After this past basketball season I was certain that we could go through the coaching carousel without even an unserious “Jamie Dixon being targeted by X” story. Not just because Pitt had an off year, but because there were no jobs coming open that had any fit. Illinois, South Carolina and K-State were all geographically poor, not going to make a Godfather offer with money and/or not even lateral moves from Pitt. In fact Dixon’s name never even made it on most initial lists of candidates.

Then Jim Christian abruptly left TCU to take the Ohio job. With TCU entering the Big 12 and Dixon being a Horned Frog alum, the inevitable stories began. Naturally they really didn’t amount to much. Yes, TCU reached out to Dixon but nothing happened — TCU fans like to believe it was simply that they couldn’t afford Dixon’s price — and TCU hired Trent Johnson from Louisiana State.  Dixon, of course, said nothing the whole time, as has been his policy with any coaching opening.

Then came an absurd report that on the first day of the late signing day — right after meeting with Trey Zeigler and getting him to transfer to Pitt — that Dixon was down in Atlanta meeting with the LSU AD. The school refuted the report, but Dixon himself would not comment on the job. Citing his policy of not commenting on open jobs anywhere.

It seems like a silly extreme to take his policy. A job he was clearly not interested in pursuing. A story that was false on its face. Yet Dixon still wouldn’t give anything. And he’s right.

This post from Gary Parrish at CBS Sports highlights the sort of mistake when Dan Hurley left Wagner for Rhode Island. In a puff piece in ESPN, Hurley spoke of how he wouldn’t leave Wagner for another job. That he had no interest in using the good season at Wagner to springboard for a better job and more money. How he wasn’t “that guy.”

And all coaches would be wise to remember as much going forward and stop making statements they can’t possibly hold themselves to. I don’t care how comfortable you think you are — or how much you love your boss and neighborhood and everything else — the majority of Americans leave one job for another when the other job is clearly better in every way imaginable, and why coaches often pretend otherwise is something I still don’t understand.

Make no mistake, Dan Hurley is smart to leave Wagner for Rhode Island.

Who wouldn’t make that move?

But I’m sure, on some level, he feels a little silly this afternoon because he must realize this is exactly the type of thing he said he wouldn’t do less than three months ago. Wagner fans were gonna be upset when he left, regardless. But now they have words to throw back in his face, and those are words that should’ve never been uttered anyway because they never made much sense coming from a guy in a profession where springboarding is the norm.

Dixon understands the business of being a high profile college basketball coach. He is also very honest. Things that don’t always go well together. He saw first-hand with Ben Howland how that works. Howland professed his deep love to Pitt. Stating how he had no interest (at that time) in any other job, just weeks before bolting for the UCLA job.

Jamie Dixon has learned. He has stated how much he loves Pittsburgh. How much his family is settled in the community. How much he loves the University of Pittsburgh. How much he loves being the head basketball coach at Pitt. He does not, however, say never.

He won’t put himself in a position to lie. He also understands that even a couple bad years and he could be getting on the hot seat. It would be easier for many if Dixon would lie. It would be a comfortable lie.

It would still be a lie.