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.
- Assistant UCLA (1987 – 1995); National Champions (1994).
- Head Coach Murray State (1995 – 1998); record 68 – 24; NIT (1996), NCAA Tournament (1997, 1998); Ohio Valley Champions (1996, 1997, 1998).
- 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!
