Mark Gottfried Fired
by outsidethesidelines on Jan 26, 2009 2:22 PM CST
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PrintAccording to published reports by the Tuscaloosa News, Alabama head basketball coach Mark Gottfried has been fired. Gottfried is not expected to finish out the remainder of the season, and it is believed that assistant coach Phillip Pearson will take over until season's end.
What can you say? It should have been done a long time ago, but I'm glad they got it out of the way now. His year-end firing was inevitable, so I'm glad we went ahead and got it out of the way so we can actually start looking for a decent replacement.
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Why
not Tubby Smith? And who wants to bet that the Asst. AD Hart makes this hire? Since Mal knows nothing about basketball.
Thirty-Six to Nothing
Not sold on Tubby...
Tubby’s name has come up a good bit, but I’m just not sold on him. He consistently led Kentucky further and further downhill, and frankly if he’s going to do that at Kentucky, what shot does he have at Alabama? He would be an upgrade over Gottfried — who wouldn’t though? — but I’m not sure he’d be a great hire.
But I do think you are right on Hart. I said it at the time he was hired… the main reason he was brought on board was to hire a new basketball coach to replace Gottfried.
by outsidethesidelines on Jan 26, 2009 2:34 PM CST up reply actions
not sold on Tubby?
really? I expect Kentucky fans to be incredibly unrealistic, but I think 5 conference championships in 10 seasons would make Alabama faithful pretty excited.
It is moot though as I think there is zero chance Tubby leaves for Alabama. Not a knock on Alabama or presuming that Minnesota is superior, but everything points to Tubby being extremely happy where he is at. Maybe he’d leave for a top tier program but Tubby has been around long enough that climbing the ladder to the highest rung isn’t the end goal.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Jan 26, 2009 4:41 PM CST up reply actions
Tubby
He is a good coach, and would be a lot better than Gottfried, obviously. I just think people would be more excited to get an up incoming head coach.
I do agree though, that Tubby is probably not going anywhere. He has started to build a really good program in Minnesota, and he seems very contented.
Tubby...
…is an excellent coach in the true sense of the word, and he would be a great fit for Bama. If you watched the Bama/UK game, you saw that UK had one superior talent (Meeks) and little else. Thanks in part to Gottfried, Bama has plenty of raw talent that needs to be taught. I have no clue whether or not Tubby is coming, but I would be thrilled to have him.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 26, 2009 5:15 PM CST up reply actions
Theres no way
That Tubby comes to Bama. He just went to Minnesota and has immediately made them a winner. He seems happy there, and people really want him there. In case you haven’t noticed, nobody around here cares much about basketball(except for a few including myself). He will never be more than “that other coach on campus”, and I don’t think he wants that. Thats why he will never come to Alabama.
36-0
Also
I think he’s making in the $3M/Year range. I don’t see ’Bama paying its b-ball coach close to what the football coach makes.
Thirty-Six to Nothing
$1 million per year
but if he reaches all his incentives it is $3.3Mill/year.
What Would Don Draper Do?
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 27, 2009 9:59 AM CST up reply actions
Disagree
there are a lot of Bama fans who care for basketball. Hell, it is a great off-season entertainment for us when the team is doing good. It’s just that we are fickle and tune it out when we are not playing well. And that has been the past few seasons.
man, when bama went on that four year stretch, I was at many games and coleman was packed and electric. ESPECIALLY for conference games.
What Would Don Draper Do?
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 27, 2009 10:01 AM CST up reply actions
You won't get Tubby Smith. There isn't enough money in Alabama (or anywhere else) to get that job done.
Nor Mark Few. He has no price.
Anthony Grant would be a great choice for you guys. A true up-and-comer, and I think he would leave VCU in a second to come to a place like Alabama. Alabama should be contending for the league championship every year.
Sean Miller would probably be a great hire, but I don’t think he would want to come in and try to rebuild ’Bama. He has had too much success at Xavier and I think he is laying in wait for Jamie Dixon to get hired away to some bigger job.
But I think the best answer is: Mike Anderson of Missouri.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Not happening
There’s no way Mike Anderson get’s hired. Highly unlikely he even gets interviewed.
Wrong
I would be shocked if he is not at the top of the list. He has strong ties to the area, and still has a lot of family living in Birmingham.
Trust Me
He, for one reason or another, will not be the basketball coach at Alabama. The only way it would happen is if they are turned down by coach after coach after coach. Well, you get the point.
