Dixon leaving Pitt for TCU job

Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes determined soon after the Panthers' second-round loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament that it was time to move on from the Jamie Dixon era.

Three days after the Panthers' season ended, Dixon accepted a job at Texas Christian University, his alma mater, in a sudden departure that came with Barnes' blessing.

“Jamie's head and heart was moving toward TCU,” Barnes said. “When that's the case, being at Pitt isn't the right opportunity because your heart and head is somewhere else. We had the opportunity to make that TCU job available to him.”

Dixon agreed.

“Seventeen years at one school is a long time,” Dixon said. “This was an opportunity for me to go home.”

As Barnes seeks to replace the winningest coach in Pitt history, he said there should be no shortage of candidates for a job he considers among the best in college basketball.

“Maybe I'm looking through rose-colored glasses, but this is a fantastic job,” Barnes said Monday afternoon. “It's viewed that way by coaches across the country. Certainly there's folks we have in mind and will pursue aggressively.”

Barnes, who has enlisted the services of a search firm, said his timetable to hire a new coach is immediate.

“A new era in Pitt basketball begins, earnestly,” Barnes said.

Among the qualities sought by Barnes, who stressed hiring someone with Division I head coaching experience: “A guy that can absolutely recruit his butt off.”

Potential candidates fitting that description include two coaches with Western Pennsylvania ties, Arizona coach and former Pitt standout Sean Miller, and younger brother Archie Miller, the Dayton coach. Xavier coach Chris Mack is another possibility.

Another potential candidate, who doesn't fit Barnes' original list of qualifications, is Pitt assistant Brandin Knight, who played under Dixon before advancing to the coaching ranks.

“Brandin Knight's ready to be a head coach,” Dixon said. “Just like Ben (Howland) leaving and I got the job, it's time. He's been with me the entire time I've been here (17 years). The players respect him. They believe in him.”

Until recently, Pitt believed in Dixon, who holds a 328-123 record with 11 NCAA Tournament appearances in 13 seasons.

However, that feeling changed over the weekend, according to Barnes, who was prepared to offer Dixon — who signed a 10-year extension in March 2013 — a new deal.

“We began conversations soon after coming back from the NCAA Tournament,” Barnes said. “We had conversations at my house, on the phone and in my office. As we moved through the process, he felt there was a very small window of opportunity he wasn't sure he would be able to take later.”

Barnes said Pitt offered to reduce a buyout in Dixon's contract totaling a reported $10.5 million, so that Dixon could sign with TCU, where he played from 1984-87.

“The buyout was as significant as I've seen in the marketplace. One that is way above anything else anybody has,” Barnes said. “We softened that buyout because I learned his heart and head was at TCU. Because of that, it wouldn't have been good for our program or student-athletes or him and his family to hold him hostage by what was a very beyond-market buyout.”

Dixon has longstanding relationships with TCU chancellor Victor Boschini and TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte.

In fact, Dixon and TCU have tried to come together before. He was reportedly the school's first choice four years ago following the exit of Jim Christian, who left for Ohio after four years in Fort Worth.

Dixon also helped Del Conte and TCU receive an invitation to join the Big East in 2011. Dixon takes over a struggling program that fired coach Trent Johnson after he posted a 50-79 record in four years, including a 12-21 mark this season, and hasn't advanced to the NCAA Tournament since 1998.

“I worked for great people at Pitt — Scott Barnes and Chancellor (Patrick) Gallagher. But I didn't know them as well. It's hard to know the athletic director in two days,” said Dixon, who had a close relationship with former Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson and former Chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

“I've known (Boschini) since he got to TCU. I've known (Del Conte) since we were at UC-Santa Barbara 30 years ago,” Dixon said. “That's the exciting part. That's what makes it different from other opportunities.”

Dixon met with Pitt players and assistant coaches about an hour before Barnes met with reporters.

“They were quiet,” Dixon said. “They heard the rumors.”