Jeff Capel has roamed the sidelines alongside Coach K for about seven years now as the associate head coach for the Duke Blue Devils. He’s filled in when the legendary head coach had to step away due to medical issues and Capel has been an important part of Duke’s recent run of securing top recruits. But all good things must come to an end and it appears Capel’s tenure with the Blue Devils is over. He’s reportedly going to be the next head coach at the University of Pittsburgh.
Following comes from Evan Daniels of 247 Sports.
Duke Associate Head Coach has agreed to become the next head coach at Pittsburgh, a source tells 247Sports.
Capel agreed to a seven-year contract with the school, per sources. An official announcement is expected on Wednesday.
Before joining Coach K’s staff in 2011, the Duke alum got his college coaching career started as an assistant at Old Dominion in the 2000-01 season as a member of his father’s staff. After one season at ODU, Capel spent one season as an assistant on VCU and then took over as VCU’s head coach from 2002-06, making one NCAA tournament appearance and one NIT appearance.
Capel moved on to be the head coach at the University of Oklahoma leading the program from 2006-2011 and he saw some success with the Sooners. He reached the NCAA tournament twice including a run to the Elite Eight with Blake Griffin headling his roster. Capel officially has a 162–110 record as a head coach after 13 regular season wins and 4 conference wins at Oklahoma were vacated after it was determined OU had an ineligible player on their roster during the 2009–10 season.
Capel just finished his fourth season as associate head coach with Duke and also served as acting head coach seven times in the 2016-17 season while Coach K was sidelined due to ongoing issues with his health. He lead Duke to a 4-3 record in those games. As Duke started to shift along with other college basketball powerhouses and began to welcome more one-and-done recruits, Capel was a big reason for their success in securing top talents. Capel was reportedly vital in the recruitments of Jabari Parker, Harry Giles, Zion Williamson and brothers Tyus and Tre Jones. Capel has also served as a member of Coach K’s staff on Team USA.
Since Jamie Dixon left Pitt following the 2015-16 season, the Panthers have fallen from a perennial NCAA tournament lock to one of the worst teams in the country. Under head coach Kevin Stallings, Pittsburgh recorded a 24-41 record including an 0-18 ACC record this past season.
