Looks like if Pitt loses Associate Head Coach Barry Rohrssen it will be to a school in NY/NJ. Duquesne hired Ron Everhart from Northeastern. Apparently out of default.

Ron Everhart, who built successful programs at Northeastern and McNeese State, will be the next basketball coach at Duquesne, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
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Everhart, who grew up 90 minutes from Pittsburgh in Fairmont, W.Va., was hired after interviewing last weekend and again Monday with Duquesne athletic director Greg Amodio, who is making his first major hire since replacing Brian Colleary nearly a year ago.

Everhart and Kent State coach Jim Christian were the finalists for the job, but Christian pulled his name out of contention Tuesday. John Groce, an Ohio State assistant and a longtime friend of Amodio, apparently was not interested in the job.

Everhart played his college ball at Virginia Tech. This may be the final test for whether Duquesne should drop to Div. II or not. Everheart actually would appear to have some credibility when it comes to turning around programs.

The 44-year-old Everhart had an 82-68 record at Northeastern, including a 19-11 overall record and 12-6 conference record this season in the school’s first year in the Colonial Athletic Association — the conference that sent George Mason to the NCAA Final Four and Old Dominion to the NIT semifinals.

In 2004-05, the Huskies went 21-10 and were 15-3 in America East, the school’s best conference record since 1986-87. Among the schools the Huskies beat under Everhart were West Virginia, Boston College and Massachusetts.

Before being hired at Northeastern, Everhart had a 92-104 record at McNeese State, a school that hadn’t had a winning record in four seasons before he arrived in 1994.

His final McNeese team went 22-9. With many of the players he recruited, the Cowboys advanced to the NCAA Tournament the season after he left.

Northeastern’s 1986-87 team was put together by Jim Calhoun, who left for UConn prior to that season.

The City Game might actually stand a chance at being competitive someday.

Maybe he really is standing out in spring drills. Maybe it’s because he’s one of the new faces. Whatever the reason, there seems to be a steady bit of buzz regarding Freshman CB Jovani Chappel.

Chappel, a Big 33 game performer, might be the most intriguing player. He has a lot of talent, but is the least experienced.

“He’s ahead of some of our veterans from a knowledge standpoint,” Rhoads said. “He’s very self-motivated.”

That was evident after a brief conversation.

“All I think I have to do is show that I’m improving,” Chappel said. “Coach Rhoads said that he doesn’t want me making the same mistakes twice, and I want to show him that I’m actually learning the system.

“So, I watch film and give 100 percent,” Chappel said. “He says you can’t coach effort, so I want to give 100 percent every time I go out there.”

Not that Junior Kennard Cox and Senior Reggie Carter are ready to concede the open starting CB spot to him. It’s just that attention seems to be directed to Chappel.

For the second consecutive day, redshirt freshman wideout Cedric McGee and freshman cornerback Jovanni Chappel exchanged barbs — and a few shoves — on the practice field.

They traded head slaps Friday night after Chappel broke up a pass. Yesterday, Chappel tossed McGee out of bounds with extra ferocity after McGee made a catch.

“Me and Cedric go at it all the time,” Chappel said, laughing. “We’re in the same predicament. We’re both trying to move up on the depth chart. And we’re both physical guys. So, I make him better, and he makes me better every day.”

Chappel seems to really enjoy getting into it with the WRs. Yesterday I noted the story on his roommate, Redshirt Freshman WR Oderick Turner. They also apparently like to go at each other.

The article noting Chappel and McGee going at it really focused on Darrelle Revis and thoughts of going pro. Especially after he attended Pitt’s pro day.

Revis, who will be a junior this fall, is aware he could be auditioning for the scouts this time next year.

“My thoughts always drift toward that,” he said. “But right now, coach (Dave) Wannstedt talked to me about being focused on this year. I’m not going to put myself ahead of the team.

“I don’t know if I’m going to leave next year. If the opportunity presents itself, then I’ll go. If not, I can stay for my senior year and help the team even more.”

