Some Men's College Basketball Coaches are Nervous

There are several athletic directors preparing to fire coaches. It’s that time of year.

Some coaches have already received their pink slips. But with conference tournaments in full swing this week, the firings will increase. Here’s the drill: team quickly loses in the tournament, athletic director reviews the season and the coach is gone.

Sometimes the coaches’ life at the school is short (2-3 years). Sometimes its medium (5-6) and sometimes long (10 or more). But the standard is whether the coach and team qualify for the NCAA tournament. Then it helps if the coach wins a game or two in the tournament. The key is to keep pleasing the fans and consequently the athletic director. Of course, the expectations are fluid. That’s what makes it interesting for the fans and torture for the coach.

It’s my view that coaches know basically when their time is up. Unless the school is in financial trouble, pleading from the coach doesn’t really help. And in most cases, schools actually do the coach a favor in firing him.

Someone asked me what happens to fired coaches. Generally, they received parting cash (from their contact), take a head job at a smaller school, land an assistant’s job at a major school or go announce for ESPN. They may also sit out a year and lick their wounds and count their cash.

Coaching is a rewarding but tough business. Unfortunately, now is not a good moment for some coaches to answer their telephone or the knock on their door.