I dunno
Mike Anderson is my choice. The man can flat out coach.
What Would Don Draper Do?
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 27, 2009 9:59 AM CST up reply actions
Basketball
I do not think any Alabama fans are under the delusion that we are Kentucky basketball, but at the same time I think people are completely wrong when they act like Alabama has no history in basketball. Alabama has several SEC regular season titles, and tournament titles. We have had great success under both C.M. Newton and Wimp Sanderson. The University of Alabama is still the state school in a state that produces several elite players every year. Even Gottfried has been able to recruit fairly successfully, though he has never been able to develop the talent.
I loved Anderson at UAB...
….and wish Alabama would hire Mike Davis and Anderson would come back to the Blazers. Please come back! Please!
Alabama ...
… has the second best basketball tradition in the SEC. They have good fan support which would get a lot better if the athletic department were to infuse some excitement into the program. Alabama has always been able to recruit well, especially under Gottfried, and they are right in between Florida, Louisiana and Georgia. Tons and tons of fertile recruiting ground. JaMychal Green is only the most recent example.
I have always said that Alabama should be in the top two in the West every year. With the right coach, you guys can frequently contend for the SEC title. I remember Alabama back in the days of C.M. Newton. They had some terrific athletes back in those days, guys 5’9" tall that could stuff the ball with both hands. Then Robert Horry, Sprewell, Antonio McDyess. Tons of talent, very good teams.
Alabama has more SEC tournament championships than any other SEC team save Kentucky. Leaving Kentucky aside, there is no better basketball tradition to be found in the SEC, year after year, than at Alabama. Florida is nouveau riche, but they don’t have the tradition of Alabama in basketball.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
by Glenn Logan on Jan 26, 2009 10:15 PM CST up reply actions
Wow
thats a tall statement. You think ‘Bama has a better tradition than LSU? They’ve been to a couple Final Fours, ’Bama has never made it beyond the Elite 8 in its history.
Thirty-Six to Nothing
In the SEC, they do.
LSU is right there, but LSU has only one SEC tournament championship vs. Alabama’s 6, have won the regular season championship 9 times vs. ’Bama’s 7. Alabama has also been ranked #1 in the nation by the AP, a distinction that I don’t believe the Tigers have ever enjoyed.
LSU can make an argument, no doubt, especially with the likes of O’Neal, Maravich, and Chris Jackson having played there. Those are players that Alabama cannot match, and LSU has a better tournament record than Alabama.
But both cases are strong.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I like you.
What Would Don Draper Do?
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 27, 2009 10:02 AM CST up reply actions
Please..
feel free to comment at any time you would like Truzenzuzex. Make yourself at home, someone grab this man a beer!
36-0
Thanks, guys.
All the best locating a good coach. Your program deserves one.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
NO WAY
do i want a coach with the nickname “tubby” – sorry
2008 Iron Bowl Bumper Sticker: Shut DOWN, Shut OUT, now SHUT UP!
Alabama 36 - Auburn 0
I’m not a big Tubby Smith fan. Never have been. Good guy, decent coach, bad fit at Alabama.
As far as the hiring, Hart won’t be going at it alone. I’d certainly hope not since his hires at FSU haven’t exactly placed them on top of the basketball world. Hart will have a say in it, as will Mal Moore and C.M. Newton.
I say let Saban coach the rest of the season....
When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.
But whomever
needs to be Saban like…we don’ t need to go down this CMG road again. Bama can support a big time coach and if we win we will support him in major ways. When UF upgraded they went out and got Donovan and look what happened- 2 NT’s. We can do the same.
Hmmm...
The only negative I see about the firing is that Mark’s Madness is now going to have some serious identity problems…
by Bama philosophe on Jan 26, 2009 2:57 PM CST reply actions
I'm worried about HoJo
I hope he knows we all still love him
"The game demonstrated the superiority of the Southern teams over any aggregation that the damn yankees could send across the Mason and Dixon Line." Sports writer Charles Israel of the Philadelphia Bulletin after the Tide's 61-6 win over Syracuse in the 1953 Orange Bowl.
We have never won a B-Ball title
I was just wondering, having never won a B-ball title, do we seem like a good spot for a coach? I mean I know if football we are one of the top 5 jobs, if not number 1 for history and location, and being able to recruit, but what can we offer a B-ball coach? Is the state ridden with talent that we aren’t getting? I mean I don’t expect to be a UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, or Duke, but a Florida would be nice.
