bronowski left Miami (Ohio) to take over tight ends and special teams responsibilities, Tim Daoust left East Carolina to lead the defensive line and Lindsey Lamar departed Howard to coach the running backs.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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