Why coaches get fired

Arizona would win the NL West the following season but were swept by the Cardinals in the division round. After a start to the season, Brenly was fired and replaced by Al Pedrique. He went back into broadcasting and is currently working for the Diamondbacks. Larry Brown has had a lot of jobs as he seemingly never sits still -- even if he wins a championship. His Pistons stunned the Lakers to win the NBA championship and would return to the Finals in before ultimately losing to the Spurs.

In those Finals, Brown was a bit of a distraction as he was openly flirting with various jobs with the Knicks and Cavaliers despite being under contract with Detroit. He also delayed surgery until after the All-Star break, causing more disruption.

The Pistons grew tired of his antics and bought out the remaining years of his contract, ending a successful two-year run in Detroit doesn't it feel like he was there longer than that? Brown would immediately take the Knicks job, making him the highest-paid head coach in league history. That job would last just one season. Chizik was hired at Auburn in after he went just over two seasons at Iowa State. He and Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton stunningly lead the Tigers to a record and the national championship in his second season.

Newton would go on the NFL and the Tigers would settle into an record in In , Auburn sunk to a record Cora was a bench coach for the Houston Astros during their World Series championship season.

He would then be hired to take over as manager for the Boston Red Sox , and then went on to win the World Series After a season the following year, Cora's name was tied to the Astros' sign-stealing scandal and there were allegations he brought the practice with him to the Red Sox.

An investigation into the Astros found that Cora was the only non-player actively involved in the sign-stealing. The Red Sox, in the middle of their own investigation that could elicit a harsh penalty for Cora, parted ways with their manager prior to the season Cora ended up receiving a one-year suspension.

His replacement, Ron Roenicke, was fired after the season after the Sox finished in last place. Dark had made the rounds as a manager, leading the Giants, Indians, and the Kansas City Athletics before coming back to the A's in You would think that Terry Francona would have had a lifetime job with the Red Sox after winning the World Series in his first season as manager, ending an year championship drought for the franchise.

Three years later, Boston beat Colorado to win their second World Series title under his leadership. After two more playoff appearances, the Red Sox melted down in the wildcard race, blowing a nine-game lead over Tampa Bay and missing the playoffs. After the season, the Red Sox declined to pick up his option and moving on from the winningest manager in franchise history.

Haney didn't have a great managerial resume when the Milwaukee Braves promoted him to manager during the season he was over six years with the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Pirates. In his first full season in Milwaukee, the Braves went and beat the Yankees in the World Series.

The following season, the Braves nearly pulled it off again but lost to the Yankees in seven games. In , Milwaukee tied Los Angeles atop the National Leagues standings but lost a three-game playoff series to the Dodgers. Haney wanted more authority over the roster and decision making and when owner Lou Perini declined to do so, Haney quit.

The honeymoon in Westwood was short-lived as he was found to have falsified expense reports prior to the season. When turning in receipts for a dinner, Harrick included the names of his wife and an assistant coach to cover up the fact that it was two current players instead, which was a violation. The cover-up of a relatively minor infraction caused the university to fire Harrick, just one season after their national championship.

Heinsohn won eight championships as a player with the Celtics in the s and s and would lead Boston to titles in and as head coach. The team fell off a bit in , winning just 44 games and losing to Philadelphia in the conference semifinals. After starting the following season , the Celtics fired Heinsohn, just games after winning the title.

He would go back into broadcasting for the Celtics for the next few decades and worked the CBS broadcasts for the iconic Celtics-Lakers Finals during the s. Hinch was hired to be Houston's manager after the season to head up the Astros' post-rebuilding phase. The Astros would reach the playoffs in Hinch's first season and in would win the franchise's first World Series title. Houston would be one of the most successful teams over the next two seasons, winning games in lost in the ALCS and games in lost in the World Series.

It was after the World Series loss to the Washington Nationals that Houston's sign-stealing came to light and Hinch would be suspended for one year by Major League Baseball. The Astros fired Hinch immediately and hired Dusty Baker as his replacement.

Hinch served his suspension and was hired by the Detroit Tigers to be their manager. Chicago, of course, beat the Utah Jazz in six games, winning the Bulls their third consecutive championship and sixth in eight seasons. After the season, Jackson rode off What are the primary weaknesses you experience with beginning coaches? Their answers were analyzed and implications for the education of future coaches were found.

