Dokish Column-Even He Has Lost Optimism
- Thread starter noelr
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Dokish speaks of recent texts from anonymous head coaches:
"One text from a college coach in the last few days read, "He must address the staff situation ASAP!!". Another coach texted to me about Dixon, "He has no lead assistant coach". Today, after Heron's de-committment was announced, a third coach texted me, "Oh my the roof is caving in at Pitt".
"One text from a college coach in the last few days read, "He must address the staff situation ASAP!!". Another coach texted to me about Dixon, "He has no lead assistant coach". Today, after Heron's de-committment was announced, a third coach texted me, "Oh my the roof is caving in at Pitt".
Well, if there is one blogger who has nothing but credibility to cite sources..it's Doke. *end snark*
Obviously, it's top priority.
Don't reach out to recruit Heron... voice your concern about Pitt to Dokish.
Yes, he points to his assistants as key to the problem. Well... perhaps that will get addressed when the new AD is hired. I'm assuming money played a role.
But look what we saw what happened with football. Narduzzi was given a nice checkbook to hire assistants, and pulled in an experienced OC from an SEC program. Unthinkable in the past. Maybe Dixon will get a bigger budget for assistants as well. It could, even should happen. The turnaround in football hiring for Pitt was shocking. This would be less so.
But look what we saw what happened with football. Narduzzi was given a nice checkbook to hire assistants, and pulled in an experienced OC from an SEC program. Unthinkable in the past. Maybe Dixon will get a bigger budget for assistants as well. It could, even should happen. The turnaround in football hiring for Pitt was shocking. This would be less so.
The players are not the problem.
The AD is not the problem.
The assistants are not the problem.
Dixon IS the problem.
The AD is not the problem.
The assistants are not the problem.
Dixon IS the problem.
This staff needs a major overhaul. No one is off limits and Dixon needs that ace recruiter that can land the players that have been part of what the Pitt program is built on. This staff right now is completely impotent.
If anyone thinks....
that Doke getting texts from "anonymous coaches" about Pitt's current situation and those texts happening to be the same as some people's complaints on message boards, and that that is all simply a coincidence I got this great piece of real estate in south Florida that you may be interested in.
that Doke getting texts from "anonymous coaches" about Pitt's current situation and those texts happening to be the same as some people's complaints on message boards, and that that is all simply a coincidence I got this great piece of real estate in south Florida that you may be interested in.
Tom Herrion was one of Doke's main sources. Last year when Dixon was looking for a recruiter, Doke openly lobbied for Herrion.
It is also a fact that 3 of the 4 kids in the 2011 class that was a major bust and helped cause this mess were guys Herrion found and recruited. I liked Herrion but he is not the solution to this problem. He is closer to a cause of it than a solution.
This post was edited on 4/18 11:46 AM by Harve74
It is also a fact that 3 of the 4 kids in the 2011 class that was a major bust and helped cause this mess were guys Herrion found and recruited. I liked Herrion but he is not the solution to this problem. He is closer to a cause of it than a solution.
This post was edited on 4/18 11:46 AM by Harve74
Argeed. The buck has to stop at the Head Coach. I will edit my post to say Herrion was "A" cause, not "the" cause. He lobbied for several of those guys and won the arguments versus BK for other prospects. .
He was Dixon's right-hand man and Jamie took his opinion but the responsibility IS Dixon's.
It does however speak to the folks who wanted to hire Herrion back. .
He was Dixon's right-hand man and Jamie took his opinion but the responsibility IS Dixon's.
It does however speak to the folks who wanted to hire Herrion back. .
Harve .... say what you want but IMO as overall assistant coaches, Herrion, Lombardi, and Rice were all better then any assistant coach we have on the staff now ...... and I would take Sandle and Slice over anyone on the current staff except maybe Knight.
I would not have fired Sandle to rehire Slice. That was a bad SP decision.
We will see whether Slice brings Heron to St John's but so far, his impact at Kentucky was muted. He gets credit for closing with Briscoe but Brisce was already a KY lean. It's arguable he didn't really deliver anyone there, for all his reputation and our gnashing of teeth.
Other than that, KY has not signed anyone since he went there. LaBissierre was through Calipari and their other targets have not pulled the trigger at KY. I doubt Slice would have brought any of the 5-stars here. He never did before. I wish him luck at St. John's but I think there has always been more sizzle than substance there.
Those who talk with players say the players are Knight fans. I've also been told he wants to recruit in the old style and Jamie overruled him.
Lombardi wanted his own program and at a lower pressure place. His wife is from Indiana so that's were he wanted to go.
I stand by my commnts on Herrion. He has been fired from both HC jobs he had and had a lot of misses here.
Rice can coach and recruit, but he will serve a long penance and may never get another P-5 job.
Dixon wants assistants he can work with. I would have several different guys there, but it's not my decision. There is no way fans should select assistants. His guys may bring him down. Or he may get it turned around. It's his program and his job on the line. I'll guarantee he knows a lot more about what happens there than we do.
We will see whether Slice brings Heron to St John's but so far, his impact at Kentucky was muted. He gets credit for closing with Briscoe but Brisce was already a KY lean. It's arguable he didn't really deliver anyone there, for all his reputation and our gnashing of teeth.
Other than that, KY has not signed anyone since he went there. LaBissierre was through Calipari and their other targets have not pulled the trigger at KY. I doubt Slice would have brought any of the 5-stars here. He never did before. I wish him luck at St. John's but I think there has always been more sizzle than substance there.