Sorry for my Bama B-Ball ignorance.
"The game demonstrated the superiority of the Southern teams over any aggregation that the damn yankees could send across the Mason and Dixon Line." Sports writer Charles Israel of the Philadelphia Bulletin after the Tide's 61-6 win over Syracuse in the 1953 Orange Bowl.
No
Unfortunately, because we have waited too long to fire Gottfried we are not as good of a program today, as we have been in the past. We do not have a particularly good basketball arena, or a particularly great practice facility. If Alabama wants to try and move up to a higher level, Alabama is going to have to make a larger financial investment as well.
This is not to say that it is not a good job. I still think we can clearly be at least a top 25 team. I do not think Alabama will be able to go out and hire a “Saban coach,” but I think we would still be very attractive for an up incoming coach (i.e. Anthony Grant or Mike Anderson).
Grant
Grant would be the #1 choice in my book. He has an excellent basketball background, and his teams play an exciting brand of basketball.
Well...
We’re not much of a basketball program right now thanks to Gottfried, but we can be a pretty dang good one. We have never won a national title, but if my memory serves me correctly we are second in the SEC in conference championships and all-time wins, and I believe we lead the all-time series with every other SEC program (sans Kentucky), so it’s not like we are a historical slouch.
With a good coach, I don’t doubt that we can consistently be a top 25 team. Hell, if we could make the NCAA Tourney several times with a guy like Gottfried, that ought to tell you something.
by outsidethesidelines on Jan 26, 2009 3:10 PM CST up reply actions
We are 2nd in the nation
for most NCAA tourney wins and no final four appearances..that needs to change.
When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.
The skies the limit for Bama basketball..
..for the right coach that can recruit talent AND desire. We’re in the weakest division, and we are not strangers to SEC championships (season and tournament). This is going to be a FANTASTIC opportunity for the next coach!
by yellowhammer on Jan 26, 2009 4:16 PM CST up reply actions
We can offer
One of the top, if not the top, conference to coach in. Tons, TONS, of talent to recruit from in the Southeast. The state of Alabama always has good talent to recruit. The problem is some of the better ones often choose to leave the state to play. A good example is D.J. White. He is from Tuscaloosa and went to Indiana to play his college ball. He was one of the top high school recruits in the country. If the new coach can get the top player or two in Alabama every year, according to position and need of course, he’ll be in good shape.
UA is not a great basketball job for one reason . . .
Its not because of facilities (which are fine); its not because of money (Gottfried was making top ten money for a while at least); its not because of the talent base (the region turns out solid talent although HS coaching in the state is reportedly weak); and its not because of tradition (we have an above average track record).
The reason UA will have trouble getting a top coach is because of lack of fan interest. Fans don’t show up for December games (even when UA has a good team), fans don’t travel to away games, and fans don’t talk about basketball (how many blogs cover UA basketball with any regularity?). In fact, a lot of fans make fun of basketball.
Top coaches do not want to be ignored and can have their pick of places where they are the big dog so the idea of getting a Calipari or even a Tubby Smith seems very farfetched. We need a good up and comer that wants to build their own program and recognizes there is a foundation in place but they will have to have the confidence they can do it themselves. We need a Bruce Pearl.
There are young coaches out there that can do that but the trick will be to find a guy like that who will want to stay AFTER they get it going. That is why my first pick would be Mike Anderson. I think he is a great coach and if he got it going would be here for the long haul. Grant looks like a good coach but I don’t know if he would settle in. The same goes for a lot of the hot names out there.
WRONG
Dead wrong. See my post above. When we feel we have a chance, we turn out for basketball. Yes we are a football first school, but you are wrong in saying we don’t support the program. I have been to many, many games and it is night and day when we are good vs. years like this.
What Would Don Draper Do?
by BamaReturns07 on Jan 27, 2009 10:08 AM CST up reply actions
have to disagree
it was always a large crowd when we were winning in the early 90’s. The student section was loud and crazy (and not just the frat section). I was there and it was great. CMG is a great person but it was time to move on and I look forward to seeing the sellouts start again.
Its not about attendance . . .
per se. The question I was addressing is whether this is a top basketball job where we can get a Nick Saban equivalent basketball coach. Someone like a Calipari or a Pitino. I don’t think it is because there is just not much focus on basketball in this state. We have always had good crowds for big sec games in the winter (probably better than most SEC schools) but people don’t show up for December games even when the team was good and highly ranked under Gottfried. I have always followed Alabama basketball closely but how many blogs out there pay attention to the team? Hardly any.
