A View of the Search from the Cheap Seats

Debbie Yow Mark Gottfried93

I don’t author much here on SFN and there’s a good reason for that. I’m not an insider. I don’t have any inside sources. I don’t pretend to. And when I am given a nugget of info from well connected friends, I don’t go and spout them off on the interwebs.

What I saw and felt is probably a lot what you guys experienced. All the stages of grief being experienced on a daily basis. One of the worst rollercoaster rides of all time…

Initially

Sid’s gone. Man, we almost had A-listers in the bag last time around and we had Fowler running the joint – this is a no brainer. Rick Barnes would be nice, but we could do better. How about some Sean Miller.

And Then…

Miller’s out of the tournament and he’s not in Raleigh… Ok, I guess Rick Barnes isn’t all that bad. Let’s grab him! He’ll surely want to come! And if he doesn’t, no problem. We’ve got a lot of B-Listers who would chomp at the bit. That Shaka guy is in the Sweet 16!

But wait!

Barnes is out, Miller is out, BUT BILLY DONOVAN IS IN! HOLY CRAP! OH WE BACK! DID YOU SEE JULES’ TWEET?!

Reality…

He’s not coming either… why don’t we have a coach yet. Gregg Marshall will surely come… that Shaka Smart guy is attractive but he’s still coaching… Let’s just nab a B-Lister and get this show on the road.

Who wrote that letter?

That’s a rather odd letter from Debbie Yow… doesn’t sound good.

Who?

Mark Gottfried – gotta check Wikipedia. I have no idea who he is.

Many of us may not know a lot about Gottfried, but the more I learned, the more I’m starting to think that we’ll be ok. But this is what we know.

  1. Assistant UCLA (1987 – 1995); National Champions (1994).
  2. Head Coach Murray State (1995 – 1998); record 68 – 24; NIT (1996), NCAA Tournament (1997, 1998); Ohio Valley Champions (1996, 1997, 1998).
  3. Head Coach Alabama (1998 – 2009); record 210 – 132; NIT (1999, 2001, 2007), NCAA Tournament (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006); NCAA Tournament Elite 8 (2004); AP #1 (2003); SEC Champions (2002); SEC Coach of the Year (2002)

He has experience which Debbie Yow Promised. He was the Flavor of the Month candidate while coaching Murray State, widely considered a top mid-major school at the time. His tenure in Alabama ended with controversy though and, to be honest, he posted a sub stellar SEC record of 84 – 83 playing a bunch of football schools (and Florida).

I’m optimistic though. After I got through the shock of “Who?” and began to take a deep look at Gottfried, I became a bit more comfortable with the hire. No doubt this hire could be considered a failure comparing Mark to Sean Miller, Billy Donovan, and Rick Barnes. Regardless, he’s the coach now and we’ll hope for the best.

Adding to the optimism is the word around town that Dino Gaudio may join the staff as an assistant. This would be an AWESOME way to spend funds that are left unspent hiring Gottfried at $1.2 million a year. That has yet to happen – and you know how Internet rumors go. So hold on tight and keep the hope.

Welcome Coach Gottfried and GO PACK!

Debbie Yow Mark Gottfried

93 Responses to A View of the Search from the Cheap Seats

  1. JSRy2k 04/05/2011 at 11:48 PM #

    We’re all stark raving mad based on the high hopes, the rumors, and then DY’s meltdown in the last two days…

    …BUT…

    …Mark Gottfried has the best prior resume of ANY head coach EVER hired at NCSU (Case had never coached before, Sloan could never do better than 4th at Florida pre-NCSU, and V only had two stellar years at Iona and zero years at a major conference school, ditto for Sendek)

    Am I excited? Not really but, in spite of the massive letdown of this search, the guy actually looks better on paper than anybody we’ve ever hired. Coupled with our tradition, that should give us at least a seed of optimism.

  2. PackisRolling 04/06/2011 at 12:03 AM #

    I told someone tonight that we hired Mike Gottlieb as our coach. doesn’t that pretty much say it all?

    Stop polishing this turd.

