Written by John Harris at TribLive.com
Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes determined soon after the Panthers’ second-round loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament that it was time to move on from the Jamie Dixon era.
Three days after the Panthers’ season ended, Dixon accepted a job at Texas Christian University, his alma mater, in a sudden departure that came with Barnes’ blessing.
“Jamie’s head and heart was moving toward TCU,” Barnes said. “When that’s the case, being at Pitt isn’t the right opportunity because your heart and head is somewhere else. We had the opportunity to make that TCU job available to him.”
Dixon agreed.
“Seventeen years at one school is a long time,” Dixon said. “This was an opportunity for me to go home.”
As Barnes seeks to replace the winningest coach in Pitt history, he said there should be no shortage of candidates for a job he considers among the best in college basketball.
“Maybe I’m looking through rose-colored glasses, but this is a fantastic job,” Barnes said Monday afternoon. “It’s viewed that way by coaches across the country. Certainly there’s folks we have in mind and will pursue aggressively.”
Barnes, who has enlisted the services of a search firm, said his timetable to hire a new coach is immediate.
“A new era in Pitt basketball begins, earnestly,” Barnes said.
Among the qualities sought by Barnes, who stressed hiring someone with Division I head coaching experience: “A guy that can absolutely recruit his butt off.”
Potential candidates fitting that description include two coaches with Western Pennsylvania ties, Arizona coach and former Pitt standout Sean Miller, and younger brother Archie Miller, the Dayton coach. Xavier coach Chris Mack is another possibility.
Another potential candidate, who doesn’t fit Barnes’ original list of qualifications, is Pitt assistant Brandin Knight, who played under Dixon before advancing to the coaching ranks.
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