Did Coach Dixon meet with Oregon officials boosters while he was in NYC to do studio work for CBS College Sports? Technically, no one knows for sure. Coach Dixon won’t address it. Oregon denies it — like it denies offering Turgeon, Few, Smith and others. Really, the fact that the guy heading the Oregon search — Kilkenny — is not an actual employee of Oregon really improves everyone’s deniability.

Coach Dixon was asked that question on the radio, but dodged the question, as expected. Lee at EoaP is a little concerned that this will start to alienate some towards Dixon since he is at least listening. While he says  he isn’t bothered by the fact that Dixon listens, he does seem a touch concerned.

I don’t mind so much, in part because I’m a little jaded about the whole coaching carousel. It really doesn’t seem to matter how entrenched and successful a coach is at a place. Tom Izzo is a Michigan native. He was a longtime assistant for Jud Heathcote at Michigan State. He has had amazing success as head coach. Over 20 years at Michigan State. Yet, his name keeps popping up each year. Whether delusional or not. It will keep happening for coaches until they reach a certain number of years at a school (Boeheim, Krzyzewski) or age (Calhoun). Some school, somewhere will believe they have enough money, facilities, fertile recruiting, history, etc. to lure a coach.

(Honestly the number of schools that can truly meet those first four are very limited — Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, Indiana, Duke. Some schools like Texas and Florida simply have so much of the first three, they can probably skip the history part. A school like UCLA lacks the truly big money part because of state laws. Everyone else has to either compensate or lower their expectations of who they hire.)

I also don’t mind Dixon listening, because you never know when someone is going to offer that crazy money you can’t refuse. That or you have that moment of absolute clarity and realize that you want to stay where you are. It doesn’t hurt to listen.

[As a personal example. I get contacted by blogging networks and collectives trying to get me to move this site several times each year. I have no interest in joining them, but I listen. Part of it is to get an idea of what objective value is placed on this site and what I do. But there are other factors that go into why I listen. Whether it is because of a relationship with the person contacting me, or simply because I don’t know if they are going to offer a deal that is simply too good to refuse. I’m sure many of you do or have done the same in your career.]

The terms of the contract (i.e., money) remain unknown at this time. I’m sure at some point over the next 12 months it will get out. Then casually mentioned in stories like everyone had common knowledge of it. In the meantime, it is speculation.

What I am fairly certain, is that like last year with Arizona, Coach Dixon took less money to stay. Arizona was willing to start at $2 million last year. That wasn’t enough, and Pitt didn’t have to redo his contract once more. This year, it is safe to assume that Oregon was probably willing to start at around $2.5 million per year. Coach Dixon, instead, stayed for 2 more years and very assuredly less than that over the length of the contract.

To me that says how much he prefers to be at Pitt, and just how crazy the money would have to be for him to leave. As Dokish points out, this is at least the 10th different offer from another school he has rejected.

It also means he believes that Pitt can win it all.

The weird thing that happens when you know a program is coming hard after your coach is you start following that search closely. You almost become invested in seeing how it turns out. This happened to me last year with Arizona. It has happened this year with Oregon. I am totally fascinated by their coaching search — and failure to this point.

Basically, all that has happened to this point is they have helped coaches get raises and extensions.

Two other coaches reportedly on the short list to replace Ernie Kent have gotten raises to stay in their current positions.

Mark Turgeon of Texas A&M is set to get a $250,000 raise, according to ESPN.com, and Pitt’s Jamie Dixon signed a two-year contract extension Tuesday, locking him up through the 2017-18 season.

Meanwhile, Steve Alford of New Mexico told the Albuquerque Journal that he is willing to listen if someone calls but added that he is not looking to leave the Lobos.

Mark Few of Gonzaga, a Creswell native and Oregon grad who has close ties to former Ducks athletic director Pat Kilkenny, told the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., that he does not comment on coaching rumors.

Meanwhile, Tubby Smith might get a small bump at Minnesota and that promised new practice facility is now a priority.

It does seem curious that Baylor’s Scott Drew is not being pursued. Memphis showed interest in him last year, but that was it. This despite an astounding job rebuilding Baylor after the Bliss scandal — and in a rather deep Big 12. I suppose it has something to do with a less than perfect reputation. There have been rumors that he tends to the shady side in recruiting efforts (or at least has stepped on other Div. 1 coaches’ toes in the process). Given the number of other coaches that do that and no one seems to mind, though, I can’t believe that is the only reason.

With all the other rejections Oregon has had, they might be waiting to see about Butler’s Brad Stevens after all.

Stevens’ style is not frenetic. It’s defense-first, with a fairly deliberate offense. But all this talk about pace and having to have an entertaining style is bunk, anyway.

Just win.

Oregon wants to be about glitz and glamor. Maybe it sounds good to say the Ducks will run up and down the floor. Maybe that’s in keeping with the desired image.

But winning provides the ultimate positive branding, doesn’t it? The Bulldogs have 88 wins since Stevens was promoted to head coach, which is a record for anyone’s first three seasons.

Considering Mark Turgeon and Jamie Dixon were high on their list, yeah, claiming to want a coach that runs and “entertaining style” of basketball is definitely bunk.

Here’s something that seems to have escaped most of the Duck fans and people covering Oregon’s search. Or at the very least, seems incredibly minimized. Mike Belotti screwed Oregon.

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