According to Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jamie Dixon, head coach of the Pitt Panthers, has a deal in place to leave Pitt and become the head coach of Texas Christian University.
Jamie Dixon did coach the Panthers to a 328-123 record, two Big East titles, one Big East Tournament championship, and one Elite Eight appearance in his 13 seasons with the school. This breakup between the two parties was mutual however.
Via Paul Zeise:
This time, when TCU made Dixon, who played basketball for the Horned Frogs, its top target for its vacant coaching job, Pitt didn’t interfere.
One athletic department source described the parting as a “very amicable and mutual divorce.”
Pitt went so far as to agree to negotiate a smaller buyout than the approximately $10 million outlined in Dixon’s contract to help him get to the Fort Worth, Texas, university.
From my perspective, a student at Pitt, I think it was about time that the two parted ways. Dixon was a good coach to have around because he helped keep the program from running off the tracks. However, this team looked to be stagnating and Pitt had only won three NCAA tournament games in the past six seasons. Despite a lot of promise when Pitt had players like Steven Adams and Lamar Patterson, whom are now playing in the NBA, they were not able to get over the hump.
Another complaint from a lot of Pitt Basketball fans was that Dixon was not a strong enough recruiter. Although he did bring in some NBA level players, a marquee guy that was considered a top player was a rare sight. He will surely be tested at TCU, and Pitt will be tested to see if they can find a coach that will bring them back into the national spotlight again.
Scott Barnes, the athletic director at Pitt, held a press conference to speak about the Dixon news:
Barnes: "A new era in Pitt basketball begins, earnestly."
— Dan Sostek (@dan_sostek) March 21, 2016
Barnes: "Yes there was a buyout, and it was as big of a buyout as I've ever seen in the marketplace. And we softened that buyout."
— Dan Sostek (@dan_sostek) March 21, 2016
Barnes: "[We're looking for] a guy that can recruit his tail off."
— Dan Sostek (@dan_sostek) March 21, 2016
Finally, Patrick Gallagher, the Chancellor of Pitt, released his own statement:
Jamie was a great ambassador for Pitt & I wish him the best. We'll now focus on building on our strong foundation pic.twitter.com/S4o65Mg62G
— Patrick Gallagher (@PittChancellor) March 21, 2016
