Sorry that this is a little slap-dashed. Barely had time to squeeze in a real post earlier today, and the football news had to be done. So, that leaves a weak effort to lead into tonight’s Big Monday.

ESPN. 7pm. Raftery, Bilas, McDonough. Big Monday for the last time.

If there’s one thing to miss in the end of Pitt’s time in the Big East. It is no more Big Monday. Oh, there will be Super Tuesday. Whatever Wednesday. The Sunday Night Hoops thing. But Big Monday still ruled them all.

No doubt Mike Brey and his mock turtlenecks have had Pitt’s number in the last few years. Whether it was the burn offense, killing Pitt on the perimeter, or just plain beating the Panthers. Notre Dame : Pitt :: Pitt : Syracuse.

Hopefully Pitt is a little pissed after the Marquette game. Time to take it out on the Irish.

You’re doing it wrong, Pitt. You release bad news — or at least controversial news — on a Friday sometime around 5pm Eastern. Especially on a holiday weekend. You don’t do it on that Monday. And certainly not when there is a big basketball game slated for national TV and rather than have the Pitt fans fired up for the game, they are debating the long-awaited hire of a new defensive coordinator.

By now, almost everyone is aware, Pitt has promoted Matt House from secondary coach to the defensive coordinator position.

House, who will narrow his positional focus to the safeties this season, joined Chryst’s staff last year after working with the NFL’s St. Louis Rams (2009-11) and Carolina Panthers (2008). He previously held collegiate coaching posts at Michigan State, North Carolina, Gardner-Webb and Buffalo.

“I was very impressed by Matt’s work last year in the secondary,” Chryst said. “He has been a great fit for our program as a coach, recruiter and teacher of the game. His experiences and work ethic have more than prepared him for this opportunity to be a coordinator.”

It was a move that had been rumored for the past month in some form or another. House is not yet 35 and what makes this move subject to many questions is his paucity of experience. He started out at his alma mater, Michigan St., as a grad assistant for two years. Then it was two years as a “defensive assistant” at UNC. A year at Gardner-Webb. Then two years at Buffalo. Never beyond a position coach.

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