    I agree with BJD – this signals the end of me caring about state bball. This is a wake-up call to those of us who will remove the rose-colored glasses. This was an epic fail of a search, which ended with DY panicking and hiring a friend. She did not deliver on her promises and we’ll be back here again in a few short years – back to doing what we do best: getting coaches new, higher-paying contracts.

    We
    Are
    A
    Joke

  3. Par Shooter 04/06/2011 at 12:08 AM #

    Really hard to envision this ending any worse. Welcome Coach Gottfried. I’d rent if I were you.

  4. WilmyWolf 04/06/2011 at 12:14 AM #

    earlier today, “mark gottfried” and “debbie yow” were among the top ten worldwide trending topics on twitter.

    are state fans, like, half the internet?

  5. skippyjon jones 04/06/2011 at 12:21 AM #

    Wait.

    DebYow did not “Fukushima”.

    We have been wanting fire and passion in this organization for a long time..don’t back off now just because she did not fit The PC Mold.

    Would you rather work for a lazy, apathetic, “Wordsmith”, or an “I’m so Competitive that Sometimes I Get Fired Up and Tell the Truth”?

    We actually have some passion here. gott.fried left a cushy ESPN job to go toe to toe with the best in the ACC because he thinks he can GET IT DONE.

    At my job I will take the passionate folk over a prima dona or a FOTM any day.

    Believe it or not, if you make a list of the coaches hired this offseason, this is in the top two best hires of the year.

    Thank you Debbie.

    (BTW, BJD it’s OK)

  6. Par Shooter 04/06/2011 at 12:28 AM #

    Who else is in the top 2? Just curious.

  7. bluelena69 04/06/2011 at 12:44 AM #

    Not wanting to dwell on the past as I am ready to support our new coach, but as this thread is a summary of the process, I will pose my question. What was the influence of Nike over the search?

    Sure, we are in the market for a new apparel deal, but Nike already has two schools in this market and its rather saturated at this point. I cannot help but wonder what type of additional influences come into play in these types of searches. What if Nike has a coach, we approach them to poach from another school, and then Nike steps in to nuke the deal, because they have no interest in spending more money in this market?

    One doesn’t have to look very hard to find example-after-example of this type of thing…

    http://www.registerguard.com/web/sports/26079914-41/villa-assistants-vcu-smart-athletic.html.csp

  8. Wufpacker 04/06/2011 at 1:35 AM #

    While I realized that shoe deals seem to have an affect on recruiting at times (after a school has inked with a particular company), I was not aware that the hiring of a coach could be affected by their “sneaker loyalty”.

    I guess I believed (perhaps ignorantly) that Nike (or whoever) wouldn’t care if they had three in the same geographical market. It seemed that getting an additional (large) fanbase that would loyally buy their goods would be a good thing for them. I mean, it’s not like any of us are going to buy anything Duke or Carolina just because it’s Nike brand. They would need to have our contract to get us to buy their goods.

    Not to mention that if we get a “name” coach that wins at a high level, then our stuff becomes a more desirable market nationally.

    But I do understand what you’re saying and admit that depending on what their business model is, it very well might be valid.

    So, does this mean we’re stuck with Adidas again?

  9. projectwentynine 04/06/2011 at 3:35 AM #

    “That’s a rather odd letter from Debbie Yow…”

    I still wonder if she was drunk when writing and sending said letter. Bizarre.

    “…does this mean we’re stuck with Adidas again?”

    I’m just hoping we’re not getting a Crocks deal after this fiasco.

  10. El Lobo Loco! 04/06/2011 at 4:09 AM #

    I’m optimistic…
    Gottfried seems to be the same type as TOB.
    Not much fanfare but results.
    I just hope his goals are as high as most of ours are regarding the Wolfpack BB position in the world.

    Now let’s sit back, relax and support our coach again for the next 2-3 years… and hope he delivers

  11. HeplerJR 04/06/2011 at 4:40 AM #

    First off, like many others I have been following this website religiously since WWCSI (World Wide Coaching Search One), but up until now have only been a listener, not a talker. I have been a diehard NCSU fan since birth (literally, my father carried me on his shoulders at 9 months old to celebrate the ’83 Championship on Hillsborough St.) and was relived to have finally found a fan-site that was as passionate and dedicated to Wolfpack athletics as I am.

