Ok, he is not really a reverend but every time I hear his name I think of THE Al Greene, the musician from Forest City, Arkansas......
However, this is where an athletic director will earn his money. I wrote a column about this a little in the Post-Gazette last week but it bears repeating that what has happened with this basketball program is not acceptable nor is it sustainable if Pitt is interested in keeping its fan base engaged.
Every person I have talked to in and around the situation has made it clear the athletic department cannot afford to buy Jeff Capel out. Some business owners would say they can't afford to keep him around. I will just have to go with some of the people I trust who say a change at the top is not going to happen. Pitt is more likely to go the Virginia Tech route or the Robert Morris route this offseason in order to try and get things turned around.
Virginia Tech could have easily fired Mike Young this season as he has hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2022 and this year the Hokies will finish with a losing record. And unlike Capel, Young's buyout is a very manageable $4 million. But rather than go that route, the school decided to bring him back for next season and give him more resources, more NIL money and more support to see if they can get the thing on track.
That is a route Pitt could take with Capel but again, where is all of the new money and resources going to come from? And is a lack of NIL and ability to recruit really Capel's biggest issue?
The Robert Morris route is simple and like Pitt was basically hatched because the athletic department didn't have the budget to buy out Andy Toole, who had struggled in recent years. Instead, the athletic director made him fire his staff, asked him to make some changes to his scheduling model and pledged to raise some money for NIL with a new emphasis on how to spend it. Basically, in basketball you need to spend big to get a few studs because in basketball it only takes one or two players (see Blake Hinson) to change a program.
My guess from conversations is that it will be some combination of these two routes - some (maybe not all) coaching changes and a renewed commitment for support. I suppose there is always the possibility that some rich donor could indeed offer to put up the money to buy Capel out but that seems unlikely.
That being said two criticisms of Capel that will not go away until he proves they should are his team's consistent lack of execution on offense in critical moments and his program's inability to develop big men into high impact players.
And two numbers Capel cannot run from are these:
In his last nine seasons as a power conference coach (last two at Oklahoma and seven at Pitt), he has made the NCAA Tournament one time. And in his last nine seasons as a power conference coach he is 63-102 in conference games.
Those two numbers are problematic and suggests maybe it is more than staff and a lack of NIL but I suppose time will tell.
However, this is where an athletic director will earn his money. I wrote a column about this a little in the Post-Gazette last week but it bears repeating that what has happened with this basketball program is not acceptable nor is it sustainable if Pitt is interested in keeping its fan base engaged.
Every person I have talked to in and around the situation has made it clear the athletic department cannot afford to buy Jeff Capel out. Some business owners would say they can't afford to keep him around. I will just have to go with some of the people I trust who say a change at the top is not going to happen. Pitt is more likely to go the Virginia Tech route or the Robert Morris route this offseason in order to try and get things turned around.
Virginia Tech could have easily fired Mike Young this season as he has hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2022 and this year the Hokies will finish with a losing record. And unlike Capel, Young's buyout is a very manageable $4 million. But rather than go that route, the school decided to bring him back for next season and give him more resources, more NIL money and more support to see if they can get the thing on track.
That is a route Pitt could take with Capel but again, where is all of the new money and resources going to come from? And is a lack of NIL and ability to recruit really Capel's biggest issue?
The Robert Morris route is simple and like Pitt was basically hatched because the athletic department didn't have the budget to buy out Andy Toole, who had struggled in recent years. Instead, the athletic director made him fire his staff, asked him to make some changes to his scheduling model and pledged to raise some money for NIL with a new emphasis on how to spend it. Basically, in basketball you need to spend big to get a few studs because in basketball it only takes one or two players (see Blake Hinson) to change a program.
My guess from conversations is that it will be some combination of these two routes - some (maybe not all) coaching changes and a renewed commitment for support. I suppose there is always the possibility that some rich donor could indeed offer to put up the money to buy Capel out but that seems unlikely.
That being said two criticisms of Capel that will not go away until he proves they should are his team's consistent lack of execution on offense in critical moments and his program's inability to develop big men into high impact players.
And two numbers Capel cannot run from are these:
In his last nine seasons as a power conference coach (last two at Oklahoma and seven at Pitt), he has made the NCAA Tournament one time. And in his last nine seasons as a power conference coach he is 63-102 in conference games.
Those two numbers are problematic and suggests maybe it is more than staff and a lack of NIL but I suppose time will tell.
