Make Sure You Fit As A Coach

Lots of jokes have been made about Larry Brown’s wandering eye.

Yahoo’s Pat Forde called Bobby Petrino “The Disingenuous Drifter” at one point for interviewing for job after job after job.

I even wrote a piece commenting on Mike Anderson leaving Missouri for Arkansas and mentioned the numerous flirtations he had racked up during his tenure in Columbia.

And each time the coaching carousel spins in college sports, the conversation about what is a good job/great job/best job in college football or basketball comes up.

I would not wish the itinerant wandering by most of the coaches upon anyone. Looking at the work histories of some longtime assistant coaches is enough to make you feel for them and their families, and the lack of roots somewhere is horrifying in many respects. It’s a hard life, no matter how much they may be compensated for the experience.

As far as trying to answer the question about the best job in college sports, though, I think it’s quite a complicated matter.

Obviously, some programs are more capable than others of offering significant financial remuneration than others are. That imbalance has always existed to some extent and the gap due to television revenues continues to grow.

Other factors, though, have to come into play when considering the leap. Roster composition, path to conference or national championships, talent potentially coming in matter.

But I also think that off the field aspects, like general quality of life in the locale, passion or apathy of the fan base/boosters and meddlesomeness of the administration play a role in whether or not you make the leap from your current situation into the unknown.

It’s easy to get blinded by the big numbers of a contract. And in football, I think that the lack of access to a championship from outside the Power Five leads more coaches to move up in that sport.

In college basketball, especially today, you can get to the Final Four and compete for a national title from a lower tier school. The nature of one game and done tournament play, and the fact that at a Wichita State or a Virginia Commonwealth you are more likely to keep your key players for three or four years, means that the chances of getting onto the big stage and playing in postseason games that matter at that kind of school.

There is no cut-and-dry answer. Just because the job is at a school with access to financial resources like Texas or Alabama, that doesn’t mean that it is the right job for you. Finding your “fit” should be more important than simply chasing the cash.