Real good read from Parrish on coach movement
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Wow, I am feeling so great. I did not realize that as a Pitt fan I have such incredible powers. The narrative is beginning to get ridiculous.
Also, in the podcast, Parrish said he made his Pitt list based off of conversations with agents and coaches, not just off the top of his head and connecting dots like some do.
Said the Pitt list was totally wide open, as opposed to Rutgers and Oklahoma State that were super easy and people had a lot of the same feelings/information. He feels like it's probably the most open search they've had in a few years because there's no easy fit or strong connections (or, coaches with credentials who are easy fits or strong connections -- mentioned Kevin Willard).
Said the Pitt list was totally wide open, as opposed to Rutgers and Oklahoma State that were super easy and people had a lot of the same feelings/information. He feels like it's probably the most open search they've had in a few years because there's no easy fit or strong connections (or, coaches with credentials who are easy fits or strong connections -- mentioned Kevin Willard).
Maybe. Maybe not. But I see a lot of posters here trying to dismiss what national writers are saying about Dixon, Pitt, and Pitt's place in the national landscape. But, aren't national writers part of that national landscape?
Just feels like a lot of Pitt fans are sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting "I can't hear you!"
I feel like this was a little bit of hyperbole near the end of the segment, but Parrish bet Sam Vecenie $1,000 that Pitt wouldn't make 11 of the next 13 NCAA Tournaments. Vecenie declined and said if they had gotten Sean Miller he probably wasn't taking Pitt to 11 of 13.
Sam is originally from Pittsburgh.
So, yeah. There's a decent glimpse into how the national landscape is looking at things.
I'd take the national writers a little more seriously if I didn't think they had an agenda with their writings. They may be national but some of them come off like they have bigger agendas than our own local favorite Ron Cook.
I don't know why Parrish would have an agenda, but he went out of his way in that article to say that Jamie left for a definitely lower position to get away from the unreasonable expectations of Pitt fans. I don't care how true or not true that may be, no where in his article did he bother to mention that TCU was also his alma mater and definitely had something to do with him going there as well. It was a biased article in my opinion.
I actually went to school with Sam Vecenie; weird to see him be a national sports writer. I also went to school with someone who used to write for Gawker.
What matters at the end of the day? A coach that wins championships with integrity. Winning will shut up everyone. Going to the final 4 will shut up everyone. Go to the final 4 and win a championship then we can talk about Pitts new place in the college basketball world. All it takes is one elite coach. Brad Stevens anyone? Butler anyone? The almost got it done twice. Sure broke Dixon's heart in the NCAA tournament.
It's a good read, but it is not exactly ground breaking. And I am sure some posters on this board (Pittbaseball11) will read into it as Parrish calling out Pitt fans, which he did not. He called out basically all fans. The think is about the longest termed coaches, they are that the bluest of blue blood programs who occasionally win it all and consistently get to Final 4's. So fans obviously wouldn't get tired of them.
The perfect example of this, moreso than Jamie Dixon is Tubby Smith at Kentucky.
34-5 National Title
28-9 Elite 8
23-10 Second Rd
24-10 Sweet 16
22-10 Second Rd
32-4 Elite 8
27-5 Second Rd
22-13 Second Rd
23-13 Second Rd
Nine seasons, Nine NCAA appearances
263-63 .760 winning percentage. 120-40 .750 Winning percentage.
1 National Title
2 Elite 8s
1 Sweet 16's
No first rd exits
5 SEC Titles
And he was ran out of UK.
This is not a Pitt thing.
Since they made their last title appearance, in the last five years they are 48-40 in conference and 3-3 in the NCAA tournament. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY, BUTLER!?
You could probably find an arbitrary season to begin saying "yeah, but THIS is what really counts" that would frame Tubby's career there poorly.
There's probably only one season it works for, but I'm sure it's there.
Also, IamHeisenberg thought he was calling out Pitt fans. I couldn't care less what is or isn't said about Pitt, Dixon, and the fans. None of what's been said in the media has been unfair or incorrect, as far as I can tell.
There's probably only one season it works for, but I'm sure it's there.
Also, IamHeisenberg thought he was calling out Pitt fans. I couldn't care less what is or isn't said about Pitt, Dixon, and the fans. None of what's been said in the media has been unfair or incorrect, as far as I can tell.
And it was insane they did. But also let me know when pitt is Kentucky.
Why don't you show us boston college and al skinner?
Because he'll no longer be required to be better than himself at Pitt as much as he'll be asked to be better than Trent Johnson at TCU. In other words, Jamie Dixon just changed jobs and lowered his own bar. And lowering your own bar every six-to-eight years is the simplest way to delay termination for as long as possible in the business of college coaching.
