Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi calls Jim Chaney ‘brilliant’

While most of the talk about Thursday’s satellite camp in Atlanta revolved around Jim Harbaugh and Kirby Smart, there was one other head coach present to watch the day’s drills.

Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi is heading into his second season with the Panthers after an 8-5 debut. Narduzzi had help in his first season as a head coach from veteran offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, who then took the same position at Georgia in December.

Although Narduzzi only worked with Chaney for one year, Narduzzi was quick to offer high praise of his former playcaller.

“He’s a great football coach, great offensive coordinator,” Narduzzi said. “Jim Chaney’s brilliant.”

Despite losing former ACC Player of the Year James Conner after the season opener, the 2015 Pittsburgh team still finished 44th in rushing yards per game and tallied 28.2 points per game. Former Tennessee quarterback Nate Peterman had a breakout year under Chaney’s guidance, throwing for 2,287 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Panthers’ eight wins were the most for the team since 2009, and certainly some of the credit goes to Chaney’s work.

“Georgia, the fan base, ought to be fired up to have him as their offensive coordinator,” Narduzzi said. “You’ll see a tough, physical, aggressive offense.”

Narduzzi, meanwhile, brought his entire 2016 staff to the Atlanta camp in order to study the talent. He also said it was important to get the message out that he is pushing to add more players from the state on his rosters going forward.

“We really want to get in this area in Georgia,” Narduzzi said. “I think the state of Georgia has great football. Where I’ve been in the past, we’ve always had some great players from this area. At the University of Pittsburgh, we need to get more.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi calls Jim Chaney ‘brilliant’."