Kevin Stallings

(03-27-2016 10:32 AM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  Kevin Stallings

Don't know what in the world your AD is thinking...

what was that choice #10? or #20?

Kevin Stallings ? Where have I heard that name before ?

Would really like to hear the list of names that supposedly spurned them as the AD mentioned when hiring a search firm. Also the head of the search firm for you guys who didn't know was the former AD at Vanderbilt who hired Stallings 17 years ago. Still would like to know all the candidates that turned this opportunity down to coach in the best college basketball conference in the country. Not a good hire IMO.

(03-27-2016 11:48 AM)CardFan1 Wrote:  Kevin Stallings ? Where have I heard that name before ?

In case you didn't know he was Vandy Coach....was on the verge of getting fired @ Vandy before Pitt bailed him out.

Based on who Pitt should have been able to get (or keep), this hire is literally the worst hire that I've ever seen. If Pitt's BoD isn't meeting with the president and AD right now, they aren't doing their job.

Pitt twitter is off the chain right now... I've never seen a hire this vehemently despised.

(03-27-2016 12:14 PM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  Pitt twitter is off the chain right now... I've never seen a hire this vehemently despised.

Looks like it's a 6 year deal. Wow.

(03-27-2016 11:50 AM)BigOwensboroCard Wrote:  Also the head of the search firm for you guys who didn't know was the former AD at Vanderbilt who hired Stallings 17 years ago.

Looks like the search firm guy took advantage of a panicked athletic director to do a big favor for Vanderbilt - they were thinking of canning Stallings and now don't have to pay off his contract.

Sweet!

I haven't followed the Pitt situation closely but was any thought given to finding a coach with NYC ties? A lot of Pitt's bball success was based on kids from that area.

Jackson

Wow, talk about a botched hire!

(03-27-2016 10:32 AM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  Kevin Stallings

Be honest though, did you know who Jamie Dixon or Ben Howland were before they were hired?

Considering it was Illinois State and Vandy, he did an excellent job at both places.

(03-27-2016 05:32 PM)Rabbit_in_Red Wrote:  Wow, talk about a botched hire!

Why? Roy Williams disciple. Only 55 but over 450 career wins. He knows what he's doing.

I think the hiring of Kevin Stallings would be viewed differently if Pittsburgh hadn't leaked that they looked at Sean Miller, Archie Miller, Chris Mack, and Kevin Willard first. It was clearly that they were looking at their second, possibly third, tiered options - and at that point there's no way to spin to fans/alumni that it would have been solid hire.

Stallings is a solid basketball coach. It is not out of the realm of possibility for him to reach the same level of success as Dixon did, or even more so. The trick will be how well Stallings recruits. If he can get the recruits, he should do just fine.

Having said that, I think they made a mistake in not looking at/hiring Brandin Knight. I think he could have been the only candidate, after all of the names were leaked, that would have put a positive spin on the coaching change. He would have been able to connect to players and alumni.

(03-27-2016 05:34 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(03-27-2016 10:32 AM)ClairtonPanther Wrote:  Kevin Stallings

Be honest though, did you know who Jamie Dixon or Ben Howland were before they were hired?

Considering it was Illinois State and Vandy, he did an excellent job at both places.

I didn't know who Howland was before being HC at Pitt and Dixon was one of Howland's assistants. But the biggest difference is that Stallings is somewhat a known commodity that hasn't won a tourney game in 10 years, never made it past the Sweet 16 and didn't have a overall winning conference record in his 17 year time span.

Yeah, it could work out but it has to be frustrating seeing a school like Tulane pull a splash hire while you get a "meh" hire, especially given how good Pitt has been since the turn of the century. Hype isn't everything though, the Texans didn't draft Reggie Bush or Vince Young and did draft JJ Watt to a hoard of boos and everything worked out (even if the franchise is still a laughingstock of mediocrity).

(03-27-2016 12:41 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-27-2016 11:50 AM)BigOwensboroCard Wrote:  Also the head of the search firm for you guys who didn't know was the former AD at Vanderbilt who hired Stallings 17 years ago.

Looks like the search firm guy took advantage of a panicked athletic director to do a big favor for Vanderbilt - they were thinking of canning Stallings and now don't have to pay off his contract.

Todd Turner was the head of the search firm used and Pitt AD Barnes knows him. Barnes was hired as senior associate AD at UWashington when Turner was AD there and Turner was the AD at Vandy way back when when he hired Stallings.

Look, he could turn out to be a good hire but with a young guy, they could have sold hope. They needed someone to reenergize the fanbase after Dixon left. Unless Stallings wins quickly, this could be a complete failure. Barnes just made it so much more difficult for himself and the rest of the athletic department to sell tickets and get donations - areas in which Pitt needs to significantly improve.