Cory Sanders Striving to Take Pitt's Defense to Next Level

PITTSBURGH — This upcoming season will be the first time that Cory Sanders has been a defensive coordinator in a decade, and the first at this high of a level.

Sanders has taken over for long-time defensive coordinator Randy Bates after spending eight seasons coaching the safeties, secondary and being the assistant head coach. Before that, Sanders was the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at West Florida from 2015-16, and spent one year as an assistant at Western Michigan before joining Pitt.

It's been less than two months since Bates retired and Sanders has been in the role, but due to the college football calendar, Sanders has already helped facilitate a transfer portal class and begun coaching a mix of new and returning faces.

"To be here for the past eight years, and for that opportunity to present itself, it's exciting," Sanders said on Feb. 4. "Not to say overwhelmed, but at that moment, it is an overwhelming feeling. At the same time, then your mind sort of resets to like, OK, now this is what we've got to do here moving forward."

The Panthers' 2026 transfer portal and recruiting classes are just about finalized, with a few walk-ons still making their commitments. For the most part, though, Pitt has its roster for the 2026 season, and Sanders is preparing to take the defense to another level.

Building On the Foundation

While there may be a new defensive coordinator, that doesn't mean that the defensive philosophy has changed. Afterall, Pat Narduzzi is still the head coach, and he decided to hire in-house instead of looking externally.

"Over the years, we've taken great pride being an attack-style defense. We get after offenses," Sanders said. "We're heavy blitz-style, we press and we're in your face. Those things don't change. Those things are who we are...We stop the run. That's what we do. We attack the football. We want to take the ball away. Those are things we want to still execute at a high rate that will make us a successful defense."

Oct 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Kyle Louis (9) runs after fumble recovery against the Boston College Eagles during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

With spring ball beginning in less than a month, Sanders is trying to have the same philosophy as Bates and Narduzzi did, but put his own spin on the process to reach that same standard of defense.

"I told the kids today, when we wake up, we've got to be intentional," he said. "We've got to be intentional and have purpose. When we walk in this building, we can't drift when we step into meetings, when we step on the field. We've got to be intentional about getting better."

The second part of Sanders' process to prepare his defense this winter is to make sure that they are continuously learning. Sanders says that his players need to understand how opposing teams attack Pitt's defense and why they attack certain spots.

The final step, Sanders says, is attention to detail. From stances to technique and alignment, he challenges all of his players learn the little details now so they come naturally when the season comes closer.

"That's how we're going to develop an edge throughout February to move into March," he said. "And we're also going to develop the edge in the weight room, how we train and how we compete. So those are the focus points right now."

Working With New Coaching Staff

Pitt experienced lots of roster and staff turnover since the Military Bowl loss to East Carolina in December. Along with the coordinator change from Bates to Sanders, the Panthers hired new linebackers coach Joe Bowen and new safeties/assistant head coach Harlon Barnett on the defensive side.

"Practice was the weirdest thing ever today, just doing individual period and now not running to my corner and doing the safeties drills and stuff. Now just walking around watching everybody," Sanders said. "But it's great too watching those finite details of every single position, of what they're doing and how they're trying to execute it at a high rate."

Sanders said one of his favorite parts of working with his new defensive staff has been hearing different perspectives. Bowen arrived in Pittsburgh after being the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Buffalo the last two seasons, and Barnett has over 15 years of coaching experience in the Big Ten as either an assistant head coach, interim head coach, co-defensive coordinator or defensive assistant.

Pittsburgh Panthers safeties/assistant head coach Harlon Barnett — Michigan State's interim head coach Harlon Barnett looks on during the first quarter in the game against Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

"Reality is we're in there every single day together, going through what this looks like, these checks. Is this best? Is that best? Then we walk out of that room, and we're all aligned," Sanders said. "On Saturdays, I'm the one calling [the defense], but at the end of the day, we're all helping coordinate and put this thing together and structure this thing out the right way for the success of these kids."

There's no doubt that Sanders is ambitious about his defense in his new position. And after eight seasons of waiting for his turn, Sanders could have gone elsewhere to become a defensive coordinator again sooner, but he explained that it's difficult to leave a place that consistently plays meaningful football in November, sends players to the NFL and has the right people in charge.

"You can't take for granted being in a great place and a great situation that you're happy with," Sanders said. "I just want to be the best d-mn defense coordinator in the country right now and make these guys better. That's my goal."

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Follow Pittsburgh Panthers On SI on Twitter: @InsidePitt