At the Pro Day, Revis kept a close eye on corner Josh Lay, his cousin and former Pitt teammate. Lay had a great workout, and, with the NFL Draft taking place in less than five weeks, his stock reportedly is rising.

“Josh is excited,” Revis said. “He’s always talking about how it’s a dream come true.”

I suppose there is some concern that Revis might start putting his own pro aspirations ahead of the team. I’m not overly concerned because he’s shown no sign of it to this point, and the nature of his position puts him on more of an island on the field. He has to be responsible for himself.

Really, he simply answered the question honestly. Maybe it would have been easier to go with some simple cliche and deflect away from the issue with an, “I’m not thinking about that at all. I just want to help the team…”

He had just been in attendance of an event where Pitt Seniors were performing for NFL scouts. Of course it’s on his mind.

Additionally, it’s always been there for Revis. He’s always had the talent and everyone knew from day one he has the potential. Add in the fact that his uncle is Sean Gilbert a past NFL All-pro and even another relative, Aliquippa HS Junior Herb Pope, will one day head to the NBA. He comes from an athletically gifted family with skills to play at the pro level.

Given the expected youth and lack of quality depth on the lines, the health of the starters will be vital. One of the things that hurt Pitt’s D-line last year was Clint Session being in and out of the line-up with various injuries. He’s worked to get faster and drop extra weight.

Session was moved last spring from inside linebacker to outside linebacker, a position he had not played in some time. Then in summer camp, a knee injury prevented him from being a factor early in the season and he had a bothersome shin injury that hampered him in midseason.

After making 11 starts as a sophomore on the team that won the Big East and went to the Fiesta Bowl, Session was relegated to part-time player status last season who contributed just 28 tackles in eight games.
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Session spent the offseason watching what he ate and worked on his speed with a track coach in Florida. He came into spring practice 12 pounds lighter than the end of last season and feels good physically.

“This is the most comfortable I’ve been since I’ve been here,” he said. “I feel like I can really help this scheme. Coach is expecting big things out of me this year. He’s expecting me to be a leader.”

Bonus points for Clint referring to himself in the 3d person in this puff piece. Just something that has been missing from early stories on players this spring even if he was inconsistent in slipping in and out of it.

“Last year was tough, but it was like a stepping stone,” Session said. “I’m just happy it’s over and out of the way, and it’s a new year. It was tough going through that, but it’s a new year now. And I really don’t want to talk about last year. We’re looking toward this year, now.

“But it definitely was motivation for me. It almost was a wasted year. Clint Session’s name wasn’t out there helping his teammates, and he wasn’t out there contributing to the team. So, you always want to bounce back from that. It’s the last year to get a chance to have a winning season.”

Session primarily worked on improving his speed, and he trained at a camp specifically geared toward speed work when he went back home to southern Florida in the offseason.

“I believe I’ve gotten faster, because that’s mostly what I was working on in the offseason,” Session said. “Just trying to be fast. I did some running at home with some guys, and I know it’s paying off.

“I got a trainer back home (who is) a speed trainer. He put me through some hard drills, and hopefully that can get the best out of me. You pull a sled and pull guys with ropes, so that’s what I did to improve my speed.”

Of course it isn’t just Session. The whole line has to be better.

“For us to make some strides as a football team, that position is critical,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t care what level you’re talking about, those guys up front have to perform — and perform at a high level. We were inexperienced last year. That’s scary. Now we’re a year older and that will benefit us this year.”

A couple of local players are hoping to earn starting positions and shore up the line. Corey Davis, a 6-foot-1, 300-pound sophomore from Peabody High School, played in six games last season and recorded five tackles. Craig Bokor, a 6-3, 290-pound redshirt freshman from Hopewell, did not play but hopes to be a part of the rotation this season.

“We have no choice but to improve from last year,” Davis said. “It can’t get any worse.”

Bokor said the coaches have tweaked the defensive scheme this spring. Last season, he said, the defensive linemen played a read-and-react style that took away the natural aggression of the players. That philosophy is gone, replaced by a full-steam-ahead, play-making mentality for the four down linemen.