    After reading tobaccordshow’s masterpiece of a blog post ( I agree with DC-wolf, you nee to post more man, you are a fantastic writer) and reliving the exact experience I had during the coaching search, I decided to do a little more research into our recent hire than just skimming over his Wikipedia page.

    That “little research” turned into a massive study of what exactly went wrong for Mark Gottfried in his final years at Alabama. I have published my findings in an essay I like to call,

    The Ronald Steele Incident

    Up until 2006-2007 Mark Gottfried had an incredibly stellar record as a fairly young head coach. In only 3 years as a head coach at Murray State (His first ever head coaching job), he went 68-24, won three Ohio Valley championships, and took the Racers to the dance twice.

    At Alabama, after just two seasons of adjusting to conference play, his teams went 131-64 overall and 57-39 in SEC play. He took the Tide to the NIT Final Four in just his 3rd year, and then proceeded to rattle off 5 straight NCAA tournament appearances. I know what you’re thinking; oh great, we hired a HWSNBN clone! But unlike the nameless one, Gottfried tacked a SEC championship, 2 SEC West championships, and an Elite Eight appearance, on to his “five-peat.”

    His only season with a losing record as a head coach was 1999-2000, but that was only his 2nd year as an SEC head coach, a year in which the “football conference” SEC finished the season with 6 teams ranked in the Top 25. (TENN, AUB, UK, FLA, VANDY, LSU) The ACC by comparison, only had 2. (DUKE, MD)

    Then, in 2006-2007, everything was once again going smoothly for Gottfried’s team to go to a sixth straight tournament, The team was 19-7 overall and 6-4 in the SEC, with quality OOC wins over Iowa, Xavier, Oklahoma, and not in the least bit ironically, NC State. And then they finished the season losing 5 of their last 6, and would lose in the first round of the NIT. Why did this happen? Because the man that Gottfried himself called the best player on the team, had his injuries finally catch up to him.

    After a breakout 2005-2006 Sophomore season where he averaged 14.3 ppg, and 4.3 apg, guard Ronald Steele was poised to make 2006-2007 a year to remember. However, multiple knee and ankle injuries, would quickly send the dream season off the tracks. But the star guard did manage to fight through the season, only missing five of the first twenty-four games. By the last six, however, his body was wearing down, and Steele could only crack double digits one time, in a valiant 15 point effort against #20 Kentucky.

    So, with the disappointing 2006-2007 season behind him, Coach Gottfried was getting ready for a bounce-back season led by his rested, and surgically repaired, star player. Steele was on track to return by the start of the season from offseason arthroscopic surgery, and everything was looking rosy for Gottfried and the Tide. But then on September 17, only seven weeks before the season started, Alabama announced Ronald Steele would miss his entire Senior season due to a medical redshirt. But this was not a decision made or influenced by the school, doctors, or Gottfried. This was Steele pulling a Ricky Williams with the Dolphins.

    Why, do you ask, did Steele choose to abandon his team just a couple months before the season started? This is what he had to say:

    “At this point in time, I don’t believe I will be 100 percent by the start of practice. This is something I’ve put a lot of thought and prayer into. I want to play my best and play an entire season and know I’ve done everything I can on the court to help Alabama win. The doctors have told me my future for playing is good, but right now the timing for me to heal and be back in shape like I need to be to play on the level we play isn’t on my side. My teammates are out on the floor conditioning every day, getting ready for the season, and I know how important that is, and right now I’m not able to run and do all the things that they are doing. So that’s why I’ve decided to do this.”

    So you’re telling me that the guy who struggled to play “on the level they play” through the entire 2006-2007 season, is bailing on his entire SENIOR season, because he was going to miss a few preseason warm-up drills?

    Needless to say, The 2007-2008 season didn’t go so well for Gottfried and The Tide. They went just 17-16 overall, 5-11 in the SEC, weren’t even invited to the NIT, and declined an invitation to the pointless CBI tournament.

