He began his playing career at Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio, leading the Fighting Irish to the Steel Valley Conference championship and the state playoffs as a senior in 1984.

[2] In 1990, Narduzzi began his coaching career at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a graduate assistant in 1990 and 1991 and where he tutored wide receivers in 1992.

Narduzzi was brought along by Dantonio to revamp the depleted Michigan State defense that previous coach John L. Smith left behind.

Led by Narduzzi's stingy defenses, the Spartans improved dramatically, amassing four seasons of 11 or more wins, two Big Ten Conference championships, and six victories over rival Michigan in seven years.

In his last game as MSU's defensive coordinator, the Spartans won the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic by rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter and finished the season with an overall record of 11–2.

"[3] On December 23, 2014, Sports Illustrated reported Narduzzi would become the new head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team.

Pitt opened 2017 with optimism over QB Max Browne but endured a tumultuous season.

In 2018, after a slow start to the season that included a 51-6 loss to Penn State, Narduzzi led Pitt to its first ACC Coastal Division title, going 6–2 in conference play and 7–5 overall.

Narduzzi entered 2022 as the third-winningest coach in Pitt history, behind only Hall of Famers Jock Sutherland and Pop Warner.

A year later, a victory over Miami vaulted him past Warner for second place on Pitt's all-time wins list.