Dunlap: Jamie Dixon Has Hit A Stumble
No telling where it all goes from here, but I can tell you where it has been and where it is right now in terms of Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon's popularity.
The past, you ask? It wasn't that long ago he was seen --- and, heck, he still could be --- as a guy who was unassailable and shatterproof in his job, a coach who had, because of past successes and a squeaky clean program, pretty much inked a lifetime contract to coach in Oakland.
His teams won, they did it the right way, they played in the postseason and Dixon never embarrassed the University of Pittsburgh on or off the basketball floor.
When the rumblings and rumors of the other suitors would start --- and this pretty much happened annually --- they would be squashed with stories about how much Jamie loved Pitt. And, conversely, how much Pitt loved Jamie.
It was a match made in hardwood heaven.
For all I know, it still is.
But I think this can be firmly stated as we look at everything in mid-February with Pitt on the heels of three consecutive loses and a sleepwalking effort against North Carolina on Sunday: Jamie Dixon's approval rating in the court of Pittsburgh public opinion appears to be at an all-time low.
That doesn't seem opinion, but appears more like fact.
To be clear, I take positively zero pride in stating this as I think Dixon is a wonderful basketball coach, a very fine representative of the University of Pittsburgh, a great family man and, in a time when scummy guys like Rick Pitino are leading America's youth, college campuses could use more men like Dixon as people who lead and mentor.
That said, this is about winning: And Dixon isn't doing enough right now to satisfy many.
As a hapless Wake Forest team comes to town on Tuesday night, Pitt is 17-7 and 6-6 in ACC play and, most important, doesn't seem to have an identity or direction.
Perhaps this is what boils the blood of the longtime Pitt fans most; under Ben Howland and then Jamie Dixon, one could almost always count on Pitt going on there and out-gritting, out-toughing and out-hustling the opposition --- even in a loss.
They would all take a charge, they would dive for each loose ball, they would show the body language of a team in command and would do virtually all the little things to try to earn a win.
It has become glaringly evident this vintage of Dixon's team is unwilling to do so. That is alarming and it should be.
Many over the years have also pointed to Pitt's less-than-stellar non-conference schedule as a reason why the Panthers might struggle toward the end of the regular season and/or have a hard time advancing in the postseason.
While I'm loathe to connect the two together, it seems impossible this year to shout down the people who claim that cupcake wins against the likes of Cornell, Detroit, Eastern Washington and Central Arkansas did little to prepare Pitt for real teams such as North Carolina State, Louisville, Virginia, Miami, Clemson or North Carolina.
For the time being --- and as it probably should be --- Jamie Dixon isn't going anywhere. He's built up too much cache; he's done too much to make sure Pitt is a contender each season.
But if Pitt were to miss the NCAA Tournament this season, it would be the third time in five seasons the program did so --- something that seemed unfathomable about a half-decade ago.
Again, I don't know where it all goes from here but I know Dixon's approval rating appears at an all-time low right now. We can talk and talk about all the recruiting, the scheduling, the strength of the conference and other big picture elements or the minutia of what's happening with Pitt basketball right now.
But no matter how he does it, it seems a pretty straightforward proposition as everything currently stands: The bloom is off the Jamie Dixon rose for many and the only way to get it back it to start winning like Pitt used to.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.