There is more then a sense of inevitability to Kevin Stallings’ fate. Pitt plays at 2pm today at the Barclays Center against Notre Dame, and there is little reason to think things will be different then the previous 18 ACC games.
At some point after the conclusion of that game — be it days or a week — Stallings will be fired. All rumors and tips are that a buyout has been negotiated.
Like the overwhelming majority of Pitt fans, I did not like the hire of Stallings. Also like most Pitt fans, I certainly wasn’t rooting for him to fail. And absolutely not like this.
Stallings was dealt a bad hand in terms of how many players needed to be replaced in one year. Outside of John Calipari-level recruiting, no coach was going to be able to put together a recruiting class that would allow Pitt to be even mediocre. That has to be reasonably acknowledged.
The problem was, Stallings put together a team that wasn’t simply young and at the bottom of the conference. They failed to develop much over the course of the season and were so bad. That failing to develop. Failing to improve as a team over the course of the season. That is on Stallings and his staff.
In the ACC honors, Pitt did not have one player make the All-ACC Freshman squad. Hell, I’m not sure Pitt would have placed one on a 2d-team if they had one.
I mean, I like a lot of the players on this squad. There is a nice core there that can develop, but they have had no chance to be worked into playing. They have been tossed in and had to try and figure things out without any chance of having an off-night or simply play a few less minutes.
And it is going to suck badly for them. Only one year with the coaches that recruited them, brought them to Pittsburgh. They are about to lose all of that. These are still kids. I don’t care how mature, how much the system produces money and exposure all around them. These are still freshmen in college in a new place. That alone is a big shift and change in life. Then to have the whole coaching staff — essentially the majority of your support in the transition to college and playing at this level — gone. I have more then a little empathy for them.
Stallings will get his money. Despite hating the hire, he is a good coach. Just a really, really bad fit. He may even fall into another coaching job right away.
The rumor mill for Pitt’s next coach is underway. The one problem, assuming Pitt fires Stallings within a week. The majority of candidates (or at least hopefully candidates) will be coaching their present team in the NCAA Tournament. That makes it very likely that it could be a good two weeks minimum before a hire is announced.
That is assuming it isn’t Thad Matta.
A brief word about Matta. He’s being courted by Ole Miss. Though, many wonder if that is serious on his end.
On the other hand, I would guess that Matta meeting with Ole Miss is just as much about showing other potential destinations — say a place like Pitt if it moves on from Kevin Stallings — that he’s serious about finding a new gig as it was about him really wanting to be the Rebels’ next coach.
Regardless of what Matta’s strategy is, his entrance to the coaching carousel is certainly an interesting one.
There is an obvious connection as AD Heather Lyke was an assistant AD at Ohio State for part of Matta’s tenure. Matta would be a really, really good hire. He recruits well, develops the players.
The issue is his health. While only 50, his back issues are well documented.
Concerns about Matta’s health have followed him for nearly a decade, since a botched back surgery left him without a fully-functioning right foot and some lingering back issues. He walks with a noticeable limp and with the help of a brace on his right leg.
That will always be something people will ask about, and try to use against him.
“Somebody once told a recruit I was dying,” Matta said. “Not that my foot didn’t lift, but that I was going to die.”
There have been times when back issues forced Matta to skip postgame news conferences. He uses a special seat on the bench that sits higher to take some pressure off of his back. He was candid in 2015 after becoming Ohio State’s all-time wins leader about struggles he’s had, including needing the help of his family to take his shoes off after a game because the pain in his back was so strong that he couldn’t bend over.
The health issues are the concern, and honestly. As much as I would love to see Pitt hire the guy, I’d also insist on a full, very detailed physical before any contract is offered.
1. I too really feel for the kids, change is never easy, but I also feel like this may be a really good opportunity for at least some of them; the alternative is that Stallings comes back for another year- think about that for a minute….
2. I’ve said it before, I’ll probably be in the minority, but I don’t care: I do not like the idea of hiring Matta. Yes, he’d be a huge upgrade over Stalling, but frankly so would Olli Maata at this point. My opinion is based solely on his health, and I don’t think there’s any mystery there, it’s not good. I’d much rather take a chance on one of the young HC candidates that have been discussed on boards over the past few weeks.
“After Notre Dame beats Pitt…er ah if Notre Dame beats Pitt…”
That would usually make me angry but today it just made me laugh…sad
my guess would be a coach from a second tier school who’s trying to move up to the big leagues
Do not let him travel or interact with the team. Actually, this would help Pitt because Stallings would still be held to a personal conduct clause in his contract. I would just make him stay. That would bring a quick negotiation and bring it down to 5million.
Bad week to stop sniffing glue.
I can see no plausible scenario where Stallings contract doesn’t tie him specifically to his role. Pitt can’t just decide that he’s a $2M janitor for the next few years. It would probably make his case even better as it would probably enable him to sue for breach. And that’s just the PR you want when shopping for a new coach: “Piss us off and we’ll put you in the ticket booth!”
A loss is still a loss. It’s hard to beat a team back to back in such short a short span. Everything was still fresh for Pitt – no new game plan. I would have expected them to play better. ND is probably a little tight as well – they pretty much need to make a run to the title game to get into the dance.
Matta? I like his ties. I like his past – where he’s been. I think he could recruit the region well. He’s knows where the kids are. He runs a clean program. There’s a difference between a resume that you can be proud of and one you’re not ashamed of – his is the former. His health is a concern, but to me at least, not a huge one. But he won’t come real cheap and he won’t be anyones lap dog. When he wants something he’s going to demand it. He won’t accept nickel and diming the staff budget. And he won’t come cheap – after Stallings, a guy like Matta would probably demand a contract that would make Sean Miller’s AZ contract look like the deal of the century.
Stallings may be here for another year. He may not. Is the Pete half empty or half full? Lyke’s probably going to get a pass on this regardless because of her short temper. Again, we’ll learn a lot about her through this mess, but I don’t think she can lose on this one and the safe play might be to keep the guy she didn’t hire for another year vs. the risk of pulling the trigger on a dicey hire.
It has to be the right guy.
1. Not hard to fill this job if Pitt has the money. Pitt is still viewed as a good job in a great conference. I like Matta
2. Easy to explain firing Stallings after only 2 years. All future coaches would understand
– 23 game ACC losing streak
– terrible attendance records
– poor conduct by coach
3. $10 M is a lot but not as much as lost revenue in ? Ng, merchandise, tv, and donations.
4. AD will be ok either way as he isn’t her hire
Time to stop digging and fire the guy. Stallings has made the program awful.
Stallings is an arrogant a hole and a mediocre coach at best but he has us by the short hairs thanks to Barnes and Gallagher.
In short: Not sure why he’d want to come back to this mess to rebuild what he already rebuilt once. He does have an impressive record of turning programs around – even UCLA was a mess when he took over and within three years he was one game from winning it all.
They lost. Period.
And, it is college basketball. EVERY team in the national plays far above their average at least a few times (and way below too). That is why College BB is all about the upset. The fact that we had maybe 2 games when we did play way above our average, and still lost both of them? No, this last games says nothing. Get rid of the bum.
