In Eric Hansen article on MSNBC today he makes a great point.
"There are no perfect parallels. But the nation’s No. 1 team, Alabama, was 7-6 in 2007. And Ball State coach Brady Hoke, presiding over a storybook season at 11-0, went 4-8, 2-9. 4-7, and 5-6 before finally breaking through with a winning season last year -- barely (7-6)"
Got me thinking of other coaches who have tanked at the start but gone on to better things. Joe Torre was terrible with the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals. With the Yankees and a talented team with just enough veterans he became a hall of fame coach. Bobby Cox first stint with the Braves with nothing to write home about. In his second stint, bolstered by a group of young pitching arms and a great pitching coach He became another Hall of Fame coach. Mike Krzyzewski was not the genius he is today his first 3 years at Duke. If my memory serves me right, he was ready to get the axe. His players that he recruited finally matured in his fourth year and he has not looked back since. Nick Saban was pretty average at MSU, except for one big year 1999, but give him the horses he had at LSU and now Alabama and he is one of the top college coaches.
So is this enough evidence to give CW one more year? Jeff Samardzija, thinks so as his interview on ESPN First Take proves. I think with the proper adjustments to his staff he could turn this around. The talent is there, they need to learn to play 60 minutes, never quit, and how to win.
"There are no perfect parallels. But the nation’s No. 1 team, Alabama, was 7-6 in 2007. And Ball State coach Brady Hoke, presiding over a storybook season at 11-0, went 4-8, 2-9. 4-7, and 5-6 before finally breaking through with a winning season last year -- barely (7-6)"
Got me thinking of other coaches who have tanked at the start but gone on to better things. Joe Torre was terrible with the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals. With the Yankees and a talented team with just enough veterans he became a hall of fame coach. Bobby Cox first stint with the Braves with nothing to write home about. In his second stint, bolstered by a group of young pitching arms and a great pitching coach He became another Hall of Fame coach. Mike Krzyzewski was not the genius he is today his first 3 years at Duke. If my memory serves me right, he was ready to get the axe. His players that he recruited finally matured in his fourth year and he has not looked back since. Nick Saban was pretty average at MSU, except for one big year 1999, but give him the horses he had at LSU and now Alabama and he is one of the top college coaches.
So is this enough evidence to give CW one more year? Jeff Samardzija, thinks so as his interview on ESPN First Take proves. I think with the proper adjustments to his staff he could turn this around. The talent is there, they need to learn to play 60 minutes, never quit, and how to win.
