After this season, Travis Ford has 3 years remaining on his contract and his buyout is in excess of $7,000,000. He can recruit, but he isn't a very good coach. He always finds a way to lose close games. Good coaches find ways to win close games. Due to the $7MM buyout, I do not believe oSu could afford any "known" coach out there (i.e. like a Gregg Marshall). Therefore, why not give Doug Gottlieb a chance with a 3 year contract and let him prove himself? We already know what Travis Ford brings to the table and it isn't good. Paying Gottlieb $250,000 base contact over 3 years will give oSu a chance to save money on the huge buyout for Travis Ford. During this time, Doug will have the chance to show what he can do. At the end of the 3 years, oSu will be in a better position financially. Then oSu can decide to give Doug a contract extension or begin a national search for the best candidate. Below are characteristics of good, great, and exceptional coaches. Let’s take a look at Ford and Gottlieb in each of these areas.
A GOOD coach at any level knows the X's and O's of the game, can teach fundamentals to the players, can setup and create organized and purposeful practices to make each player better, sets high standards for the team and holds all players accountable, is firm and consistent with team discipline, set roles for each player and gets them to accept and flourish in their role on the team. Ford doesn't do any of these things well. And this is basic Coaching 101 stuff. However, I believe Doug will have characteristics because he played under Sutton and when you listen to him on the radio you can tell he knows his X's and O's.
A GREAT coach can do all the things mentioned above, plus be a great recruiter and motivator. The problem with Ford is he only knows how to recruit and might know a little bit about motivating players. However, he never learned the basics of GOOD coaching. In addition, a great coach knows exactly what he wants to mention to his team during a timeout (whether he called a timeout or not). Ford looks lost during most timeouts. The coaches who do not have a clue what to say to their team during a timeout will typically waste their time yelling at the refs or find other ways to waste time, instead of using every precious second to work on explaining any in-game strategy during a timeout. Coaches always have the option to yell at the refs during the rest of the game, so it doesn't make any sense to yell at the refs during a timeout when they have the opportunity to talk with their players. And finally, the best indicator of a great coach is watching their team in the final minutes of a close game. A great coach will have his team well versed on what to do if they are down by 2 or more, know what to do if they are up or down with fouls to give, know when to strategically call timeouts, know who and when to substitute players on offense and defense, know when and who to foul if needed (by leaving the worst free throw shooter open to catch the inbounds pass, then fouling them as soon as they touch the ball or even better doing this without any time running off the clock and without getting a technical foul). Calvin Sampson (like him or not as a person) was great at doing this and was one of the hardest coaches to win against in the final minutes of a game. He was a great coach and was selected to help coach multiple USA basketball teams, was selected as the "Coach of the Year" at least 2x in college, coached in the NBA, and is now the head coach at Houston (he will turn that program into a winner). His negatives had nothing to do with coaching, but everything to do with recruiting violations.
EXCEPTIONAL coaches are rare. These coaches are rare because they can do all of the GOOD and GREAT things mentioned above, but also invest time teaching boys how to become men. This is done by taking time to teach players lessons (even at the expense of winning) on being respectful, hardworking, and men of good character (morals & ethics). This is what made Coach Sutton special.
Ford has a long history of making poor decisions (or for NOT making important strategic decisions during a game) and this is incredibly apparent in the last few minutes of close games. This is one of MANY reasons why Ford must be fired at the end of this season. Personally, I would love to see Doug Gottlieb take the reins. He knows the strategy of the game (which comes from being an analyst and having to breakdown basketball games for a living). That alone would make him a better coach than Ford (at the very least). Doug also has an incredible basketball IQ and historical knowledge of the game (which was evident during interviews when he was a player at OSU). I think Doug would be a great ambassador for our basketball program and for the university because he is very personable, well-spoken, articulate, and very connected. He is also a very recognizable/famous public figure (which will only help him in recruiting - not to mention his many connections and how recruits prefer younger coaches because they can relate better). I believe Doug will be the best recruiter OSU has ever seen. If you add up all of these qualities, I think Doug would eventually become a GREAT basketball coach. However, probably the only way Doug would ever be given a chance is if Holder could get him to accept a very low salary (maybe between $250,000-$350,000 a year) over a 3 year contract with specific incentives to push his salary to $2-3 million based on NCAA tournament wins. This would be a small pay cut for Doug, but it could also be a huge pay raise if he is successful. In addition, it would allow OSU to justify his hire due to his lack of coaching experience and save OSU money to buyout Ford's remaining contract. Plus this type of move would be less risky for Holder (smaller salary & shorter contract) and it would allow Doug to prove his worth (as a first time head coach at a big-time division I program like OSU without any prior coaching experience). This would also help Holder reunite a fan base that has been severely fractured after the Sutton family left OSU. I think Doug would be the perfect hire to help bring back former OSU players. In my opinion, this type of scenario is the only way OSU fans will see a head coaching change next year. Plus Doug might be able to convince Brooks Thompson to be an assistant coach on his staff, which might help ease the fears of some fans & Holder.
A lot of people will talk about Doug’s lack of coaching, but what about Fred Hoiberg for Iowa State? Before he became the head coach for Iowa State, he had never been a head coach and now is the head coach with the Chicago Bulls. Maybe a better comparison for Doug Gottlieb is Steve Kerr. He was a color commentator for TNT from 2010 until he was made a head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014 where he led his team to an NBA championship in his rookie year. I say give Doug the job. Yes, it's a risk but not as risky as most people think and his upside is tremendous. His experience as an analyst and being under Sutton along with being a son of a former coach put him on the same level as other coaches with limited division 1 head coaching experience. In addition, I believe Doug's going to be one of the best recruiters OSU has ever seen because of his exposure as a national media member. Plus the excitement of his hiring alone will bring back fans into GIA. And finally, since it is a risk on OSU's part (and Doug knows this) they could structure a very incentive laden contract where he makes $250,000 a year unless he meets certain goals where he could make up to a few million. These are my thoughts, but what do you think? What should OSU do at the end of this season with Ford?
