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.