STILLWATER, Okla. — Dec. 15, 2021. It’s a date that Bryan Nardo still thinks about. On that day, he was out of a job after getting fired at Youngstown State.
Two years later, he’s the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. He’s days away from coaching in a Big 12 championship game.
“I will remember that day for a while,” Nardo said. “But if that doesn’t happen, I’m not here.”
When something as serendipitous as this job pops up and changes your life, how can you not believe everything happens for a reason?
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy plucked an unknown young coach from Gannon University, a Division II school, believing he had the scheme and the smarts to bring to Stillwater the odd front defense that Big 12 foes have popularized. He’d searched all over the country and eventually found a 38-year-old in Erie, Pa., who knew his stuff.
It was a serious gamble by Gundy, a risk that could’ve wrecked Oklahoma State’s season. The Cowboys’ defense hasn’t been spectacular, but their new DC has them winning in the moments that matter most.
The wild story of how Nardo ended up here adds a new chapter on Saturday, when he goes up against Steve Sarkisian, one of the best offensive minds in football, and his No. 7 Texas squad chasing a College Football Playoff bid. The No. 18 Cowboys got this far with a coordinator who had never been a full-time coach at this level, one making one-third of the salary of Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.
Nardo has never been to AT&T Stadium in Arlington. He has never coached in a game of this magnitude. There’s no challenge greater than what’s next. But after being given this absurdly fortunate opportunity, Nardo is going to give everything he’s got.
“Our goal is to compete at the highest level,” he said. “We’re not going to be shocked when that happens.”
Gundy had a clear mission when he began his defensive coordinator search: He wanted Iowa State’s defense.
“There’s only like five guys in the country that know the system,” Gundy said. “It’s crazy. You can count ’em on one hand.”
Jon Heacock’s odd front scheme has been thriving against Big 12 offenses since 2017. Last winter Gundy interviewed Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald, a former Cyclones assistant, but the Eagles were heading to the Super Bowl. NC State’s Tony Gibson has long run a similar 3-3-5 stack defense; Gundy says Kansas Stategot its package from Gibson. TCU has its own version under Joe Gillespie. But as far as Gundy could tell, that’s about it. He talked to anybody he could, even high school coaches, to learn all about it.
Joe Bob Clements, one of Gundy’s longtime defensive assistants, knew about another coach down in the Division II ranks who ran the scheme. Gundy had never heard of Gannon, didn’t know where it was and didn’t know how to find its film. But he kept hunting and did his homework.
He learned Nardo came from small-town Shadyside, Ohio. His father and two brothers were coaches. He got his start as a student coach and graduate assistant at Ohio under Frank Solich and spent most of his young career calling the defense at Emporia State, a D-II program in Kansas. Clements and Nardo had stayed in touch over the past few years. Gundy heard enough good things to make the phone call.
Most Division II coaches receiving that random call from a Stillwater, Okla., number would probably think it’s a prank. That’s what former Oklahoma State OC Mike Yurcich assumed when Gundy contacted him at D-II Shippensburg in early 2013.
“I called him and he goes, ‘No it’s not, you’re s—ing me,’” Gundy said. “I’m like, no, this is Coach Gundy. He’s like, ‘Quit f—ing with me.’ No, really, it’s me.”
Gundy told Nardo he wanted to talk football and offered to fly him in for a visit. Nardo and Gannon head coach Erik Raeburn joked that he might be getting catfished. Once the plane ticket hit his inbox, it started to seem real. Gundy never said anything about auditioning for a defensive coordinator vacancy. Maybe they were looking for an analyst?
“I remember Bryan saying to me, ‘You think this is an interview?’” Raeburn said.
Gundy set him up in a conference room at a hotel near the Oklahoma City airport. He brought his defensive assistants — Clements, Greg Richmond, Tim Duffie and Dan Hammerschmidt — into the meeting as well. Nardo admits he didn’t fully realize it was an interview until he walked into the room. His instructions: Teach us your defense. Talk through a Day 1 install like you would with a freshman. Six hours of instruction went by in a blur.
The best part was I wasn’t nervous because I was talking about my defense,” Nardo said. “You can tell me you don’t agree with it. You can’t tell me I’m wrong.”
Five and a half hours in, Gundy was sold. He tested Nardo, drawing up offensive scenarios and asking how he’d defend them. Nardo didn’t pretend to have all the answers and calmly worked through each problem. Gundy appreciated that. He saw a highly intelligent young coach who knew his stuff.
“I was like, ‘This guy’s the best guy,’” Gundy said. “I don’t care if he came from Dallas Junior High. He’s the best guy.”
In that way, Gundy is unlike the majority of his head coaching peers. He did not need an expensive splash hire. Whether the choice is popular or not was inconsequential. He knew what he needed and was going to do the search himself and hire who he liked.
Gundy called a few nights later to offer the job. Nardo was so excited to get to work that he forgot to say yes. He won’t soon forget the stunned look on his wife’s face as she held their 7-month-old son Elijah while he wrapped up the call.
