Stan Van Gundy, coach of the Miami Heat, resigned today, citing the time his job kept him from his family.
The start of the aforelinked article says he "resigned Monday citing family reasons". That's code for: embarrassment over the job his brother is doing in Houston.
In all seriousness, I always have mixed feelings over this kind of thing. If Stan Van Gundy is really leaving so he can spend time with his family, that's great. I mean, I'm sure he can afford to take some time off and that's a positive way to spend it. Family's important to me, too.
At the same time, I'm not a big fan of a coach quitting in the middle of a contract, much less the middle of a season. Any player who tried this would be blasted for the rest of his career. Is being a coach a lot more time-consuming than it was last year? I doubt it. Van Gundy knew what he was getting into.
Besides, shouldn't a coach be held to a higher standard than the athletes because of his position of authority?
But on the other hand, you don't want to keep a coach around if he doesn't want to coach any longer. That's not good for the team, either.
What would be good for the team-and the league-is the return of Pat Riley to the sidelines. Everyone acknowledges the unbelieveable career Phil Jackson has had, but Riley was nothing short of legendary in his own time. He's had the kind of success that immediately demands respect.
Sure, like Jackson, Riley always had great players-but with Dwyane Wade and Shaq, he's covered in that department.
Of course, some of you might be thinking to yourselves, "Hmmm, fantastic coach of the 80s and early 90s...why should this end any better than the return of Joe Gibbs?" Good point, class, but why are the Redskins awful? Two words: Dan Snyder.
Personally, I'm excited to see what the Heat can do if Pat Riley returns as head coach.
The start of the aforelinked article says he "resigned Monday citing family reasons". That's code for: embarrassment over the job his brother is doing in Houston.
In all seriousness, I always have mixed feelings over this kind of thing. If Stan Van Gundy is really leaving so he can spend time with his family, that's great. I mean, I'm sure he can afford to take some time off and that's a positive way to spend it. Family's important to me, too.
At the same time, I'm not a big fan of a coach quitting in the middle of a contract, much less the middle of a season. Any player who tried this would be blasted for the rest of his career. Is being a coach a lot more time-consuming than it was last year? I doubt it. Van Gundy knew what he was getting into.
Besides, shouldn't a coach be held to a higher standard than the athletes because of his position of authority?
But on the other hand, you don't want to keep a coach around if he doesn't want to coach any longer. That's not good for the team, either.
What would be good for the team-and the league-is the return of Pat Riley to the sidelines. Everyone acknowledges the unbelieveable career Phil Jackson has had, but Riley was nothing short of legendary in his own time. He's had the kind of success that immediately demands respect.
Sure, like Jackson, Riley always had great players-but with Dwyane Wade and Shaq, he's covered in that department.
Of course, some of you might be thinking to yourselves, "Hmmm, fantastic coach of the 80s and early 90s...why should this end any better than the return of Joe Gibbs?" Good point, class, but why are the Redskins awful? Two words: Dan Snyder.
Personally, I'm excited to see what the Heat can do if Pat Riley returns as head coach.
Comments
How can you knock Larry Brown? He goes about his business the right way, I'm surprised you didn't know that. What a condescending con artist.
he also looks the same age as he did 25 years ago
now there's a story.
Look at C-Threepeat-O here and tell me he looks the same he does now:
http://www.nba.com/history/images/p_riley.jpg