Sagamore Publishing LLC. Tel: ; Tel: ; Fax: ; e-mail: journals sagamorepub. The athletic director must be comfortable with his or her assessment, which really comes down to the student-athlete experience not being what it should be and lack of confidence that the coach has the ability to remedy the situation over the near term.

Notice this focus on the student-athlete experience. Even the most successful coach, as measured by wins and losses or conference and national championships won, cannot be salvaged if student-athlete health and well-being is sacrificed in the process.

What happens if the athletic director is told to fire the coach? If the athletic director agrees with the action, the decision becomes his or hers. If the athletic director disagrees, only two choices remain: 1 refuse to terminate the employee and offer his or her resignation or 2 agree to do the termination or an alternative to a termination as described later.

In the case of the latter, the termination must become the athletic director's decision. Blame cannot be placed elsewhere, publicly or privately. Especially in the case of long-time coaches who have earned the respect of generations of student-athletes, faculty, and alumni but have lost their effectiveness on the playing fields or in the recruiting wars, consideration should be given to moving that coach to another position in the department, the university, or the school system.

Could the relationships developed over decades serve the athletic department well in the athletic or institutional development office at the college level? Is a place available in the physical education department where years of coaching experience can be used to train future coaches? Is early retirement an option? Is resignation a possibility, and if so can this decision by the coach be enhanced by the offer of an attractive severance package?

Sometimes the athletic director has the luxury of negotiating a departure at a specified time. The athletic director may inform the coach that employment will be terminated at the end of the next season, giving the coach time to seek another job and having the option of tendering a resignation instead of being fired. In certain situations, all these possibilities should be explored with the intent of producing a win-win as opposed to facing the challenge of a termination of employment.

But let's assume that the situation is such that the coach is unwilling to resign and is going to be fired or the coach is going to resign under the threat of termination. The athletic director should be aware that after the departure decision is communicated to the coach, chances are that the decision will quickly leak to assistant coaches, student-athletes, the media, and others.

Thus, to control the accuracy of communication, a plan must be developed to have the following actions happen sequentially, one immediately after the other, and some actions possibly occurring simultaneously:. The athletic director must do all items except that the president or principal or superintendent deals with item 4, communicating with the trustees, elected officials, administrative officers, faculty, and top donors by personal phone calls or messages.

At the college level, the vice president for development can help with other major donors. Communications with the parents of student-athletes and former student-athletes can be by e-mail followed by formal letter. In this day of instant communication, snail mail is a formality and e-mail is the optimum choice.

Learn more about Athletic Director's Desk Reference. Home Excerpts Rare advice helps athletic directors handle coach termination. Consultation With Human Resources As soon as nonrenewal or termination of employment is being considered by any supervisor, coach, or any staff member, the institutional or school district human resources office should be contacted for advice.

Consultation With Legal Counsel In any termination decision for cause such as violation of NCAA or high school association rules, commission of a felony, or refusal to follow instructions of a supervisor , if a multiyear employment agreement exists, or the termination is either for cause or not dissatisfaction with performance of a team of a high-profile coach, even if he or she is an at-will employee, the human resources office will most likely recommend that legal counsel become an additional advisor.

Consultation With Higher Administration Any individual's employment might be terminated for many reasons, and whenever this happens, both the athletic director and the employee face challenging emotional stress. When the Termination Should Occur Although most personnel actions take place at the end of an academic year, decisions on termination of coaches at the college level usually occur at the end of a season to try to recoup some portion of the recruiting period.

Dealing With Media Pressures Before the Announcement of a Decision Often, especially in high-profile programs, the media may sense that the coach is in trouble and pressure the athletic director for his or her thoughts on retaining the coach.

Alternatives to Termination Especially in the case of long-time coaches who have earned the respect of generations of student-athletes, faculty, and alumni but have lost their effectiveness on the playing fields or in the recruiting wars, consideration should be given to moving that coach to another position in the department, the university, or the school system. Laying Out the Termination Sequence But let's assume that the situation is such that the coach is unwilling to resign and is going to be fired or the coach is going to resign under the threat of termination.