Pitt Take 5: Hall of Famer Jimbo Covert shows Panthers how to build a winning culture

They cleaned up nicely, this Pitt football team.

After nearly three weeks of practice, Pitt’s seniors combed their hair, dressed up in their Sunday best — tight end Lucas Krull wore a bowtie — and were honored guests at the Kickoff Luncheon at the Westin Pittsburgh, downtown.

For a long time, it was an annual event until covid-19 intervened last year, but with 21 seniors on the dais, it was a return to normalcy Friday and a chance to relax before preparations for the opener Sept. 4 begin in earnest.

The guest speaker was Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman and two-time Pitt All-American Jimbo Covert, who was inducted earlier this month and whose presence should have served as inspiration for a team with big aspirations this year.

Here are five highlights from Covert’s remarks to reporters before the luncheon:

1. Summer of Jimbo

Covert had a busy Friday. After speaking at the luncheon, he went home to Conway, where Freedom High School, his alma mater, was naming the football field after him at its season opener.

Two huge honors within a month for Covert.

“My wife said it’s the summer of Jimbo, but it’s coming to an end,” he said.

During his remarks at the dais, Covert spoke of building a winning culture. And who better to show how it’s done?

After shoulder surgery in 1979, he was a mainstay on the last two of Pitt’s three consecutive 11-1 teams (’79-’81) and later won a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears.

“When you had a culture like we had, you didn’t accept losing,” he said. “Losing was a bad thing. If you ever lost, that next week (in practice) was so horrible, you never wanted to experience it again.”

“That’s what it’s all about, going out there and doing the best you can, but also having a culture that losing isn’t an option. If you do that, you win most of the time.”

2. Never a bad practice

Coaches occasionally will remark to reporters — and Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi has done it — that practice wasn’t up to standard. Covert said no one ever said that to him.

“There was an expectation when you got out on the field,” he said. “I don’t ever remember anyone coming up to me and saying I had a bad practice. That was unacceptable. You never had one. Our practices were up tempo, practicing against some of the greatest players ever to play college football. You weren’t going to see anybody in the game that was better than what you were going to see at practice.

“Three 11-1 seasons in a row. I think that speaks for itself.”

3. Padded every day

These days, the NCAA and the collective bargaining agreement the NFL has with its players limits the amount of serious hitting permitted at practice. Also, veterans regularly are excused from NFL preseason games.

It wasn’t that way for Covert.

“I played eight years with the Bears,” he said. “We had eight years of two-a-days for six weeks (in training camp). Now, they don’t even do two-a-days. My son who played at Iowa told me, ‘Dad, we’re in shells today.’ What does that mean? I don’t even know what that meant. Shells. When I was with the Bears, we went full pads every day — Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

“It beats up your body. I played every preseason game. I played a quarter the first game, two quarters the second game, three quarters the third game and four quarters the last game to win it because you always wanted to go in on an upswing.”

Plus, he was ordered to go back in the game if the first- or second-team quarterback played.

“No matter what,” he said. “Now, they call the police and get the coach arrested if he did something like that.”

But he said retiring after eight years was the smart move.

“I’m 61 and still upright.”

4. One more than Alabama

Covert’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame gives Pitt nine inductees, including Covert’s coach with the Bears, Mike Ditka, as well as Chris Doleman, Tony Dorsett, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dan Marino (his roommate), Curtis Martin and Joe Schmidt.

Pitt is fifth among colleges in that distinction, behind Notre Dame and USC (13), Michigan (11) and Ohio State (10). Pitt is tied with Miami and has one more than Alabama (as Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher was pleased to point out during his remarks at the luncheon).

Covert is a member of the Pitt Board of Trustees and chairman of its athletic committee.

He said the items winning teams need have been put in place by Gallagher and athletic director Heather Lyke.

“They want to win. We’re putting in new facilities,” he said.

“We’re doing the things we need to do necessary to win. When you have something like that going on — they care about football, they care about athletics — usually good things happen.”

5. Stability at the top

Narduzzi is approaching his seventh season as Pitt’s coach, and only Jock Sutherland (15), John Michelosen (11), Pop Warner (nine) and Walt Harris (eight) have had longer reigns. Covert welcomes Narduzzi’s longevity after Pitt had three different head men in 10 seasons from 2005-14.

“Stability is really important in college athletics,” Covert said.

“I think when you have a coaching carousel that comes in — and we had that a little bit — that’s a bad thing. Having Pat there as long as he’s been there is great for the program, and I hope he stays as long as he wants to.”