Eddie Fogler to assist Pitt in coaching search

Consultant and former coach Eddie Fogler will be assisting Pitt in its search to replace former basketball coach Kevin Stallings, according to Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Fogler is a native of Queens, New York, who played point guard at North Carolina from 1967 to 1970. He spent 15 seasons as a head coach, getting his start at Wichita State in 1986 before moving on to South Carolina and eventually Vanderbilt, where he wrapped up his career in 2001 after winning 265 games and being honored as both an AP and SEC Coach of the Year.

Five years after concluding his coaching career, Fogler founded Fogler Consulting, which helps colleges with coaching searches. The former coach has had plenty of success in his current role, as he’s connected a number of Division I schools with coveted candidates.

Over the last 12 years, Fogler has placed John Beilein at Michigan, Frank Martin at Kansas State, Tom Crean at Indiana, Jim Christian at Boston College, Bryce Drew at Vanderbilt, Scott Nagy at Wright State and Chris Holtmann at Ohio State, among others.

Pitt’s last search, which resulted in the decidedly unpopular hire of Stallings in 2016, was conducted by Collegiate Sports Associates, whose founder, Todd Turner, a former athletic director at Vanderbilt and Washington, had previously hired Stallings at Vanderbilt in 1999 and former Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes at Washington in 2005.

Those ties and Stallings’ mediocre showing in his final four seasons at Vanderbilt saw the propriety of the search and subsequent hire called into question, but the current search, which is still in its early stages, does not appear to pose any similar issues thus far.

Given Pitt’s recent history, the announcement of Fogler’s involvement should be a positive sign for a weary fanbase, as his track record of success bodes well for the university.