Pitt's Kevin Stallings Hire Ranked Among Worst of Century
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers made a devastatingly poor decision to succeed Jamie Dixon with Kevin Stallings as their head men's basketball coach in 2016, the effects of which lasted long after he was fired.
Jeff Goodman ranked the 20 worst head coaching hires in college basketball over the last 23 years and Pitt's hiring of Stallings checked in at sixth, just head of Eddie Jordan at Rutgers and behind Jeff Bzdelik at Wake Forest.
"Stallings was a baffling hire of then-AD Scott Barnes (with the help of search firm Todd Turner) as Jamie Dixon’s replacement," Goodman wrote. "Dixon went to the NCAA tourney in 11 of his 13 years at the helm, and Stallings went 16-17 in his first season and 4-14 in ACC play. However, Year 2 was beyond anything anyone could have expected: 8-24 overall and winless in 18 league contests. Stallings didn’t make it to Year 3. He was let go and replaced by Jeff Capel."
Stallings was considered an underwhelming option for a proud program at the time and public opinion only got worse as time went on and the Panthers began to lose like they never had before.
After enjoying some success at Vanderbilt - 16 seasons that included seven NCAA Tournament appearances and an SEC Conference Tournament title - Stallings' tenure at Pitt was an abject disaster. He amassed a 24-41 record over two seasons and led his team to an infamous 0-18 ACC record during the 2017-18 campaign.
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