Pat Narduzzi takes shot at former Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple

Mark Whipple is now at Nebraska, but that didn’t stop him from catching some strays Wednesday night. His old boss at Pitt, Pat Narduzzi, didn’t hold back about Whipple’s performance as Panthers offensive coordinator.

Whipple worked under Narduzzi from 2019-21 before taking the job at Nebraska under Scott Frost. During a podcast interview on Bazzy’s Black and Gold Banter, Narduzzi took quite a shot at Whipple.

“Our old offensive coordinator had no desire to run the ball,” Narduzzi said, via Outsider’s Dustin Schutte. “Everybody knew it. He was stubborn. Wake Forest was 118th in run defense and we threw the ball every down. When we ran it, we ran it for 10 yards but that wasn’t good enough.”

Last year under Whipple, Kenny Pickett became a Heisman Trophy finalist and the first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh put together an impressive season, finishing 11-3 overall and 7-3 in ACC play to punch a ticket to the Peach Bowl against Michigan State.

The Spartans won the game 31-21, but that matchup was also a topic of conversation during the interview.

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Pat Narduzzi: Kenny Pickett would’ve beat Michigan State in Peach Bowl

Narduzzi took a shot at Michigan State and the Big Ten because of their performance in the bowl game. He said the Spartans would’ve gotten their “butt kicked in” if Pickett played in the game instead of opting out.

“If that’s one of the best Big Ten teams, let’s go to the Big Ten and win it every year,” Narduzzi said, via Schutte.

Michigan State was also without its best player for that game. Kenneth Walker III opted out of that game to get ready for the draft after bursting onto the scene for the Spartans following his transfer from Wake Forest. He wound up going to the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the draft.