I have made this point a couple times. I am not saying he did anything wrong or judging him, but JD pulled off a really neat trick - going to get paid more to have lower expectations ...
I have made this point a couple times. I am not saying he did anything wrong or judging him, but JD pulled off a really neat trick - going to get paid more to have lower expectations ...
I think it's a great article. But it sort of reminded me of the movie, "Office Space" where the characters thought that the secret to remaining on the payroll was to do just enough to keep the bosses happy - and of course, to avoid making waves. (Yeah, it's a stretch, but still....)
It would've been nice for him to comment on the issue of under-achieving. And in today's world, we're all judged by our own prior performance: if we turned-out 50 widgets last week, what does it mean when our next weeks' production drops to 40, then 30, and then 25?
When someone is being paid millions of dollars to produce a product, the people paying the money expect the product to be a good one.
Parrish was 100% correct. Great article. Fans do have "incredible powers." We are the customers, we buy tickets, we pay their salaries. Pitt fans voted Jamie out with their wallet and their apathy. You can even blane me partly for this as I gave up my season tickets in favor of Stubhub because the demand had gotten so low that the market price was lower than what Pitt was selling them for. But why? Because Pitt fans got disgusted, stopped going, stopped buying, stopped caring. A lot of that was on Jamie's downturn and March failures and its tough to keep fans happy in a pro town where they dont understand the importance or significance of the regular season. In a pro town, the playoffs is how you are measured and Jamie was miserable in March.
We, fans, certainly played a large role in Jamie leaving. No doubt.
Pitt is not only an institution of higher learning, it is a BUSINESS.
Compare it to a restaurant...
Business has not been great the last few years. The patrons were not coming to the establishment as in the past (i.e. attendance has been down) they complained about the menu (weak schedule) the atmosphere had grown apathetic and stale (fans losing interest, didn't care for the style of play).
As the manager (Dixon) it was his responsibility to run the restaurant. He had autonomy over the menu (schedule), style of play (atmosphere) and employees (players). He had been the manager at the restaurant for 13 years and did a great job. However his performance was not on the same level as was in the past.
The owner (Barnes) who purchased the establishment a few months earlier recognized the manager could use some help in getting things back on the right track. He saw the potential in the business and decided to make some suggestions on how to get the patrons interested in coming back.
He suggests getting better assistant managers and would pay more to get better ones. He also wanted to get better help. He wanted the manager to get assistants that would hire more talented waiters and cooks to bring a better taste and atmosphere (better players and style) to the establishment , because that's what his patrons WANTED.
Instead of listening to the new owners suggestions, the manager decided he couldn't function under the new ownership and decided to take a job near his hometown working for some friends.
The owner decided not to stand in his way even though he had a lucrative contract for the next 7 years. In fact he lowered the buyout of his contract in order for him to go where he wanted to go and be happy.
Now the owner must find a new manager that will work with the owner to capture the vision he wants for the restaurant....
No one was forced out. Barnes is the boss who has a responsibility to the university, the donors and the fans to sell the best product they can for the money they spend. Barnes respected Dixon's coaching ability, but things needed to be tweaked. Dixon balked so he walked.
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You sure are stretching your interpretation of Parrish's article SMF. Not anywhere in the article does he remotely mention or allude to the financial impact of fans ticket buying behavior, or anything whatsoever related to finances. But he does very strongly suggest it is the 'pressures' put on by unsatisfied if not unreasonable fans that influence the coaching move and the subsequent benefit they get by 'lowering the bar of expectations'. I'm pretty sure that is the main theme of his article, particularly conveyed with statements like '....,fans start chirping,....'.
Pitt will not win a National Championship in your lifetime. If that is your measure of success, you are going to spend your life being disappointed.
Your post, validates the article. Fans expectations are wildly unreasonable.
Why not? That's why the game is played. Who would have thought UConn would have multiple titles? Florida? And any number of other programs that have won. Some of these programs that have dominated the last couple of decades are going to have to reload on coaches and they are not immune from mediocre hires. Yes, it takes a lot of things to go right and to expect it on a regular basis is foolish even for blue bloods (good ole Cal's only delivered one with all that talent). I chuckle at those who feel the FF is some big deal - NC is the big deal - again who cares about 2nd loser or the first. You gain some respect but in competitive sports but if the goal isn't to win it all then might as well play club ball.
Fredact, your response isn't very reasonable either. I'm not saying we will win a National Championship or that it is my expectation, but it sure isn't out of the realm of possibility. Heck, many who are/may be upset about Jamie leaving cite not just the 11 tourneys in 13 years but the 2 times we were #1 seeds. Well, if we were capable of attaining a #1 seed in the tourney more than once previously, that should suggest it was not ludicrous that we could have won a national championship either of those times. What's different now, we're in the ACC instead of the BE and our program has taken a definite step back. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen again.
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