    In 2008-2009, after resting for over a year, Ronald Steele was finally ready to get that oh-so-important preseason practice time he had been dreaming about. And it turns out the rest paid off, as Steele was back to form and averaging close to 13ppg. But the rest of the team? Well not so much. The Tide lost to Mercer, at home, in their first game, and were never able to fully recover.

    Going into the 19th game of the season Alabama was 12-6 and 2-2, and astoundingly enough, coming off a win, when all of a sudden Steele decided that the rest of his team clearly didn’t practice hard enough during the preseason, so he quit. That’s right, the same guy, who just a year ago had said, “I want to play my best and play an entire season and know I’ve done everything I can on the court to help Alabama win,” just quit in the middle of the season.

    Then, after one game without Steele, and under tremendous pressure, Mark Gottfried resigned as the head coach of Alabama, bringing what up until two years ago, had been a very promising coaching career, to a disastrous end. Until now that is.

    Look, I know the coaching search didn’t go quite the way everyone in Wolfpack Nation would have liked. I too was rooting hard for Sean Miller, and then Billy Donovan, and then Shaka Smart, but deep-down I knew that chances were extremely slim of any of those guys leaving their current situations. Even Shaka leaving didn’t make sense if you think about it. The very thing that made him such a viable candidate is the thing that ultimately kept him from coming: Loyalty, Heart, and Passion.

    I think it’s quite possible that after all the shellacking we’ve been taking in the national media for once again executing what appears to be a terrible coaching search, Dr. Yow might have pulled out one hell of an Ace up her sleeve. It’s certainly better than Fowler’s Ace. Man, I still can’t believe I was actually happy and optimistic about a guy who had only coached in the NBA, and compiled an abysmal 79-228 record in the process. At least this time, my optimism is backed up by statistics and not just blind faith in a boyhood hero.

    Welcome Coach Gottfried, I wish you the best of luck, and GO PACK!

  12. jhmd2000 04/06/2011 at 5:28 AM #

    “Getting Gaudio on the staff would be fantastic. And it would stick it to Wake for their dim decision to can him… Bonus.”

    Irony.

  13. Avid109 04/06/2011 at 5:59 AM #

    I heard an interview on the radio last night with a guy who was familiar with Gottfried’s work in the SEC. He seemed to think that Gottfried’s success at State would depend on how good of a staff he’s able to assemble. He said that Gottfried is good at recruiting and good at in-game coaching, but that he’s weak on developing talent. Let’s hope he puts together a strong staff.

  14. fullmoon1 04/06/2011 at 6:28 AM #

    Much of the search is pereived as having gone haywire in large part due to the reporting. Coaches were turning it down who had not even been offered. The media had a field day with it. Some of these elements could not have been controlled on our end. TO an extent leaks are part of the process.

  15. wolfonthehill 04/06/2011 at 6:36 AM #

    I think this guy will end up a lot like Herb. Certainly a step up from where we are. Certainly a step short of where any of us want to be.

    So in 5-10 years, we’ll be looking again…

  16. Wulfpack 04/06/2011 at 6:36 AM #

    I am just mad at myself for believing we were going to land a big fish. I got my hopes up, and then they came crashing down. Once Shaka declined, I knew we were doomed. Now, Gottfried has some good experience and he will work his tail off here. He will have to assemble a great staff. But let’s not kid ourselves, this hire is not going to put us over the hump. We might be able to get back to Sendek-type results, but that was never the goal. I will, of course, support our players and our new coach, but I have very little enthusiasm for NCSU basketball anymore.

    And Debbie Yow talked an awfully big game, but even she knows she did not deliver, and you saw her frustration for plain viewing at the presser. Even the great Debbie Yow could not overcome 20+ years of mediocrity. We sure do know our place in the pecking order…

  17. leewolf 04/06/2011 at 6:44 AM #

    Let’s be honest about a few things guys. It was going to be extremely difficult to pry one of the big three (Miller, Barnes, Donovan) or any other coach at a BCS-level program away from that program unless they were running away from it (Cronin). Those guys are already well-paid, they are successful there and therefore comfortable.

