I think it is rather clear that I am a big Coach Jamie Dixon fan and supporter. He is an excellent coach. He runs a clean program that does not even catch a whiff of impropriety. I like the way he handles the Pitt program. I love how it has developed, improved and gotten stronger under him. I love that what Dixon is building is not based and wrapped entirely around him. I also like that he has always been a coach that does not lie to the public.
He does not say things like, “I will never leave Pitt.” Or, “This is my home forever.” In other words, he does not lie about getting contacted and even listening to offers from other programs. Instead, he simply refuses to directly address them. Making it his long-standing approach to refuse to comment on coaching searches.
Would I prefer that Coach Dixon came out and said unequivocally that he would be the coach at Pitt and was not going to Oregon? Yes. Because I would believe him, because when he has said things in the past he has meant them.
The conflict for Coach Dixon is that such unequivocal statements also take diminishes his negotiating position — be it money or years for him, more money for assistants, better money for the program overall, or any other issues. Since Coach Dixon won’t lie about other schools being interested in him, he just won’t comment. From the absurd — DePaul — to the possible — USC — to the big money — Oregon.
Coach Dixon will instead use trusted media sources to pass things along. Andy Katz at ESPN, for example, has proven to be one of the more consistent media folk to get Dixon’s actual view out there. The fact that he has dismissed claims that Dixon would go to Oregon is a good sign.
As AD Pederson said about Dixon,
“For 11 years, I don’t know anybody who has been more loyal or has worked harder or put more of his heart and soul into the University of Pittsburgh than Jamie Dixon has,” Pederson said. “So, every time something like this comes up, I would let their actions speak for them.”
Pederson, of course, also benefits his negotiating position with the statement. While defending and protecting Coach Dixon from questions that he is dodging the question of the Oregon job, he is also reminding Coach Dixon that he has the school’s full support and they too are trusting in him.
This all re-started because Coach Dixon went on the radio — and the radio people did their job — and Coach Dixon did his usual tap dance and sidestep. He did not do it as well as he has or could.
Couple that with The Big Lead speculation that Coach Dixon would take the job. And make no mistake, TBL specifically said, “the guess here” renders that pure speculation. For the record, this morning TBL noted that other media folk have said that Coach Dixon has privately made it known that he turned down Oregon. Gary Parrish at CBS Sports and Jeff Goodman at FoxSports (previously noted here) both have said that.
Mark Madden then cribbed TBL right down to the claim that it would come after the Final Four. [Brief aside, does anyone really believe Mark Madden has “reliable sources” anywhere in college sports? Really? The Pens, sure. Maybe even the Steelers. But at Pitt? In basketball? He barely acknowledges the existence of the sport.] That confluence created the mini-issue
I spent most of the evening watching the NIT and hitting every site and news feed possible to see if there were any updates on the Dixon-Oregon stuff. Nothing. Not even additional baseless speculation.
Aside from that, the issue of Coach Dixon and the Oregon job is a legit topic even if it had appeared to be dying.
If they laid off or didn’t ask then they would be considered to be lobbing softballs and not willing to ask tough questions. Coach Dixon is a big boy, and while still media awkward at times he had to know the topic and questions were coming.
Just my two cents…
I have to agree regarding his media awkwardness, Jamie has made great strides from the early days, but he does have his moments.
I had the opportunity to see Dixon at a function that was non-Pitt related in Texas, he wasn’t a really good speaker and he looked very uncomfortable addressing a large crowd.
Maybe during the radio interview he just reverted because of the path that was taken regarding the questions.
It’s becoming so tiresome to annually hear about how ‘Dixon is a west coast guy’ and he’s going to jump at all the west coast opportunities. It means NOTHING. If he were to EVER leave, it would simply be for a better opportunity. As of right now, his opportunity is pretty darn good at Pitt. So, let’s do the math.
HTscriptP
But I digress …. it is true that Dixon has always refused to talk about any jobs, and to my knowledge, he has never spoke publicly about the ASU offer a few years ago, even though it is well documented that they made a big push for him. We Pitt fams will just have to live with it every year because, I guess, as long as he is successsful, his name will be linked to any attractive coaching opening.
As far as Mark Madden is concerned, he has zero contacts at Pitt and knows nothing about basketball.
“News conference at Pitt this afternoon to announce coach Jamie Dixon — getting an extension. Not leaving for Oregon as expected. “
Regarding Dixon, maybe it’s because I never listen to the Pittsburgh radio shows and live in Cincinnati, but I never really hear anything about Jaime leaving to go anywhere. It never makes its way into national news, if at all, until after everything is denied or another coach is named. I feel most of this stuff is coming from the local talking heads trying to stir up the alumni and fans. There’s never much substance to any of it, so far.
