When did coaching become such a health hazard? An occupation that pays millions of dollars and brings fame, fanaticism and glory for victories seems like the last place I’d want to be right now. In the span of two days, two of the winningest college and NBA coaches came down with dangerous health and occupational conditions.
A urological disease for Louisville’s Rick Pitino will keep him from coaching for multiple games, and a second heart attack for Utah’s Rick Majerus may have ended his coaching career. Majerus could use to back away from the buffet once in a while, but Pitino has always been a model of fitness.
Still, the more striking occurrence was the departure of two of the past two years’ best success stories. On Monday New Jersey’s Byron Scott, who led his team to the NBA Finals in each of his first two seasons, was fired. The Nets justified the move because of a recent losing streak, although they led their division before the firing.
Even more despicable, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge refused to listen to Coach Jim O’Brien’s grievances, leading to his stunning resignation on Tuesday. O’Brien led one of the largest turn arounds in basketball, taking a team with five consecutive losing seasons to back-to-back late round playoff appearances.
With job security at an all time low, one has to wonder whether coaches will continue to rush to openings as they have in the past. At a time when TV commentators can make more money than coaches with half of the time, you’d think that the market for the two occupations will flip-flop soon. That’s too bad, because these four represent the character and humor in America’s most popular sport.
