Rich Walsh KDKA
on Wednesday
In the Interest of Transparency
Allow me to explain what happened Tuesday regarding the Pitt Basketball coaching search and the information I reported.
First, I am proud of the reporting I’ve done on Pitt in the past (breaking the Pat Narduzzi, Matt Canada, other football coaches and Scott Barnes hires; reporting the Tyler Boyd DUI arrest first, etc.) and I intend to work hard to be in front on the big stories in the future. That said, on this occasion, there are some things I could have done better and I want you to know I have learned from the experience. I’d like to think I’m a better reporter today than I was yesterday.
So here’s the story. Early Tuesday morning I got a tip that Pitt had offered Sean Miller the coaching job. I learned that they had a conversation and that the job was Miller’s if he wanted it. I confirmed this same information with two solid sources - from both Pitt's side and Miller's side. I was also told that Miller would be in Pittsburgh at some point and things would happen, EITHER WAY, very quickly. (meaning he would accept or turn down job)
Around 2:00pm Tuesday, a different source told me Miller was in Pittsburgh. Looking for further confirmation of this, I called back one of my sources on the earlier information. This source told me "yeah, I told you he would be in town". I took this as confirming that Miller was indeed here. Additionally, 3 to 4 other people "in the know" shared the same information – one even provided what appeared to be rock-solid proof. I regret that I cannot elaborate.
So I went with it. I cannot prove it happened. I regret that I did not nail down exactly WHEN or IF Miller might have visited, and I regret declaring, “Miller is in town now” on Twitter yesterday afternoon. I am sorry.
Let me also make this clear, I NEVER reported that Miller was taking the Pitt job – only that it had been offered to him. I believe this to be 100% accurate. This, too, has gone unchallenged by both Miller and Pitt. Re-read the statement Miller issued after my story went online:
"I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the University and city of Pittsburgh. My memories and friendships of my time as a student athlete are the best and strongest of my lifetime. However, I have one of the great jobs in college basketball at Arizona. I have no interest in becoming head coach at Pitt. I wish them luck in replacing Jamie Dixon, a tremendous coach and person, who did an incredible job in his time there."
So. This is new for me. My sources have never let me down before, especially on stories dealing with Pitt. I have learned to trust them. We never stop learning, do we?
Was I set up? Used as a pawn? Did I misinterpret information? I have to admit it’s possible. As I said, this episode will make me a better reporter.
I hope this explanation is helpful. Please know, I strive to be an honest, trustworthy source of information and I assure you I will never take your trust for granted. I promise to work hard to earn it every day.
Back to the beat. Thanks for reading!