By Mychal Hunter

So it finally happened, the thing that everyone knew was going to happen pretty quickly on the day he was hired, Kevin Stallings has been fired.

The decision was easy, it was the money that was hard. The buyout amount was rumored to be around $10 million dollars for the last couple months but as of yesterday the powers that be were rumored to be offering Stallings $6.5 to $7.5 million. He apparently asked for $9.4, which you can probably safely assume was the actual buyout amount.

Why did they think he would accept 20% less? There were some rumors and chatter about Pitt possibly being able to fire the 2nd year coach with cause but nothing substantial has been revealed and ultimately looks to have been an empty threat.

Sources have confirmed he has been fired according to Jeff Goodman at ESPN but the two sides are still discussing the “details”.

A messy hire that resulted in a messy product has finally met its messy (and expensive) end. Where does Pitt go from here? Is there enough cash in the coffers to go for someone like Tom Crean or Thad Matta? I would highly doubt it but I honestly don’t know. It could be time for Joe Dooley, the coach at Florida Gulf Coast, to strike while his iron is seemingly hot. Is this the time for someone to give Tim Cluess from Iona a chance after he has now won the MAAC for three straight years? He was born and played his college ball in NY (St. Johns and Hofstra).

Perhaps the more appropriate question would be: Does anyone want this job? Does anyone want to go coach at a place that just fired someone after two years and never let his first recruiting class make it to their sophomore season?

My money has and will remain with former Pitt star guard Brandin Knight, a current assistant at Rutgers and former Pitt assistant under Jamie Dixon.