“They just want us to get off the ball,” Bokor said. “We want to put the linemen in the backfield. They call it capturing the lineman’s heels. We just want to be powerful and physical.”

Sounds good, and god knows they need to be more aggressive off the line. Lots of questions, though, as to whether they will be better. I vaguely recall last year the offensive line talking glowingly about being more aggressive and attacking with a more run-oriented offense, rather than playing to pass-block. That didn’t work so well.

The first of what will be many. This one is hosted over at Schembechler Hall. Unlike the detailed essay from Matt on these questions, I’m going to — in a rare change of pace — be brief.

1) It’s early, but thus far, which offseason change or changes in college football are you most excited about?

The sense of impending doom that is just now beginning to dawn with the knowledge that Fox and the Fox-ification of coverage of the BCS Bowls is drawing ever closer. I can’t wait for the screams and brutal treatment it will receive.

2) With spring practice underway, what are the three concerns about your team that are causing you the most anxiety? (USC fans can’t just list the departures of Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and LenDale White.)

1. Line play — defense.
2. Line play — offense.
3. Line play — generally.

Notice a trend?

3) Care to take a stab at a preseason top five?

This will be very preliminary. I don’t like any team trying to break-in a new QB being in the top-5, so without looking too deep and plenty of caveats and caution. Here’s an impulsive listing:

1. Florida
2. Ohio St.
3. LSU
4. ND
5. WVU

But don’t expect that to stay that way come August and the return of the BlogPoll.

Track and Field began for high schools a few days ago in Western PA. I admit to generally not caring. I’ll make an exception here.

Valley junior Toney Clemons already has four scholarship offers for football.

Pitt, Mississippi, Akron and Connecticut have all courted Clemons, a wide receiver/defensive back, who has delicate hands and blazing speed.

But Clemons doesn’t think he’d be drawing nearly as much attention if it wasn’t for track.

“Like coach (George) Webb says, track is a warm-up for football,” said Clemons, who is the defending champion in the WPIAL Class AA long jump. “Track’s always been my first sport, but football is my first love. But the two go hand-in-hand. You need one to be conditioned for the other.”

Judging by the list of teams interested in him and that Scout.com already has him listed as a 4-star recruit, I think there’s a good chance he’d still be getting plenty of interest.

Duquesne is still looking for a coach, and haven’t exactly rushed into the interview process. They got around to getting permission from a couple of schools.

Two head coaches — Jim Christian of Kent State and Ron Everhart of Northeastern — were given permission to speak with Duquesne about its men’s basketball vacancy.

“They did request permission to speak with (Christian), and it was granted,” Kent State director of athletic communications Jeff Schaefer said.

Mark Harris, the assistant director of sports information at Northeastern, said Everhart was cleared to speak with Duquesne.
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Meanwhile, Ohio State assistant coach John Groce, regarded as one of the frontrunners for most of the four-week search, has told friends he is not interested in the Duquesne job.
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Duquesne’s salary range has been reported anywhere from $300,000 to $600,000 per season.
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Christian, 40, a former assistant at Pittsburgh under Ralph Williard from 1996-99, is 89-40 in four seasons at Kent State. His contract runs through 2012 and pays him about $170,000 annually.

Everhart is 82-68 in five years at Northeastern, a Colonial Athletic Association school. His current contract runs through the 2007-08 season.

Kennedy is currently renegotiating a long-term contract for his coach. It is believed the new deal would boost Christian’s salary into the range of $250,000 per season, making him the highest paid coach at the Mid-American Conference school.

I’m guessing Duquesne is looking to keep the salary range to start much closer to the $300,000 range. No mention of Pitt Associate Head Coach Barry Rohrssen in the article.

Ron Cook hails the Dixon extension for Pitt as the end to fan concerns that coaches view Pitt as merely a stepping stone job and that the administration wouldn’t work to keep coaches.