A GOOD coach at any level knows the X's and O's of the game, can teach fundamentals to the players, can setup and create organized and purposeful practices to make each player better, sets high standards for the team and holds all players accountable, is firm and consistent with team discipline, set roles for each player and gets them to accept and flourish in their role on the team. Ford doesn't do any of these things well. And this is basic Coaching 101 stuff. However, I believe Doug will have characteristics because he played under Sutton and when you listen to him on the radio you can tell he knows his X's and O's.
A GREAT coach can do all the things mentioned above, plus be a great recruiter and motivator. The problem with Ford is he only knows how to recruit and might know a little bit about motivating players. However, he never learned the basics of GOOD coaching. In addition, a great coach knows exactly what he wants to mention to his team during a timeout (whether he called a timeout or not). Ford looks lost during most timeouts. The coaches who do not have a clue what to say to their team during a timeout will typically waste their time yelling at the refs or find other ways to waste time, instead of using every precious second to work on explaining any in-game strategy during a timeout. Coaches always have the option to yell at the refs during the rest of the game, so it doesn't make any sense to yell at the refs during a timeout when they have the opportunity to talk with their players. And finally, the best indicator of a great coach is watching their team in the final minutes of a close game. A great coach will have his team well versed on what to do if they are down by 2 or more, know what to do if they are up or down with fouls to give, know when to strategically call timeouts, know who and when to substitute players on offense and defense, know when and who to foul if needed (by leaving the worst free throw shooter open to catch the inbounds pass, then fouling them as soon as they touch the ball or even better doing this without any time running off the clock and without getting a technical foul). Calvin Sampson (like him or not as a person) was great at doing this and was one of the hardest coaches to win against in the final minutes of a game. He was a great coach and was selected to help coach multiple USA basketball teams, was selected as the "Coach of the Year" at least 2x in college, coached in the NBA, and is now the head coach at Houston (he will turn that program into a winner). His negatives had nothing to do with coaching, but everything to do with recruiting violations.
EXCEPTIONAL coaches are rare. These coaches are rare because they can do all of the GOOD and GREAT things mentioned above, but also invest time teaching boys how to become men. This is done by taking time to teach players lessons (even at the expense of winning) on being respectful, hardworking, and men of good character (morals & ethics). This is what made Coach Sutton special.
Ford has a long history of making poor decisions (or for NOT making important strategic decisions during a game) and this is incredibly apparent in the last few minutes of close games. This is one of MANY reasons why Ford must be fired at the end of this season. Personally, I would love to see Doug Gottlieb take the reins. He knows the strategy of the game (which comes from being an analyst and having to breakdown basketball games for a living). That alone would make him a better coach than Ford (at the very least). Doug also has an incredible basketball IQ and historical knowledge of the game (which was evident during interviews when he was a player at OSU). I think Doug would be a great ambassador for our basketball program and for the university because he is very personable, well-spoken, articulate, and very connected. He is also a very recognizable/famous public figure (which will only help him in recruiting - not to mention his many connections and how recruits prefer younger coaches because they can relate better). I believe Doug will be the best recruiter OSU has ever seen. If you add up all of these qualities, I think Doug would eventually become a GREAT basketball coach. However, probably the only way Doug would ever be given a chance is if Holder could get him to accept a very low salary (maybe between $250,000-$350,000 a year) over a 3 year contract with specific incentives to push his salary to $2-3 million based on NCAA tournament wins. This would be a small pay cut for Doug, but it could also be a huge pay raise if he is successful. In addition, it would allow OSU to justify his hire due to his lack of coaching experience and save OSU money to buyout Ford's remaining contract. Plus this type of move would be less risky for Holder (smaller salary & shorter contract) and it would allow Doug to prove his worth (as a first time head coach at a big-time division I program like OSU without any prior coaching experience). This would also help Holder reunite a fan base that has been severely fractured after the Sutton family left OSU. I think Doug would be the perfect hire to help bring back former OSU players. In my opinion, this type of scenario is the only way OSU fans will see a head coaching change next year. Plus Doug might be able to convince Brooks Thompson to be an assistant coach on his staff, which might help ease the fears of some fans & Holder.
A lot of people will talk about Doug’s lack of coaching, but what about Fred Hoiberg for Iowa State? Before he became the head coach for Iowa State, he had never been a head coach and now is the head coach with the Chicago Bulls. Maybe a better comparison for Doug Gottlieb is Steve Kerr. He was a color commentator for TNT from 2010 until he was made a head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014 where he led his team to an NBA championship in his rookie year. I say give Doug the job. Yes, it's a risk but not as risky as most people think and his upside is tremendous. His experience as an analyst and being under Sutton along with being a son of a former coach put him on the same level as other coaches with limited division 1 head coaching experience. In addition, I believe Doug's going to be one of the best recruiters OSU has ever seen because of his exposure as a national media member. Plus the excitement of his hiring alone will bring back fans into GIA. And finally, since it is a risk on OSU's part (and Doug knows this) they could structure a very incentive laden contract where he makes $250,000 a year unless he meets certain goals where he could make up to a few million. These are my thoughts, but what do you think? What should OSU do at the end of this season with Ford?
Last edited:
