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May 10, 2011

This year, didn’t even rise to a level of “will he at least listen?” status. NC State, Mizzou, and now Maryland didn’t even make it past the wish list stage. There never was a moment this entire spring when it even seemed plausible that Coach Dixon was going anywhere. This despite being on all of those fanbases wishlists.

Part of what made filling the Maryland job so much harder was the timing of Gary Williams’ retirement. Convincing any coach like Sean Miller (who now swears he’s not going anywhere), Jamie Dixon, Jay Wright, et cetera to up and leave in May does not happen without being a top-5 job and big, big money in play.

Unlike its football program, the Maryland basketball program is a really good job. One of the top-20 nationally. A very passionate fanbase, but not insanely delusional (see, NC State). The program will pay well for a coach. Natural recruiting territory all around it with Baltimore, Philly, and DC all within reasonable drives, and the rest of Virginia and NY/NJ within reach.

The problem was that recruiting classes were locked in place. Summer schedules set. New assistants have been hired. Already out recruiting for the 2012 cycle. Plus the simple fact that while Maryland is a really good job, it will take at least a year of rebuilding while nearly every major conference coach that Maryland wanted had a team geared to at least make the NCAA next year.  And then there is this, the money is no longer that different in most other places. Outside of certain programs, most of the money is a lot closer than it used to be.

Still, it was kind of pleasant to sit back and watch the mayhem and angst over coaching changes without having to worry. This upcoming season will be Dixon’s 9th at Pitt. Nine years with the same coach. Only Doc Carlson (31 years), George Flint (10 years) Bob Timmons (15 years) had longer tenures, and Dixon only trails Carlson in wins at Pitt

This article points out that the ACC outside of Duke and North Carolina has become a conference with major coaching turnover.

Williams’ stunning exit leaves ACC basketball with just four head coaches who have been on the job more than two seasons: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski with 31, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton nine, and North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg eight each.

Yes, after a mere two years on the case, Virginia’s Tony Bennett ranks fifth among the conference’s 12 big whistles in seniority.

Coach Dixon’s eight years to date, puts him at only sixth in Big East coaching seniority. Boeheim, Calhoun, Brey, Wright and Pitino hall have longer tenures. Hard to believe that Brey has been at ND for 11 years. As much as everyone complains how hard a grind the Big East can be, There’s a lot of talented coaches in the conference, and a lot of tenure.





Despite the timing, though, Maryland got a really good coach in Turgeon. It will be interesting to see what he can do with better access to elite talent.

BTW, it’s “Sean” Miller, not “Shawn”. I know you know that, but…

Comment by Pantherman13 05.10.11 @ 2:47 pm

I heard Dixon’s going back home to replace Phil Jackson

Comment by wbb 05.10.11 @ 2:52 pm

What? No extension for Jamie? LOL! Seems like a yearly event around here.

Comment by Pitt Is It! 05.10.11 @ 3:12 pm

C’mon wbb! You just tarnished your reputation in my opinion wuth that rediculous blog about Jamie and Phil. Surely, you jest!! Also I’m not surprised by the ill-informed writer for SI in his comments about Ashton Gibbs. Sports Illustrated has been less than accurate many times about Panther sports and jocks. Rev. George from Columbus where a dark cloud is currently hovering over the hallowed Buckeyes.

Comment by Rev. George Mehaffey 05.10.11 @ 3:14 pm

At this point, what job would Jamie leave Pitt for? Kansas? But Bill Self isn’t going anywhere. Duke? I am sure they’ll find someone in the Duke family tree when Coach K retires. UNC? Kentucky? UCLA? Not likely with Howland connections. Arizona seemed possible, but he declined. TCU? I guess that’s possible.

Maryland seemed to make a little bit of sense, although it is largely a lateral move. The geography and recruiting base is better in Maryland. The ACC is probably more coach friendly. There are really only two programs in the conference to worry about, UNC and DUKE. In the Big East 10 programs are legit. The ceiling is higher at Maryland than Pitt, Jamie could probably attract better talent there than here. It might be slightly easier to win a national championship at Maryland in the long run. But he would be at least 2 or 3 years away from getting Maryland to where Pitt is now and then another couple years before they’d be a Championship contender every year.

Jamie has built a great program here, he’s paid a ton of money, why leave? I am sure watching Ben Howland at UCLA has had an impact. Sure Ben made a couple final fours, but the grass is not always greener. He’s had a few really tough years too.

Comment by boubacar aw 05.10.11 @ 3:57 pm

I think the job that would make the most sense is Texas. Great talent down there, but Rick Barnes is a terrible coach and could get fired if he ever has an awful year. He played in college in Texas and that is a great job, tons of resources and would pay

Comment by Brian 05.10.11 @ 4:53 pm

I hope that every year, the rumors get weaker and weaker as Jamie’s ties to Pittsburgh get stronger and stronger. At least until the UCLA job opens up again…

Comment by merlin 05.10.11 @ 5:32 pm

Rev George, I swear on the Koran I heard that about Dixon going to the Lakers!

Actually, you were correct … I surely jest.

Comment by wbb 05.10.11 @ 6:51 pm

Article in SI on Todd Graham. Nice article but the mag gives Pitt a C grade for the hire.

link to sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Comment by mj 05.10.11 @ 7:04 pm

speaking of Graham link to post-gazette.com

Comment by wbb 05.10.11 @ 7:23 pm

“When I go see my grandparents, I’m asking them how their health is, they’re asking me how the high-octane offense is going,” said Sunseri. “Everyone’s excited.”

I love it.

Comment by Chris 05.10.11 @ 9:56 pm

A “C” grade? I know they mention his lack of sucess without Malzhan and/or Morris, but they completely ignore what he did at Rice. This has to be related to the Haywood debacle. Plus with McGee and Norvall I think they will be fine at the OC spot.

Comment by JB '90 05.10.11 @ 11:13 pm

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