The Pittsburgh Panthers’ 2021 season showed what the head coach, Pat Narduzzi, was capable of. For one, notching up 11 wins, along with an ACC championship title, wasn’t easy, and the team topped it off with a 13th-ranked place in the AP poll, their best since 1982. The team did regress to a disappointing season in 2023, with a 3-9 finish. But if the 2024 season is any reference for us, the head coach is returning to replicate his 2021 heroics again. And guess what? He fears none, not even Bill Belichick, the most decorated head coach in NFL history.

Last year, Narduzzi started his season 7-0, the program’s best in 42 years, only to find his team being plagued by an injured O-line. Pittsburgh didn’t win a single game after those 7 wins and went back to the drawing board, planning for the 2025 season. This year, though, with Persi Jeff and Keith Gouveia coming in the O-line and Eli Holstein returning as QB after passing for 2,228 yards and rushing for another 328, the team looks ready to come back. But can the arrival of a legendary head coach like Bill Belichick in the ACC halt Narduzzi’s plans for a potential ACC title?

Well, if you ask Narduzzi? The head coach “is not focused” on Belichick since the team doesn’t play UNC in 2025. Moreover, he’s also someone who doesn’t buy into the perceived hype of the former Patriots HC coming to the ACC. “I’m not one of those guys. You know, my dad was a coach. I’m a coach’s kid. I’m not in awe like, oh my god. I mean, it’s not a movie star. It’s a football coach,” said Narduzzi on Infinity Sports Network’s 15th August podcast episode. He scoffed at the idea of giving too much attention to Belichick’s hype. But not just that, Narduzzi might also have opened some old wounds for Belichick as he gave his opinion on one of the biggest NFL debates.

6 Super Bowl trophies as a head coach and 3 times AP NFL Coach of the year, along with numerous accolades, is the legacy that Bill Belichick left at the New England Patriots. And even then, many still argue that the sustained success was only possible due to Tom Brady’s brilliance and less so because of Belichick. Narduzzi, too, weighed in on his opinion and signaled to side with Tom Brady being the major factor.

“He’s had a great quarterback up there. Tom Brady, I would say there’s probably more of an off like Tom Brady and how he plays and what he does as opposed to the guy that’s coaching. Because all great coaches have great players, right? I mean, coaches don’t do it by themselves. They got players that can play,” said Narduzzi. It’s strange, though; being a head coach himself, Narduzzi is signaling reluctance to acknowledge another coach’s contribution.

From being a sixth-round, unknown pick to becoming the GOAT of the NFL is not an easy feat, and that’s why Tom Brady’s role is much more impressive than anyone can acknowledge. But that doesn’t mean Bill Belichick being the architect of the Patriots system, developing second- and third-rounders into HOFers, and doing it for 20 years is not an achievement in itself. All in all, the success was a combined effort of the two, although many still like to point out the Patriots’ 4-13 record in 2020 after Brady went to Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl there. As for Narduzzi, he has another challenge to beat in 2025.

Pat Narduzzi laughs off the latest decision about his team

In his tenure at Pittsburgh, Pat Narduzzi has compiled a 75-56 record (.53 win percentage) ever since he arrived in 2015. Moreover, the team has already appeared in 7 bowl games and carries the belief to succeed after winning the ACC in 2021. Still, the confidence around Pittsburgh performing well in the 2025 season is quite low. Why? The ACC Poll has kept the team at ninth position, quite far from being an ACC contender. However, the head coach laughs the rankings off and gives his reasoning.

” You know what? I laugh. It doesn’t do anything for me. Those guys don’t watch videos. They don’t sit in meetings. They don’t know who our kids are. So, we get disrespected all the time, and you say we’re not a good team? I take that disrespect because I think we got a great football team if we stay healthy; that’s all just fuel for the fire. And that’s kind of how our guys are going to play with an edge, and use it that way,” declared Pat Narduzzi. The verdict?

The head coach’s confidence, from shrugging off Bill Belichick’s media buzz to being optimistic about his team, is quite commendable. In terms of his schedule, the tough games come against FSU, Notre Dame, Louisville Cardinals, Miami, and Syracuse, too, considering they finished with 10 wins under Fran Brown last year. So, the schedule is quite tough, and can Narduzzi navigate it? It would be a hell of a job to go from being ranked 9th to exceeding expectations.