Pitt Basketball: Did the school hire Kevin Stallings too fast?

With the Pitt basketball program struggling through their worst season ever, we examine whether the school hired Kevin Stallings far too fast.

With the Pitt basketball program struggling throughout the 2017-2018 season, there have been many people who’ve made their thoughts clear on whether head coach, Kevin Stallings, should stay or go. With the Panthers still looking for their first conference win of the season, and a tough road game remaining against Notre Dame, the future isn’t looking too good for Stallings in Pennsylvania.

Regardless of whether you believe Stallings should stay or go, I recently saw a very intriguing article putting the blame back on the school for not doing their due-diligence in the hiring process.

Needless to say, in an era where losing automatically means a coach should be canned, this article definitely caught my attention.

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When writing about Stallings’ career at Pittsburgh, Paul Zeise made this interesting comment regarding the school potentially hiring the team’s head coach far too fast. Take a look below.

"“Pitt’s biggest mistake, though, wasn’t hiring Stallings; it was the process, or lack of a process, that led to his hiring. Scott Barnes wanted to make a splash. He zeroed in on Stallings almost immediately and finished the process in about a week. He didn’t take the time to look far and wide to make sure he wasn’t missing the next Ben Howland”"

To be honest, Zeise brings up a great point. Everyone is looking to blame Stallings for the Panthers lack of success this season; however, we should be asking whether or not the school had the program’s best interest in mind.

Did hiring the veteran head coach too fast cost the school a chance to make a better hire? It’s something to debate, but not something we could ever prove.

At the end of the day, Pitt hired a coach who had taken Vanderbilt to the NCAA tournament seven times. While the Commodores have been tough in recent years, we have to remember that program wasn’t very good until Stallings stepped onto the scene. He’s proven he can build a winner, but it obviously takes time.

Even though the Panthers are about to go winless in conference play and questions surrounding Stallings’ job security are rising, Pitt needs to be patient. We’ve seen what happens when people rush to decisions, which means getting rid of Stallings after two years would be another silly mistake.

Next: Pitt vs Notre Dame: Important info for the game

I understand the frustration which comes along with losing, but don’t let the momentary sting distract you from what’s to come.

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