And who knew he was part of a trend (Insider subs)?
Hiring Herrion is yet another example of head coaches looking for a former head coach to add experience on the bench.
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The willingness of the former head coaches to jump back into being assistants is two fold. In some instances they need a job, but more importantly the egos have come down on both sides where the head coach feels comfortable hiring a peer to help him/the program excel. We’re seeing more and more coaches like Herrion want to get back and work for the right person who he can work in concert with to keep the program at a high level. One of the best examples of this recently is former Clemson and Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt. He’s been side-by-side with Billy Donovan for the past two national championships.
Herrion will help the Panthers in player development as much as anything since he had been doing that kind of work for Nike when asked last summer at their camps.
In between they listed 8 other coaches that hired former head coaches as assistant. Of course this isn’t a trend. This is typical. There is always a mix of hiring assistants from other programs, elevating others and hiring coaches who have been fired from other jobs. The only difference, is with the money that head coaches make — especially when they are fired and receive buyouts — they don’t have to jump right back in to coaching to make a living. They can afford to take a year or two. Look for the best opportunity.
That’s what Tom Herrion did. He had his contract bought out at College of Charleston that paid him a lump sum of $787,000. You can kind of take a little time to decide where you are interested with that kind of money in the bank. Pitt became one of the most attractive opportunities and with potential for the future.
After spending a season as a college basketball analyst for ESPN Regional and Comcast, Herrion mulled over other offers to join other coaching staffs. Herrion took his wife, Leslie, and 16-month-old son, Robert James, into strong consideration when choosing his next move. “This is the one that felt the best for me and my family at this point,” Herrion said of Pitt. “Fortunately, I had a nice four-year run. I’ve tasted the head-coaching experience. If something arises, so be it. To Pitt and coach Dixon’s credit, he’s hired talented guys prior to me.
“Having been a head coach, it’s not the end-all, be-all. We’re a package deal. My family is really part of this.”
As I mentioned before, Herrion has had success recruiting all along the East Coast. That is a definite plus.
Herrion has extensive ties to several of Pitt’s top recruiting regions. Herrion played one season and coached for four at Division II Merrimack College (1989-94) in Massachusetts. He spent eight years as an assistant to Pete Gillen at Providence (’94-98) and Virginia (1999-2002), where Herrion recruited guards Roger Mason Jr. of the Washington Wizards and NBA hopeful J.R. Reynolds.
“Tom Herrion made his bones in this business as an assistant coach who was committed to getting players,” Scout.com national recruiting analyst Dave Telep said. “Before becoming a head coach, he was regarded as one of the finest lead recruiters in the country and helped Pete Gillen stock the cupboard during their tenure at (Virginia).”
Then there’s the style of play issue. The talk has been that Pitt may go more up-tempo with the players now on the roster. Herrion’s style matches that.
“There’s so many ways to be successful. We played a relatively aggressive, faster pace,” Herrion said. “That’s something Jamie mentioned that they’re going to try to play faster because their personnel is going to be a little different. I’m going to be part of the coaching staff. If I can offer some philosophical opinions, that’s fine, but Coach Dixon would be crazy to deviate too much, with the success that he’s had.”
Here’s the Pitt press release on the hiring.
I’m in the midst of an e-mail exchange with James Trabert of College of Charleston Sports Fan blog to get more of a sense about Herrion and his time with the Cougars. Look for that sometime today or tomorrow.