    With that said, Yow essentially had two choices: go with a guy like Gottfried or hire a mid-major coach that hasn’t coached at this level. Either way, you are taking a risk. I’m cautiously optimistic about Gottfried. I think with the right staff, he can do well here. He has had more success as a HC in his career than we have had as a program in 20 years. Maybe he can’t get us back to where we were pre-1990, but I’m willing to give him a shot. If it doesn’t work out, then Archie will be ready to come back home.

  18. kyjelly 04/06/2011 at 7:01 AM #

    No way this is a “solid double”this is what we come up with to take on the “blues”? A solid pick for 3rd class citizens.

  19. 4in12 04/06/2011 at 7:01 AM #

    “I’d rent if I were you”

    Buy low, sell high. In five years the markets will probably have rebounded.

    Does anyone have any FACTS about his resignation from Alabama? I’ve read some rumors but I’d like to know what really happened.

  20. T-Pack 04/06/2011 at 7:15 AM #

    Are you kidding me! Unbelievable how many posters here are downright angry or have just given up on Wolfpack basketball, like kids having a tantrum because they didn’t get exactly what they wanted for Christmas. You simply can’t force people who don’t want to come here to take the job. Or as the saying goes, “if the train doesn’t stop at your station, then it’s just not your train.” I want someone who knows how to coach and who has the fire and desire to do so in our building and in our league. If you think this is another Lee Fowler “mercy hire” to get our AD off the hook, just compare the two candidates. One actually has a solid record as a college coach. How ’bout we take a deep breath, support him and the team, and expect good things rather than giving up before the first center court tap.

  21. buclark 04/06/2011 at 7:23 AM #

    From what I have seen, this is the story on Gottfried.
    1) He was a very good coach for 8 or 9 years at AL
    2)Rumors became rampant that he started an extra marital affair with a
    coed.
    3)His coaching job suffered.
    4)Rumors were he was still seeing his G/F after she was graduated
    5)AL fired him and agreed to honor his contract through 2011 but
    only had to make up the difference if he took another coaching job
    6)He rode out the AL money rather than find another coaching job
    7)He and DY are “blessed” through their christian associations
    8)He needed to get a real job as AL money has run out
    9)Wolfpackers hopefully will be “blessed” to have him

  22. tuckerdorm1983 04/06/2011 at 7:24 AM #

    DEFINITION

    NC MENS BASKETBALL FAN: A person who has a continued and renewing blind faith mixed with unrealistic hope that is based upon things way way back in the past. This fan will only accept reality for a short time when it has been clear to most others for a long long time, but will quickly put on rose colored glasses when there is even the slightest glimmer of hope or possibility.

  23. mak4dpak 04/06/2011 at 7:25 AM #

    Tpack, I totally agree, the poor guy hasn’t even coached his first game, and already people are throwing him under the bus, even though he brings experience to the table, unlike our last coach, who probably the same people went crazy over, and we see what happened there. I will hold my judgements, and support him, until he shows he is incapable. He wasn’t my pick, but I like what I here from him, and expect to see it on the court. Good luck, Coach Gottfried!

  24. john of sparta 04/06/2011 at 7:29 AM #

    4in12: MG was caught with a coed between holes 6 and 9 on the
    North Lake Putt-Putt golf course right beside the sign that says:
    get a hole in one, win a free round, or head coach at NCSU.
    well, if i’m going to repeat gossip, might as well go all the way.

  25. Wolfpack93 04/06/2011 at 7:32 AM #

    Check out message boards for the Utes. They are apparently upset with their coaching choice (Larry Krystkowiak) and wished they would have signed Gottfried. This occurred on April 3rd and they were speculating as to why Gottfried turned them down. Hmm.

    I’m cautiously optimistic about the hire. Technically, he satisfies DY’s original criteria for a new head coach better than SS and GM. And as mentioned by others, he essentially was the coach of a cinderella mid-major early in his career. Who’s to say that had SS or GM taken the job, we wouldn’t be the “Alabama” team in their career several years from now?

    I at least expect better results from the team with him than we’ve had over the past 5 years, and I’m looking forward to who these “knockout picks” for assistants will be that return State to national prominence.

    Yep. Cautiously optimistic…

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