Duke Assistant Jeff Capel Agrees on Contract to Become Pittsburgh HC

After working under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke since 2011, Jeff Capel will get another shot at being a head coach.

And he won't have to leave the ACC to do so.

Pittsburgh confirmed Capel's hire on Tuesday after Evan Daniels of 247Sports first reported the agreement, adding Capel had agreed to a seven-year deal. Financial terms have not been revealed at this time.

The 43-year-old has previous experience leading a program. He went 79-41 in four seasons at VCU, leading the Rams to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2004. They had missed the Big Dance in 16 out of the 17 seasons prior to Capel's arrival but have made the field in 10 out of 15 seasons since he snapped a seven-year drought.

In five seasons at Oklahoma, Capel went 96-69 with two NCAA tournament appearances. His time in Norman was highlighted by a 30-6 record during the 2008-09 campaign that saw Blake Griffin and the Sooners reach the Elite Eight.

He has not been a head coach since the 2010-11 season.

Krzyzewski spoke about the hiring on Tuesday, per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic:

Pitt was a perennial contender throughout Jamie Dixon's 13-year tenure. However, under Kevin Stallings the past two seasons, the program has hit rock bottom—or at least it hopes it has. The Panthers went 24-41 under Stallings, and their 8-24 record (which included 0-18 in ACC play) this season was their worst in terms of winning percentage in 51 years.

Capel has proved he can be successful as a head coach. While he may not have been able to sustain success at either of his previous stops, Pitt believes he can get the program back on track.