The NCAA tournament is down to its final 16 teams after a crazy weekend of games. The Sweet Sixteen is comprised of six teams from the ACC which is just one less team than they had in the entire tournament. The only ACC school to lose so far this tournament was the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Things could be getting worse for Pitt, as head coach Jamie Dixon's future with the school appears to be up in the air. Dixon has been at Pittsburgh for 13 seasons, but his alma mater has come calling and he is at the very least listening.
The TCU Horned Frogs fired former head coach Trent Johnson last week and a natural name to come up as a potential replacement was Dixon. Dixon played at TCU from 1984-87 so you would think he would at least consider the offer and based on the reports he is doing just that. TCU has reportedly zeroed in on Dixon as the guy and it is his job if he wants it.
Since Dixon has been at Pitt for 13 seasons now it would seem like a hard sell, especially considering where the programs are in comparison to one another. There are a few things working in TCU's favor here to pry Dixon away though. The first thing is the money. Dixon has a long-term, lucrative contract with Pitt at the moment, but TCU may be offering to double his salary.
Aside from the money and the fact that TCU is his alma mater, there are even more reasons that Dixon might leave Pitt. Dixon has made the NCAA tournament in 11 of his 13 seasons at Pitt, but he has only advanced to the Sweet Sixteen twice. Because of that Dixon feels he is underappreciated by the fans and could look for a fresh start. The head coaching job has also become more difficult for Dixon since the Panthers moved from the Big East to the ACC. On top of all of that, the chancellor and athletic director that were in place when Dixon was hired are no longer there.
All of these factors seem to point to Dixon being on his way to TCU as its next head coach. It won't be easy considering he has been at Pitt for 13 years, but it's his alma mater and it's not like he is downgrading conferences as the Big 12 is one of the best in the nation as well. If the 50-year-old does make the change though, he will have his work cut out for him. The Horned Frogs haven't made the NCAA tournament since 1998.
