The 2022-23 ACC Coach of the Year is…Jeff Capel! How does such a monumental achievement seem so far away? Capel has struggled throughout his years at Pitt after taking over for Kevin Stallings in 2018. Once a perennial NCAA Tournament contender, Pitt fell when Jamie Dixon left for TCU (a mutual parting). Capel was brought in to pick up all the pieces left behind by Stallings. After four subpar seasons, the program looked to be no further than it had been. Jeff Capel’s coaching future was in question.
AD Heather Lyke held onto him for one season, the 2022-23 season. Pitt made the NCAA Tournament and made the round of 32. Last season, following a 10-8 start, they stormed back only to be snubbed from the NCAA Tournament. Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington was Capel’s first lottery selection as the team seemed destined to leap to the status of a perennial contender. Instead, Pitt has fallen to 16-12 with another bad home loss. Capel did more with less in 2022-23, but now he’s done less with more. So what, is Capel’s coaching future now? Will Pitt hold onto Capel for one more season?
Jeff Capel’s Coaching Future in Question After Another Bad Loss
Drastic Falloff, a Trend for Capel
Capel’s teams rarely seem to finish strong. In his first four seasons, Pitt finished: tied for last, tied for last, 12th, and 13th. Each season had a collapse involved, such as losing nine of 12 games, eight of nine games, 10 of 12 games, or even 13 in a row! Capel never had a good team in those years, but they gave up. A lack of leadership is the leading cause of that. The next two seasons, largely successful ones, they never had that collapse. Capel’s coaching future was no longer in question.
This season, after starting 12-2, Pitt has now lost 10 of 14 games. Sound familiar? Except this roster returns a good portion of the roster that led them to 22-11 last season. Whether they gave up or not, there has been a clear dropoff since the trip to Durham in January, a game they entered ranked 18th and trailed Duke by 11 with six minutes to go.
Lack of Effort, Accountability, and Bench-Use
Pitt seemed to be a force early on, but something changed. One thing falls directly on Capel: throughout this long losing streak, except for injuries or foul trouble, Capel has relied on a six-man rotation, occasionally bringing in a seventh or eighth man to play a couple of minutes. It’s not like this group is winning every game; in fact, they are losing most games. So why the commitment to a group that isn’t working? Pitt came out against Virginia and looked like they never wanted to be there. So why did Capel let the group play for 15 minutes, leading to a 20-point deficit? Capel’s coaching future should have been questioned right there.
One could argue that maybe he doesn’t want to reward players for bad play. Here’s an example of how that is completely false. Jorge Diaz Graham, a sharpshooter, came into the game against Florida State trying to light a spark in a much-needed game. He scored 17 points on 5-7 from the floor, and 4-5 from three. He played much of the second half. Not-so-coincidentally, as Jorge is a phenomenal defender along with his brother Guillermo Diaz Graham, Pitt allowed two buckets in the last 7:41 of the game. They lost because of numerous fouls and phenomenal foul shooting by Florida State. So he earned some playing time, right? Wrong. Against Clemson, a three-point loss in OT, he played four minutes and didn’t get a shot. Jeff Capel’s coaching future is in doubt from his own decisions, not just the players’ performance.
The Last Word on Jeff Capel’s Coaching Future
Pitt came into the first NET rankings at 5. They now sit at 58. Pitt once seemed like a lock for the tournament without a dramatic collapse. They dramatically collapsed. Jeff Capel earned himself some leeway, but these results have gotten people fired before. It’s worth noting that Pitt has a new Athletic Director, one with no ties to Capel. Maybe he will be given another year to right the ship. The last time his seat was so hot, he turned around the whole program and got them into the NCAA Tournament. However, he has lost the argument to keep his job: it’s out of his hands now. He had the opportunity to make the necessary changes, but he didn’t. Jeff Capel’s coaching future is bleak. He has nobody to blame but himself.
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