What’s important is that a good, young coach wanted to stay at Pitt. The guess here is Dixon never seriously considered leaving. He merely took advantage of being in the right place at the right time. His young Pitt team had surprising success in the Big East this season before its collapse against Bradley in the NCAA tournament. There were job openings at Arizona State and Missouri. Both schools reached out to him. Dixon used that interest to get a big raise, much the way Prosser worked Wake Forest three years ago.

Dixon might have gotten a little more at Arizona State or Missouri, but it wouldn’t have been worth him moving. He knows he should have a strong team next season; all but Carl Krauser among his key players will be back. Of greater note, Dixon knows he has a chance to be a big winner at Pitt for a long time. He realized he didn’t have to leave to get that opportunity.

The grass no longer is greener someplace else.

He does get the timeline wrong about the Big East football break-up. That started happening several weeks after Dixon was given the head job.

While on the subject of a real stepping stone job, Seton Hall looks to be rebuffed by Tom Pecora of Hofstra. Seems he actually likes where he lives, his job, his salary raise and doesn’t like what he’s seen of Seton Hall.

That’s what happened to the Seton Hall University men’s basketball program Monday when Hofstra’s Tom Pecora rebuffed an opportunity to become the Pirates’ next head coach.

Sources at both schools said Pecora will remain with Hofstra, which scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. today.

While Seton Hall technically did not offer him the position, sources said Pecora had been informed informally that he was the top choice to succeed Louis Orr, who was fired Friday.

Pecora, who has proclaimed his loyalty to Hofstra on various broadcast outlets over the past few days, was said to be concerned about job security at Seton Hall in light of the firing of Orr, who had led the Pirates to two NCAA Tournament appearances over the past three seasons.
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Why would Pecora turn down a Big East job to remain with a mid-major program?

The financial gain could be negligible. Between his base salary and income from conducting camps and clinics, Pecora is making close to $400,000, sources say.

Orr’s base salary was $499,000. Hofstra administrators could close the gap by sweetening the pot a little.

Hofstra narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament this year, returns most of its key players next year and has a strong recruiting class on the way. Pecora’s profile could get even stronger if he stays put.

Sources close to Pecora say he loves Hofstra and was turned off by Seton Hall’s handling of Orr, which was blasted by the national media.

He didn’t even view it as a good stepping stone from Hofstra. Seton Hall’s humiliation continues.

So who is Seton Hall moving on to next?

Seton Hall, which sought and received permission to contact Pecora over the weekend, apparently has moved on and received similar permission to approach Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez and Pittsburgh assistant Barry Rohrssen. Iona coach Jeff Ruland also is a candidate.

You would think Bobby Gonzalez would be the best choice with his success with Manhattan and actually winning a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. The fact that Rohrssen is being considered as another lead candidate is a testament to his charisma and recruiting reputation. Of course, Seton Hall fans might also view it as part of the administration’s unwillingness to pay much for a coach, since Rohrssen has never been a head coach, and would likely come cheaper than Gonzalez or other candidates.

The main concern for anyone considering the Seton Hall job is if you can win/recruit enough to satisfy the administration while being hindered by poor facilities, a low budget and fierce competition for local talent.

I would be mildly surprised if Rohrssen got the Seton Hall job. It would be a huge achievement and huge risk. It would be more logical and expected that Manhattan or Iona would consider him if Seton Hall hired their guy away. Or perhaps one of the other NYC metro colleges needing a new coach.

I do want Rohrssen to get an opportunity. It would be good for Pitt to have coaches from the staff get the chance. It helps the reputation of the school and quite frankly it will increase the interest and quality of potential applicants to take his place if they know it will lead to more opportunities in the future. The better the staff around Coach Dixon, the better the overall coaching, team and future players.

Paul Evans was not the best coach in the world, and his players still don’t speak that highly of him. What he did have were top assistants like John Calipari to help control the situation, recruit and coach.

If Rohrssen were to leave, I would look closely at who is on staff at Hofstra, Manhattan and the other schools. Which assistants have built relationships within the NY/NJ area and could maintain them from Pittsburgh.