Semi-funny, but earlier today I was writing how the coaching carousel was in a tense pause while every coach was waiting to see what would happen with Calipari, Kentucky and Memphis. Now the carousel can go back to tilt-a-whirl.

Mike Anderson appears to be staying at Mizzou — rebuffing Georgia and a bigger offer. Presumably Memphis would be out for a chance at him as well.

Memphis will be left in ruins by the way. The expectations, money and fans may be there, but not the players. That’s the danger of a coach like Calipari. They don’t actually build a program. They build a cult of personality around themselves. In addition to the loss of recruits that haven’t signed yet, along with the recruits that had specific outs in their LOI’s if Calipari left. Tyreke Evans is one-and-done (to no one’s surprise), but there are also reports that Wesley Witherspoon, Roburt Sallie and Angel Garcia may be transferring. No Calipari, no team. It will be very interesting to see how that shakes out.

So Georgia is trolling for a coach and has $2 million to toss around. Arizona is still out there getting nervous as reality starts to dawn on them that they aren’t going to get Tom Izzo or Rick Pitino. Will anyone be able to lure Jeff Capel away from Oklahoma? Tim Floyd at USC is a perennial rumor to be moving.

That of course brings us to Coach Jamie Dixon. The fact is, Coach Dixon’s name is going to be mentioned a lot. He’s a very good coach. He’s still young enough, but with experience and success. He has proven to be a capable recruiter and a guy who hires the right assistants and develops players. He is not a Pitt alum or native to the area. That means programs are going to assume that he can and will sever ties for more money and what they may believe to be the better job.

I don’t know if Coach Dixon is going anywhere. I don’t want him going anywhere. I don’t think he will go anywhere. I don’t even want to worry about the “what ifs”. He’s in a good situation. He’s got a great relationship with both the AD and the Chancellor. There’s a lot more than money to keep him at Pitt.

That said, I expect him to listen if teams call. Not go, but listen. It is still in his best interest to at least listen. The Kentucky deal is another landscape changer. Just in terms of the money. That raises a lot of other pay checks. We are talking coaches and big egos. Dixon reportedly earns around $1.6 million. How do you not at least listen if a team might be  tossing $2 million or more your way?

I also don’t expect this to be over and done in just a few days. It will drag, and annoy. It will frustrate and there is a good chance we won’t know anything certain for at least a week. That’s the only thing I feel reasonably sure of knowing.

We can get all self-righteous about how he has a contract and should honor it. We can ask about how much money is enough? We can get arrogant and insist how Pitt is different and things are or should be done differently here. We can do all of that. It’s silly and a pile of crap.

We all know that this is the business side of it. We have all seen it every year in college football and basketball. It’s why so many programs get hung-up on the idea of alum or natives to the area. They want whatever perceived ties to make it more likely that the balance of power favors the school.

It may be the chosen vocation. It may pay extremely well. It may seem like a great job. But at the end of the day, it is still the job. The coaches know it can go up in smoke in just a couple bad years and you will never see the big money again. Then, maybe, you are back to being an assistant. Maybe making good money, but no where near the millions. The travel is that much harder, the contracts that much shorter.

So, brace yourself. Pitt will at least be on the periphery of the coaching carousel.