Those who talk with players say the players are Knight fans. I've also been told he wants to recruit in the old style and Jamie overruled him.
Lombardi wanted his own program and at a lower pressure place. His wife is from Indiana so that's were he wanted to go.
I stand by my commnts on Herrion. He has been fired from both HC jobs he had and had a lot of misses here.
Rice can coach and recruit, but he will serve a long penance and may never get another P-5 job.
Dixon wants assistants he can work with. I would have several different guys there, but it's not my decision. There is no way fans should select assistants. His guys may bring him down. Or he may get it turned around. It's his program and his job on the line. I'll guarantee he knows a lot more about what happens there than we do.
Harve ..... I know about Herrion, I know about Lombardi, I know about Rice, Sandle, Slice ..... nothing new there .... but whatever flaws these coaches have, the point is that IMO they are all better then our present coaches (save maybe Sandle and Slice compared to Knight).... I'm not saying to bring any of those particular coaches back ..... I'm saying we need to have a stronger coaching staff as we used to have..... I don't care who Jamie brings in but it is my opinion he needs to upgrade his assistant staff..... recruiting, player development, game prep, game day coaching help for Jamie all look to me to be sliding downward each to different degrees..... but especially recruiting which is the life-blood of the program.
Dixon is the ceo.
Who he wants on the board is his call.. He's accountable for it all.
No need to anguish.. If his staff is causing him to fail, he'll either correct it or get fired.
Way too much attention gets paid to the assistants. Their job is to support the head coach, that's it.
Who he wants on the board is his call.. He's accountable for it all.
No need to anguish.. If his staff is causing him to fail, he'll either correct it or get fired.
Way too much attention gets paid to the assistants. Their job is to support the head coach, that's it.
Yes, Jamie is the CEO .... Yes, the assistant staff is his decision .... and yes he will live or die by his won/loss record (barring some unexpected off court issues) .... but if you don't think the assistant staff is important in that won/loss record then I disagree .... the assistant staff is very important in recruiting, player development, game preparation, and even in game coaching help for the head coach ..... the better the head coach and the better the assistant staff, the better is the chance for a more successful season IMO..... maybe Jamie sees his present staff as a great assistant staff and it doesn't need to be improved, I don't know..... time will tell how it plays out.
The ony two Jamie seems to listen to are Knight and Richards. I don't think Pitt can make a move with BK rght now because the remaining '16 guys they are after and the new Philly kids are mostly Knight guys I think. I'd like to see Richards given the game planning. He's the advnced stats guy and it's a logical extension.
Smoke has contacts but must deliver. He's a gamble trying to broaden our recruiting area, not an X's and O's guy. So far, there really is litte difference from Slice except substitute Detroit for NYC. . He gets us in the door with Family 5-stars but no names on dotted lines. Maybe we land a Mac Irvin PG abd he "makes his bones."
I'd like them to give Barton an option to move to the compliance department. He's good at getting guys qualified. Supposedly he has the game planning which is important but he's the slot that could be replaced easiest. There is a real question how much effect the #3 assistant has on recruiting anywhere. I knw he does the early screening, where he goes out to see jucos and freshmen and sophomores to help decide who we will recruit as they grow up. It's sort of the scut-work of the program. He'll make first contact and pass the kids along to the closers as they mature.
Other than that, I think Regan is mostly a go-fer. He's a politician, a guy who glad-handles boosters. He can only recruit within 30 miles of campus, so he's not signing anyone.
It's not that Jamie hadn't offered jobs to guys. He offered a job to Hurley a couple times. His first choice for recruiter signed with Louisville. He supposedly tried to hire a couple prep or juco guys, Gary DeCeasre and the guy who won the national juco title this year, both a few years ago.
Smoke has contacts but must deliver. He's a gamble trying to broaden our recruiting area, not an X's and O's guy. So far, there really is litte difference from Slice except substitute Detroit for NYC. . He gets us in the door with Family 5-stars but no names on dotted lines. Maybe we land a Mac Irvin PG abd he "makes his bones."
I'd like them to give Barton an option to move to the compliance department. He's good at getting guys qualified. Supposedly he has the game planning which is important but he's the slot that could be replaced easiest. There is a real question how much effect the #3 assistant has on recruiting anywhere. I knw he does the early screening, where he goes out to see jucos and freshmen and sophomores to help decide who we will recruit as they grow up. It's sort of the scut-work of the program. He'll make first contact and pass the kids along to the closers as they mature.
Other than that, I think Regan is mostly a go-fer. He's a politician, a guy who glad-handles boosters. He can only recruit within 30 miles of campus, so he's not signing anyone.
It's not that Jamie hadn't offered jobs to guys. He offered a job to Hurley a couple times. His first choice for recruiter signed with Louisville. He supposedly tried to hire a couple prep or juco guys, Gary DeCeasre and the guy who won the national juco title this year, both a few years ago.
Why would Richards get the game planning. He has zero experience as any type of coach at the D1 level.
I'm actually OK with keeping Knight and Richards .... I'd like to see another top assistant the quality of Lombardi or Rice come in and also get another assistant who is a very good recruiter in ACC territory rather then Big Ten territory (Detroit) as I think we can be more successful in ACC territory then Big Ten territory..... that would be a really good staff to me.... of course, we continue to recruit NYC and Philly, etc.
This post was edited on 4/18 3:48 PM by goalieman
This post was edited on 4/18 3:48 PM by goalieman
