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Herrion Out

As I first saw reported by Bob Smizik's excellent blog, Pitt top assistant/Associate Head Coach Tom Herrion is reportedly leaving to take the head job at Marshall. It's not a surprise that he was looking to leave as he was a finalist for the Holy Cross job previously, and was linked to the Toledo job just a few weeks ago.

It seemed like it was only a matter of time. Herrion has been Jamie Dixon's main man and was the lead guy on the recruiting of Dante Taylor. According to Rivals, he's credited with the recruiting of Ashton Gibbs, Jermaine Dixon, Dwight Miller, and Lamar Patterson.

Marshall's AD, Mike Hamrick, is familiar with the Herrion family, and I think this is a good hire for them - even if he wasn't necessarily their first choice:
MU officials are holding a press conference at 1 p.m. at Cam Henderson Center. They are steadfastly refusing to confirm Herrion's appointment, but it was reported on the flagship radio station of the Thundering Herd radio network, WRVC in Huntington.

Further, WSAZ television reported that athletic director Mike Hamrick initially offered the job to Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson, but the sides could not agree on a contract.

Hamrick has a history with Herrion's family, hiring his brother Bill in 1999 while at East Carolina. The older Herrion now coaches at New Hampshire.
Not sure who Dixon will get to replace him. I guess he could promote someone within then hire a lower-level guy. I've always liked the idea of having former head coaches as assistants on your staff. You get opinions of experienced guys who have been responsible for and in the situation of winning and losing games. Too many chefs in the kitchen can be a bad thing, but Dixon had a good find in Herrion.

If Dixon promotes from within, it will be interesting to see who fills the position - Pat Sandle, (who's been in the Howland/Dixon family since the days of Northern Arizona, but isn't really known as a recruiter) or former Pitt star Brandin Knight, (who's less experienced, but credited by Rivals as bringing in PG Isaiah Epps).