Tom Crean takes Georgia job

Tom Crean reportedly met with Pitt regarding its coaching vacancy on Tuesday, but just two days later, the former Indiana head coach accepted the same position at Georgia, replacing the recently deposed Mark Fox.

Georgia announced the move Thursday, wrapping up an aggressive five-day search that first saw the Bulldogs linked to another high-profile former Big Ten coach.

The university previously offered the job to former Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, but he turned it down on Wednesday. Matta, another candidate coveted by many Pitt fans, remains available, but his comments regarding the Georgia job cast doubt on the possibility he would accept the Pittsburgh job — or perhaps any coaching job — at this point.

”It was the most difficult decision, because Georgia is a tremendous opportunity for a coach to build a great program,” Matta said, per ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. “Unfortunately, I just don’t feel that I am completely ready at this point to give Greg McGarity and Georgia what they deserve.”

With Crean off the board and Matta not looking all that promising, Pitt is likely devoting much of its focus to Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley, who is reportedly one of the school's top candidates and happens to be in Pittsburgh for the first leg of the NCAA tournament.

Aside from the news of the meeting with Crean, Pitt's coaching search has been quiet since it got underway last week, but according to Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, more developments are expected after the first week of the tournament.