Report: Pitt Preparing to Move on From Jeff Capel

PITTSBURGH — A second head coach firing could be on the horizon for the Pitt Panthers.

On3's Pete Nakos reported on March 8 that some of Pitt's top boosters have collected enough money over the last few weeks to afford men's basketball head coach Jeff Capel's buyout.

"In recent weeks, sources have indicated to On3 that top Pitt boosters have worked to put together money for Capel’s buyout. Whatever move is made will be done by the new athletic director, Allen Greene," Nakos wrote.

Should Capel be fired, he would join women's basketball coach Tory Verdi as the only other coach to be fired by Greene since he became the Director of Athletics in October 2024.

"We have high expectations for our men's basketball program, and we haven't lived up to those expectations this year," Greene said in January. "Obviously, coach [Capel] knows that, the staff is aware of that, the players are aware of that. They want more out of what we got going on, and I know they're working their tails off to try to fix it."

Capel and the Panthers kept their season alive with a 71-69 overtime win against Syracuse on March 7. The win clinched the final spot in the ACC Tournament. The No. 15-seed Panthers will face No. 10-seed Stanford on March 10 at 2 p.m.

Capel On Thin Ice

Pittsburgh Panthers Head Coach Jeff Capel — University of Pittsburgh Head Coach Jeff Capel during the first half at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C Saturday, January 31, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Capel has led Pitt to a 12-19 (5-13 ACC) record this season with some embarrassing home losses to Quinnipiac and Hofstra. The Panthers were also blown out by West Virginia 71-49 at the beginning of the season.

Pitt did have some redeeming wins, like a 67-66 buzz-beater finish over Ohio State, an 80-46 beatdown on Penn State and a 73-68 victory over Notre Dame, but even if Pitt makes a Cinderella run in the ACC Tournament, this season will likely end the same as seven others under Capel.

Capel is currently in his eighth year as Pitt's head coach and has just one NCAA Tournament appearance to show for it. He led the Panthers to a 24-12 (14-6 ACC) record in the 2022-23 season and captured a 60-59 win over Mississippi State to make the tournament as the No. 11 seed.

Pitt went on to defeat No. 6-seed Iowa State 59-41 in the first round before falling to No. 3-seed Xavier 84-73. Pitt also had ranked wins over No. 25 North Carolina, No. 11 Virginia and No. 20 Miami that season.

Capel has a record of 126-126 (60-92 ACC) during his time at Pitt, counting this current season, and has a 288-236 record over his head coaching career.

This season will be Pitt's fifth losing season since Capel was named the head coach. Pitt had three consecutive season with winning records from 2022-2025. This will also be his second consecutive losing season in conference play, and sixth overall.

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