Here is what is actually known. Pitt and Arizona State have made offers to Jamie Dixon. Arizona State AD Lisa Love has actually managed to meet with Dixon somewhere on Thursday.

Dixon, who worked as an assistant at Northern Arizona University, was not on the Pitt campus Thursday.

Neither assistants on his coaching staff nor Pitt’s sports information department knew where he was.

ASU Athletic Director Lisa Love also was not on the Tempe campus Thursday. ASU’s sports information department did not know of her whereabouts.

The ASU contract offer is believed to be for 5 years.

Sometime today it is expected that Dixon will release a statement on the whole situation. And here’s where we just don’t know.

One paper is reporting that Dixon is leaning towards leaving for ASU.

Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon, faced with a chance to move closer to his West Coast roots, was weighing an offer Thursday from Arizona State to become its next head coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The source said Dixon had not yet made a decision, but was leaning toward accepting the Pac-10 school’s offer. He would replace Rob Evans, who was fired March 10.
…
Earlier in the week, it was believed that Dixon had decided to remain at Pitt, where he has four years remaining on a deal reportedly worth close to $600,000 annually. But Arizona State increased its offer — a supposed five-year deal — over the past two days to “close to $900,000” annually, the source said.

Pitt’s new offer to retain Dixon is believed to be roughly $800,000 annually. It is unclear what buyout provisions are included in Dixon’s contract at Pitt.

If I’m reading that right, Pitt’s offer upped the salary, but not the years. That would mean more money and more years. Couple that with the reports yesterday that there are also some very achievable bonuses for Dixon in the ASU offer. Bonuses that put it right up to around $1 million/year.

The other paper is less clear, but seems to be indicating that Dixon is closer to staying at Pitt.

A source within the university said last night that Dixon is expected to release a statement, possibly today, about his situation at Pitt. Arizona State and Missouri have sought permission from Pitt to speak with Dixon about the coaching openings at their schools.

Pitt extended Dixon a new contract offer Monday, and Dixon has gone about his business of recruiting players for Pitt the past few days.
…
The source refuted a report in yesterday’s Arizona Republic stating that Pitt had a deadline by the end of this week to receive an answer from Dixon.

The source said legal complexities could be holding up the announcement of a contract extension. Dixon is making around $600,000 annually on his current contract that has four years remaining.

Right now it is a battle of anonymous sources. The only thing that does seem obvious is that Missouri isn’t really in the picture — in fact a St. Louis paper thinks he’s staying.

No interviews have taken place and probably won’t until the weekend. Possible candidate Jamie Dixon, from Pittsburgh, is expected to release a statement today regarding his future. It is believed he will remain with Pittsburgh.

And, by the way, the Mizzou fan base is getting really agitated about the whole pace of the hiring process. Their AD, Mike Alden, better hire a guy who wins or he’s out of a job.

Just to keep things clouded, if Dixon were to leave Pitt, there are other teams’ coaching issues that could affect Pitt’s process. Specifically the lame-duck status of Louis Orr at Seton Hall.

Orr, who led the Pirates to the NCAA tournament this season for the second time in his five years, will likely decide from three scenarios: 1, accept a buyout from his original contract, which has two years left at $499,000 per year; 2, accept a provisional extension – most likely for one year – in which he will agree to making changes on his staff; 3, accept a non-conditional extension which would allow him to maintain the status quo.

The third option seems remote. Seton Hall – which has two scholarships available and no one signed – wants a proven metropolitan-area recruiter on the bench, be it an assistant or head coach. The recruiting dilemma became magnified this week, when the Pirates officially lost out on Robeson High point guard Malcolm Grant. With speculation rising about Orr’s future, Grant, who plans on attending Villanova, backed out of a verbal commitment to The Hall.

Quinlan, through the school’s sports information director Jeff Andriesse, had no comment regarding Orr. Calls to Dennis Coleman, Orr’s agent, were not returned. Coleman, who is believed to be exploring other avenues for Orr, is expected in Minnesota this weekend for the NCAA tournament’s Minneapolis Regional.

Should Orr leave, Quinlan is believed to have a short list of replacements, all with significant ties to the area: Pitt associate coach and Brooklyn native Barry Rohrssen, Florida Atlantic coach and Long Island native Matt Doherty, Manhattan College’s Bobby Gonzalez, and Hofstra’s Tom Pecora.

Rohrssen obviously would be considered for the Pitt job, but Gonzalez and Pecora have both been names floated about becoming the next Pitt coach.

Speculation abounds.