Pat Narduzzi on Michigan State rumors: 'I have had absolutely no contact with them at all'

As the coaching search continues at Michigan State, multiple names continue to come up in rumors. One of them, apparently, is Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, and he made it clear he hasn’t spoken with anyone in East Lansing in a recent interview.

Narduzzi joined Roddy Jones on SiriusXM College and was asked about rumors connecting him to Michigan State. After all, he served as the Spartans’ defensive coordinator under Mark Dantonio from 2007-14 before taking over at Pitt.

However, Narduzzi said he’s had no communication with MSU.

“I’ll say this. The last time — I turned it down a couple times — but I have had absolutely no contact with them at all,” Narduzzi said. “There’s been no contact at all with anybody from their athletic department, so we’ll kind of keep it at that, I guess.”

Pitt was Pat Narduzzi’s first head coaching opportunity, and he has a 65-49 record in his nearly nine full seasons at the helm. The Panthers have won eight or more games five times under his watch, including an 11-win record in 2021 as part of an ACC championship.

Michigan State is in the midst of a search to replace Mel Tucker after his firing for cause in light of a Title IX investigation. Harlon Barnett is serving as the interim head coach, but the school appears ready to do a full search for Tucker’s replacement.

One possible name to emerge is Jonathan Smith, the head coach at Oregon State. He took over at his alma mater in 2018 and, after going 2-10 in his first season, has the Beavers at 8-3 and ranked No. 16 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Last year, Oregon State recorded its first 10-win season since 2006 as Smith’s turnaround continued.

Smith has been a hot name around the Michigan State opening, and he recently admitted his agent is doing his due diligence on other jobs. Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes released a statement on Wednesday about the rumors and said the school is preparing a new contract for Smith should he choose to stay in Corvallis.

“Coach Smith and I have had ongoing conversations for more than a month regarding his future at Oregon State and our path forward for football specifically and our athletic department generally,” Barnes said. “He has embraced our short and long term plans. My No. 1 priority is providing him with a new contract and guaranteed compensation that will help continue the success of the football program that has benefitted Oregon State University and Veavers’ Athletics.

“Coach Smith and I have also discussed our commitment to extending assistant coaches’ contracts and increasing the salary pool for his staff to retain the continuity of what they have all built together for Beaver Nation.”