Coach Jeff Capel on state of Pitt's program: 'We need to get better players'

Capel told reporters he hasn’t heard from the school’s athletic director whether he will be back. But he believes he will be.

Then Capel offered a quote that drew some attention. He said the program needs better players in order to get better and to help build and maintain a winning culture.

Many felt Capel was throwing his team under the bus. But he also took responsibility, saying they need to recruit and develop better too.

People also believe that Pitt should move on from him. But Capel thinks people need to have some perspective about the matter considering where Pitt was when he took over.

Remember, Kevin Stallings was fired after going 8-24 and 0-18 in conference during his second season on the job. Capel took over after that and went 14-19 and then 16-17 in his second year. The program has won six games in conference three seasons in a row and has had a negative trending record for two years in a row.

But Capel is confident the program is in a better place.

He’s right. The program is better now than where Stallings had it. But there is a feeling that Capel has stalled out, so he needs to show significant improvement in order to keep his job.

The reality is Pitt has not been the same program since joining the ACC. Jamie Dixon recognized how much more difficult their path was, which is why he left for TCU.

Pitt has had only one winning season in conference since joining the ACC. Any coach who heads the program will have major task on their hands.