BRIGGS wrote: Instead we have an old white guy who does not get along with players well and doesn’t play younger guys. It’s the best man for the job but Tibs is the worst retread who got the job.
Some of the reasons why some coaches don't get more opportunities/jobs in professional sports
1) Many people interview poorly. This is something Tony Dungy brought up, but he was often dismissed by other black coaches who felt he wasn't "black enough" Dungy just laid out some common sense, the best way to get better at interviewing is to do more interviews. And for many people, it's a difficult process because much of a head coaches job boils down to public speaking skills. How many people here are so so comfortable at public speaking? How many people here know other people who are so so comfortable at public speaking? And if so, out of how many countless people who are bad at it/terrified about it.
2) The interview process forces a coach to get interviewed one on one by the owner. This is an entirely different type of interview. You are usually dealing with a sociopath who hasn't heard the word No in the last 20-30 years of his life. Handling this kind of stuff requires a high level of self awareness and how to manage the expectations of difficult/impossible personalities
3) In a small league, there are no secrets. Many candidates would simply not pass the sniff test by the rabid media/public for the long term. Think about the culture we live in today, if you are a famous person who said or did something 20 years ago, that would be seen as racist, sexist, etc, someone will dig that up and it now becomes national news.
Classic untold story around the league is the big name player who liked to "borrow" money from people. Other players. Coaches. Trainers. Even the security guys and janitors ( for like 20 bucks from those guys) And never paid it back. Then would hunt down rookie players, even not on his own team, and try to "borrow" money from them. Think about it, you are some low level staffer, who is making jack **** in money, trying to move up and be successful, then this All Star comes to you and says, hey dude, let me borrow 20 bucks. What do you say? Maybe you can get away with that once or twice, but then if you do it to everyone and get a reputation, guess what happens when your playing career is over? No one wants to hire you.
Lots of guys in the league can't seem to keep their hands off of girlfriends, wives, and daughters of other players, coaches and front office people. So when they want a job, do you think they will get one? A lot of **** in a closed system is interpersonal. Many of you guys, where you work or have worked, how much bull**** did you see with just regular people doing regular jobs and couldn't keep the drama out of it? These folks in the NBA may be famous people, but they are just people, with same flaws, problems, conflicts are everyone else.
People will point out Kidd's problems off the court. His rep as a player and his ability to interview well finally could not outweigh the baggage he brings. It always catches up to you.
4) The interview process is often attrition and has elements that is scenario based. Many guys are NOT prepared for this process. The team will give you a random low level player and ask what do you think of this guy? Do you know why Erik Spolestra was successful? On his own time, he poured over film on EVERYONE. When asked about random player X from random Eastern European country Y, he'd say, sure sure in this game back 5 years ago, this guy did this and this is why he would succeed/fail at the NBA level. Lots of guy don't put in the work needed to be prepared to be a head coach. When you are a head coach, you are not just responsible for X's and O's, you must deal with the media, players families, other coaches, you must also give time to charity and be involved in some front office decisions.
A lot of guys won't do that. Spend 18 hours a day in a film room for weeks on end, then go to meetings with your ****ed up owner, deal with press conferences, manage a players pissed off family because the guy isn't getting enough minutes, then maybe sleep 3 hours a night.
Success in anything is often built on repetition of the tedious and soul draining minutiae of the game itself.
In every boxing gym in America, there is some guy who is too ****ing slow. Out of shape. Poor hand eye coordination. Probably too old as well. And the ****er is there almost every day. Long after everyone else leaves, the guy is there. Before everyone shows up, the guy is already there. Someone who simply won't quit and has no ****ing chance. And after a while, this guy gives everything he has all the time, until people can't say No to him anymore. The coaches and trainers eventually walk by and give him tips and pointers. The veterans teach him how to spar. The culture finally embraces him because he's left them no choice. That's how Kenny Atkinson got to be a head coach. If a mouth breather like Patrick Ewing, with all the advantages of being a HOF player, worked 1/10th as hard at Atkinson or Spolestra, he'd be a head coach in the NBA right now.
Is Ewing denied because he's black? Or is he denied because the league knows he's an entitled lazy narcissist who has **** people skills and made enemies his entire time in the league? "We make a lot of money, but we spend a lot of money too!" Think about how ****ing dumb and tone deaf and entitled you have to be to say something this stupid in the press?
Do you know what David West could really do? He could spend his own money and use his influence as a famous athlete/quasi celebrity and rent a building and hire and fill it with sports psychologists, analytics guys, cap guys, interview experts and former league executives and have black coaches come in and help them learn how to do better in high level interviews. How to better understand the cap. How to more efficiently break down film and scout. How to deal with the media. What is David West doing to help black coaches succeed? Has he put his time/money where his mouth is? THEN FUCK HIM.
White or black, if you want something and you won't put in the work, if you won't put your money where your mouth is, then go **** yourself.
No one gives you **** in this life, you go out and take it. A man, being a real man, means you go out and take it. And if it's unfair, you work relentlessly so when you do get your one chance, big or small, you seize it and make it yours.
7/26/2020 10:41 AM LAST EDITED: 7/26/2020 10:44 AM