“I hung up the phone and said, ‘Oh my goodness. This is real life,’” Nardo said.
Two years later, he’s the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. He’s days away from coaching in a Big 12 championship game.
“I will remember that day for a while,” Nardo said. “But if that doesn’t happen, I’m not here.”
When something as serendipitous as this job pops up and changes your life, how can you not believe everything happens for a reason?
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy plucked an unknown young coach from Gannon University, a Division II school, believing he had the scheme and the smarts to bring to Stillwater the odd front defense that Big 12 foes have popularized. He’d searched all over the country and eventually found a 38-year-old in Erie, Pa., who knew his stuff.
It was a serious gamble by Gundy, a risk that could’ve wrecked Oklahoma State’s season. The Cowboys’ defense hasn’t been spectacular, but their new DC has them winning in the moments that matter most.
The wild story of how Nardo ended up here adds a new chapter on Saturday, when he goes up against Steve Sarkisian, one of the best offensive minds in football, and his No. 7 Texas squad chasing a College Football Playoff bid. The No. 18 Cowboys got this far with a coordinator who had never been a full-time coach at this level, one making one-third of the salary of Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.
Nardo has never been to AT&T Stadium in Arlington. He has never coached in a game of this magnitude. There’s no challenge greater than what’s next. But after being given this absurdly fortunate opportunity, Nardo is going to give everything he’s got.
“Our goal is to compete at the highest level,” he said. “We’re not going to be shocked when that happens.”
Gundy had a clear mission when he began his defensive coordinator search: He wanted Iowa State’s defense.
“There’s only like five guys in the country that know the system,” Gundy said. “It’s crazy. You can count ’em on one hand.”
Jon Heacock’s odd front scheme has been thriving against Big 12 offenses since 2017. Last winter Gundy interviewed Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald, a former Cyclones assistant, but the Eagles were heading to the Super Bowl. NC State’s Tony Gibson has long run a similar 3-3-5 stack defense; Gundy says Kansas Stategot its package from Gibson. TCU has its own version under Joe Gillespie. But as far as Gundy could tell, that’s about it. He talked to anybody he could, even high school coaches, to learn all about it.
Joe Bob Clements, one of Gundy’s longtime defensive assistants, knew about another coach down in the Division II ranks who ran the scheme. Gundy had never heard of Gannon, didn’t know where it was and didn’t know how to find its film. But he kept hunting and did his homework.
He learned Nardo came from small-town Shadyside, Ohio. His father and two brothers were coaches. He got his start as a student coach and graduate assistant at Ohio under Frank Solich and spent most of his young career calling the defense at Emporia State, a D-II program in Kansas. Clements and Nardo had stayed in touch over the past few years. Gundy heard enough good things to make the phone call.
Most Division II coaches receiving that random call from a Stillwater, Okla., number would probably think it’s a prank. That’s what former Oklahoma State OC Mike Yurcich assumed when Gundy contacted him at D-II Shippensburg in early 2013.
“I called him and he goes, ‘No it’s not, you’re s—ing me,’” Gundy said. “I’m like, no, this is Coach Gundy. He’s like, ‘Quit f—ing with me.’ No, really, it’s me.”
Gundy told Nardo he wanted to talk football and offered to fly him in for a visit. Nardo and Gannon head coach Erik Raeburn joked that he might be getting catfished. Once the plane ticket hit his inbox, it started to seem real. Gundy never said anything about auditioning for a defensive coordinator vacancy. Maybe they were looking for an analyst?
“I remember Bryan saying to me, ‘You think this is an interview?’” Raeburn said.
Gundy set him up in a conference room at a hotel near the Oklahoma City airport. He brought his defensive assistants — Clements, Greg Richmond, Tim Duffie and Dan Hammerschmidt — into the meeting as well. Nardo admits he didn’t fully realize it was an interview until he walked into the room. His instructions: Teach us your defense. Talk through a Day 1 install like you would with a freshman. Six hours of instruction went by in a blur.
The best part was I wasn’t nervous because I was talking about my defense,” Nardo said. “You can tell me you don’t agree with it. You can’t tell me I’m wrong.”
Five and a half hours in, Gundy was sold. He tested Nardo, drawing up offensive scenarios and asking how he’d defend them. Nardo didn’t pretend to have all the answers and calmly worked through each problem. Gundy appreciated that. He saw a highly intelligent young coach who knew his stuff.
“I was like, ‘This guy’s the best guy,’” Gundy said. “I don’t care if he came from Dallas Junior High. He’s the best guy.”
In that way, Gundy is unlike the majority of his head coaching peers. He did not need an expensive splash hire. Whether the choice is popular or not was inconsequential. He knew what he needed and was going to do the search himself and hire who he liked.
Gundy called a few nights later to offer the job. Nardo was so excited to get to work that he forgot to say yes. He won’t soon forget the stunned look on his wife’s face as she held their 7-month-old son Elijah while he wrapped up the call.
“I hung up the phone and said, ‘Oh my goodness. This is real life,’” Nardo said.