I think the best analogy is to Florida before Donavan got there. The foundation of a top program is here — just like it was at Florida before Billy Donavan got there. But I don’t think many people would have said Florida was a top program at that time. Florida could get Donovan at that time but I don’t think they could have gotten Pitino like UK did because the lack of attention on the program. What we need is to find our Donovan — someone who sees the potential and has the courage to take a chance at building something special. (And hopefuly it will be someone that will stay.) But I don’t think we will steal a Calipari or Pitino for this job. My vote is Mike Anderson.
marks maddness gone omg!
i was at UA when that stuff began and cant wait for its disban. what a weak group of fans- the first 3 rows are hype and the rest are on cell phones or their to be seen. Let all students sit where they want and maybe the seats will fill.
alabama will need a culture change for a bball atmosphere to be created.
And you can call me an idiot because i am or truly mad but, bring back big shot bob and some talented assistants- not just former players.
regardless the future is looking brighter-rtr
WAG
Just guessing… My understanding is that Saban’s buddies with Tom Izzo. Izzo’s top assistant Mark Montgomery is looking to move up.
You aren’t going to get Few — that’s as much of a pipe dream as Pitino.
Pipedream would be an understatement.
When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.
I
wonder if we can the old “its a football school, so there’s less pressure” card. I’ve always wondered if basketball coaches really cared about that. I think for any sport coaches just want to go where its feasible to win and the enviornment facilitates it.
Thirty-Six to Nothing
Technically...
…I am sure he did resign. Of course, the conversation probably went if you do not resign you will be fired.
Give me Anthony Grant
Theis upcoming coach has the resume to be a great college coach. He has done a great job at VCU and he is a player’s coach. Plus he would bring in some much needed energy to this stagnant program.
36-0
If you did not know it
UF was going to get Grant back when Donovan left them briefly. Here is the deal. This guy has won and more than proved himself. If he was good enough for UF he is good enough for us. We would be lucky to get him and if we got him we would shortly be back in the top 25. He may however be holding out for the really big time.
Grant or Few, but I don’t think Few would come. We need to at least look hard at Grant.
danny sr.
thanks Mark ,.and hope you and your familey well in the future.
daniel l jemison sr.
i say
we go after Bobby Knight. Let’s start another huge brouhaha – this time over our choice in a basketball coach.
2008 Iron Bowl Bumper Sticker: Shut DOWN, Shut OUT, now SHUT UP!
Alabama 36 - Auburn 0
After the football NCAA mess
the last thing we need is kids getting decked with folding chairs.
I bleed crimson and white...I puke Vol puke orange. RTR
by SugarBowl93 on Jan 27, 2009 10:19 AM CST up reply actions
Whom...
…did he deck with a folding chair?
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 27, 2009 12:10 PM CST up reply actions
I don't guess he decked anyone
…my memory was slightly off.
“Bobby Knight, also known as "The General,” is the head coach at Texas Tech University. He’s a fiery, in-your-face taskmaster who leads through discipline and intimidation, which some critics say goes too far. Knight was fired from a long career at Indiana University for grabbing a student, and prior to that he was filmed clutching one of his own players by the neck. And then there was the infamous incident during a game when Knight tossed a folding chair across the court to protest a referee’s call."
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5464.html
That was what I was referring to.
I bleed crimson and white...I puke Vol puke orange. RTR
by SugarBowl93 on Jan 28, 2009 11:34 AM CST up reply actions
"A fiery, in-your-face taskmaster"...
…We needs The General.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 28, 2009 1:01 PM CST up reply actions
If you want 'meh'...
…I’ll call David Hobbs…he might come back.
by NiceLittleSaturday on Jan 28, 2009 2:02 PM CST up reply actions
I'm liking Mike Davis.
When you are an Alabama fan you are expected to hate Auburn, I hate Tennessee because I want to.
WIMP SANDERSON!!!
I see him twice a day at our facility, I’ll go talk to him!
What Would Don Draper Do?
BOBBY KNIGHT
THE MYTH, THE MAN, THE LEGEND…..in crimson? sounds good huh? could be his prized jewel bringing a football school into the light of basketball, out doing bruce pearl (who knight cant stand)….just to toss a name out there
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
If you had read a little of the recent comments, comer...
…LittleSis already said Bobby Knight.
"I hate everything orange"
It's all about Crimson - ROLL TIDE!!!
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