Onward we go. It gets more and more bizarre by the day. That is not going to change either. People are so desperate for information and I get it. That just leads to all kinds of names being shared. Like I always said, it is almost impossible to have a name disproved publicly. That is the nature of the media world we are in right now. I could go post some crazy name and eye emojis and the whole bit, and who is going to prove me wrong? So I just try to share what I get that seems reasonable from the best of sources. If I don't know something or someone else shares information, I try to credit that person.
In this high stakes game, there is a balance. For twitter handles like the Coaching Changes one or a new pop-up with 30 followers, it is easy to throw information. If they put out 40 candidates, the odds are greater that one catches. They will go pick that tweet and try to sell that. For the Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish' of the world, the stakes are much higher. Just the way it goes. People love to see others be wrong in this whole media business. You get very little credit for being correct or first now. All of the enjoyment comes when someone is wrong.
So Scheyer. I feel confident that a flight associated to Pitt flew to NC today. Chris does not share information with holes in it. Was it for Scheyer? The fact is, no one knows. All that I can tell you with Scheyer is that he does not currently have an offer. He did not before today. If they met today, it would have been the first time directly. Here is a thought that I had today, could it have been an interview with someone else? Often times, these interviews are held throughout the country in random locations. Reason being, people are tracking flights and connecting dots when there is no information out there.
Gary Parrish is not the only one saying that Scheyer is not a candidate. A few other media members and some coaches do not believe he is a candidate either. It has been rumored for a while that Scheyer wanted the DePaul job. It would get him closer to home and be a better transition. Maybe some people are floating interest out there to gain the attention of DePaul. That is not saying he wouldn't want or wouldn't take the Pitt job, it is just a move that agents play.
Right now, Pitt is like the NFL team with a ton of free agency money that every player gets leaked to. That is just the nature of it right now. We know Pitt has an opening and a very competitive budget to offer. That is an open invitation for agents and others to use it to their advantage. Dixon's agent did this to perfection.
On the actual search, there is no debate that things look bad. The public perception right now is that it is a circus. Is it? We don't know yet. We have to see who is hired and how they are hired. It is also very possible that the search has been run poorly but still yields a successful result. Like I have said, these coaching hires can be a shot in the dark. The longer it goes, the more shots will be taken and the more perception will drop. Her only way out of it is to find the right guy.
If Scheyer and other assistants are involved, she has adjusted her criteria. Which is fine, but she set out for a sitting head coach and a big name. Whether it is her fault or the perception of the school right now, it appears as though the plan has shifted. Again, I think she should have been considering assistants the entire time. Pitt can't afford to hold out for the best retread 60 year old that they can get, in my opinion. They may need to take a risk. To me, they can find a lot of guys with a similar floor to what Stallings had (10th-14th or so in the league). I feel like they should take a risk for upside and take a gamble on greatness.
As far as my best guess right now, Schmidt is still hanging out there to a certain extent. I think she is on to qualified assistants. With how long this is taking, she may be eyeing someone still in the tournament as well. Obviously that would leave Moser or an assistant at Villanova or Michigan. I don't see how anyone from Kansas can be a candidate right now. There is nothing concrete here, but may be possible. I have to think that an Ed Cooley/Mick Cronin type is in the mix. Has to be. Not saying those two specifically, but a name of that level. Two other guys that I think should be called at least are Dan Majerle and Krystkowiak. But again, fit is everything.
There are so many ways she could go. With the Fogler search firm involved, I know enough to know that a name could come out of nowhere that no one saw coming. I doubt some of the names that we have seen are legit. They have to get this right. There has already been a delay and a lot of negative PR, so no sense in rushing into it now at this point.
My best guess is that the name leaks out Thursday as I board the plane to Pittsburgh. If it lasts through my trip, it will probably come out late Friday into the holiday weekend. Just a prediction. As I mentioned, I will keep sharing everything that I can as I get it, but there just won't be the long-winded nightly posts. Hopefully actual information as we get closer to an end.
In this high stakes game, there is a balance. For twitter handles like the Coaching Changes one or a new pop-up with 30 followers, it is easy to throw information. If they put out 40 candidates, the odds are greater that one catches. They will go pick that tweet and try to sell that. For the Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish' of the world, the stakes are much higher. Just the way it goes. People love to see others be wrong in this whole media business. You get very little credit for being correct or first now. All of the enjoyment comes when someone is wrong.
So Scheyer. I feel confident that a flight associated to Pitt flew to NC today. Chris does not share information with holes in it. Was it for Scheyer? The fact is, no one knows. All that I can tell you with Scheyer is that he does not currently have an offer. He did not before today. If they met today, it would have been the first time directly. Here is a thought that I had today, could it have been an interview with someone else? Often times, these interviews are held throughout the country in random locations. Reason being, people are tracking flights and connecting dots when there is no information out there.
Gary Parrish is not the only one saying that Scheyer is not a candidate. A few other media members and some coaches do not believe he is a candidate either. It has been rumored for a while that Scheyer wanted the DePaul job. It would get him closer to home and be a better transition. Maybe some people are floating interest out there to gain the attention of DePaul. That is not saying he wouldn't want or wouldn't take the Pitt job, it is just a move that agents play.
Right now, Pitt is like the NFL team with a ton of free agency money that every player gets leaked to. That is just the nature of it right now. We know Pitt has an opening and a very competitive budget to offer. That is an open invitation for agents and others to use it to their advantage. Dixon's agent did this to perfection.
On the actual search, there is no debate that things look bad. The public perception right now is that it is a circus. Is it? We don't know yet. We have to see who is hired and how they are hired. It is also very possible that the search has been run poorly but still yields a successful result. Like I have said, these coaching hires can be a shot in the dark. The longer it goes, the more shots will be taken and the more perception will drop. Her only way out of it is to find the right guy.
If Scheyer and other assistants are involved, she has adjusted her criteria. Which is fine, but she set out for a sitting head coach and a big name. Whether it is her fault or the perception of the school right now, it appears as though the plan has shifted. Again, I think she should have been considering assistants the entire time. Pitt can't afford to hold out for the best retread 60 year old that they can get, in my opinion. They may need to take a risk. To me, they can find a lot of guys with a similar floor to what Stallings had (10th-14th or so in the league). I feel like they should take a risk for upside and take a gamble on greatness.
As far as my best guess right now, Schmidt is still hanging out there to a certain extent. I think she is on to qualified assistants. With how long this is taking, she may be eyeing someone still in the tournament as well. Obviously that would leave Moser or an assistant at Villanova or Michigan. I don't see how anyone from Kansas can be a candidate right now. There is nothing concrete here, but may be possible. I have to think that an Ed Cooley/Mick Cronin type is in the mix. Has to be. Not saying those two specifically, but a name of that level. Two other guys that I think should be called at least are Dan Majerle and Krystkowiak. But again, fit is everything.
There are so many ways she could go. With the Fogler search firm involved, I know enough to know that a name could come out of nowhere that no one saw coming. I doubt some of the names that we have seen are legit. They have to get this right. There has already been a delay and a lot of negative PR, so no sense in rushing into it now at this point.
My best guess is that the name leaks out Thursday as I board the plane to Pittsburgh. If it lasts through my trip, it will probably come out late Friday into the holiday weekend. Just a prediction. As I mentioned, I will keep sharing everything that I can as I get it, but there just won't be the long-winded nightly posts. Hopefully actual information as we get closer to an end.
