Don’t blame Dixon for all of the contract madness

Don’t blame Jamie Dixon.

The head coach of the Panthers was just doing himself a service by… Don’t blame Jamie Dixon.

The head coach of the Panthers was just doing himself a service by talking to the people at Arizona State; he would be robbing himself of an opportunity if he didn’t. So don’t blame him that television stations and radio stations in the area claimed to have breaking news Friday night that Dixon signed with Arizona State, that Pitt was left with some of the nations best facilities, a perennial 25-win team and a returning core of players that should place them in the nation’s top 15 next season but with no captain to run the ship.

Don’t blame Dixon for using Pitt as a stepping stone or a springboard to a different program at the highest level of college basketball. Don’t blame Dixon for using the Panthers as a resume builder, proof that even though he had no head coaching experience before Pitt, he could handle the duty. Don’t blame Dixon for leaving Pitt in the dust.

See, the panic wasn’t Dixon’s fault, it was ours.

The people of Pittsburgh are used to people leaving Oakland for something “bigger and better,” like when Ben Howland left for his dream job at UCLA. It isn’t fair to get mad at Howland – he took a down-in-the-dumps Pitt program, brought them into the college basketball spotlight and left for a better job. Any one of us would do the same.

But Arizona State? No, it can’t be that Jamie Dixon was to leave Pitt for a team that plays in an arena that was built 30 years ago, a team that went 18-14 this past season and missed the NCAA tournament. At least UCLA had tradition and a name that Howland could use when walking into a recruit’s living room, but Arizona State? We didn’t get it.

Truth is, Dixon didn’t get it either. After Arizona State reportedly upped its offer to provide more money than Pitt, Dixon still turned it down and stayed with the Panthers. Dixon waved goodbye to the West Coast, where he still has a lot of family, and said another hello to the snowy winters of Pittsburgh.

Dixon had another option, maybe even more than one since Missouri was reportedly interested as well, but he turned them down and chose the Panthers.

Surprised, aren’t you?

Don’t be. Dixon believes that Pitt is an elite program, a program where he can win a national championship despite Pittsburgh’s reputation for having very little high school talent ready for the high Division I level. Dixon believes in his support staff of Athletic Director Jeff Long and Chancellor Mark Nordenberg. Dixon believes in his kids, the ones that are here now and the ones that will be coming.

Arizona State was bargaining material for Dixon. He wanted, and deserved, a raise from the Panthers and he was able to force their hand by showing them the Arizona State offer sheet. Now, as Panther fans, we hope this is the last time such bargaining is done. See, next year more jobs will open up and more jobs the year after that.

However, at some point, schools will stop calling Pitt to see if Dixon is interested. At some point, other schools are going to believe Dixon when he says he is happy here and he’s not going anywhere.

At some point, schools are going to look at Pitt and see a national champion with a lifelong head coach.

At some point, there will be no other schools, just Pitt.

Believe in that. Jamie Dixon does.