Most Stressful College Coaching Jobs.

Top 3 Are Accurate

I’d put UK 3rd behind ND 1st and Bama 2nd.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 9:52 AM EDT reply actions

I agree with you, Forty.

I think UK’s getting the top spot is more a function of recent history than anything else.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Glenn Logan on Apr 4, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

ND Football Is Unbelievable

I ride the commuter train with a bigtime ND booster. (He gave me his season tickets for UK vs ND game) He is more of a football fan than basketball.

He says Al Weis has already been told by ND Prez and AD that he MUST make BCS bowl in 2009 season or he will be fired. No ifs, ands, or buts.

THAT’S pressure.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Nd Football.

I think you mean Charlie Weis instead of Al, but you are right that ND football is the toughest college job.

ND football has a national following unlike any other school for many reasons (wide alumni base, Catholicism, own national broadcast contract on NBC, etc.). For that reason, when failing the ND coach can’t escape the criticism.

It isn’t even close.

by Thomas Hunt Morgan on Apr 4, 2009 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

OOPS Yes

Charlie Weis.

Al Weis was 2B for Mets and White Sox in 60’s and 70’s.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I hadn't quite thought of it that way,,,

…but it does seem pretty obvious.

Who’s faced more scrutiny in the last two years: Weis or BCG? Even though Weis still has his job, his name has been in the national spotlight (in a negative/hot-seat way) far more often.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions

It's pretty stressful...

…being a fan sometimes too! Welcome Coach Cal, let’s have some fun again.

by bigbluestu on Apr 4, 2009 10:09 AM EDT reply actions

Maybe we'll have ...

… the good kind of stress from now on, i.e. worrying about an Elite Eight game or SEC championship, rather than the stress of worrying about making the field of 64 in the NCAA tournament. :-)

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Glenn Logan on Apr 4, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Dont know if I'd put UK #1

For the simple fact that I don’t keep up with the other programs enough to know how stressful it is.

Some people thrive and succeed in the UK bball pressure cooker. Some people fold under the pressure, while others like Calipari and Pitino shine the brightest.

Calipari fits this team like a glove. We couldn’t have gotten a more perfect coach.

by uk1982 on Apr 4, 2009 10:26 AM EDT reply actions

Tru's comment about recent history seems accurate to me

That is, UK tops these lists now simply because of recent circumstances. But it makes little sense to claim that coaching UK is outright more stressful than coaching UNC. The pressure to win there is surely just about as intense as it is at UK.

Probably the same with Kansas. Think about Self’s situation if they had lost in the Elite Eight to Davidson last year, which they damn near did. He would still have the huge monkey on his back of never having made the Final Four. I’m sure he wouldn’t have been fired right away or anything like that, but don’t tell me the heat wouldn’t have started rising to a pretty intense level.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Jayhawk Compulsion

Having lived in KS for 30+ years and with a family of Jayhawks I can tell you the pressure to win at BB is huge. Roy Williams won at an exceptional level at KU, recruited well, was great at PR but I would say his support was about 50-50 at the time of his departure. His inability to win a NC despite having great talent was eroding his approval ratings. The presence of the Chiefs and Royals (though they are in Missouri) keep the pressure at KU from rising to level of UK.

by Wild Weasel on Apr 4, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions

KU Was The Best Team In 1997 And 98

But Kentucky was the more accomplished teams those 2 years.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions

But there's no other basketball team in town in Kansas

And in Lexington, there’s coverage of the Reds and the Bengals.

Admittedly, the Bungles aren’t really alleviating pressure from anyone…LOL. The Royals have sucked for a long time now, but I guess the Chiefs probably do take up a lot of oxygen in that area. Despite being horrible now, the Chiefs have always had a very passionate fanbase.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

meant to say

Calipari fits this PROGRAM like a glove.

by uk1982 on Apr 4, 2009 10:27 AM EDT reply actions

Always pressure to win

Any and every coach feels the pressure to win at any level in any sport. Of course the expectations are different depending on the job and because of that UK would have to rank close to the top. But the national media makes it seem like UK is the last place a basketball coach would want to go to. It’s interesting that the media didn’t pick up on the comments made by Coach Cal at his introduction about how all the ex-coaches he spoke to before taking the job told him what a special place UK is and how none of them,including Eddie Sutton,regret coaching at KY.

by maysvilleblue on Apr 4, 2009 11:01 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah

Apparently Tubby didn’t say “don’t go there, those jerks ran me off.” Not that certain national media figures will pay any attention.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

He Never Has Said That (Or Anything Like It)

Any national media perception that may be negative doesn’t come from Tubby himself.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly

Sorry if I wasn’t more clear…Tubby has never had anything bad to say in public about his time at UK, and on the contrary has said many good things. But that still hasn’t stopped a lot of media buffoonery claiming the opposite about the circumstances of his departure.

So I was just adding to mayesvilleblue’s comment about the national media not picking up on Cal’s account of his conversations with the ex-UK coaches. The people who have long since decided that Tubby was “run out of town,” contrary to anything anyone close to the situation (including Tubby himself) has ever actually said or even implied, aren’t likely to have an epiphany from Calipari’s comments about what all the ex-UK coaches told him.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions

The Anti-UK Media Perception

Has been around for 60+ years. The latest reasons for it are just that – today’s version of the story.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

I think it's more a coach thing than a school thing

It seems to me that UK has gotten a lot more sympathetic media coverage in the current coaching turnover than they did two years ago, and I think it’s because Tubby was far more respected and admired in the media than BCG. And hiring a media hero like Calipari has certainly resulted in better coverage than an alternate scenario where they hired, say, Travis Ford.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't Pretermit AG's Remark

In evaluating the media response to Smith’s departure vis a vis Gillispie’s one cannot ignore Eric Holder’s quite relevant remark:

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards,”

Obviously white replacing white will not have the same resonance in the media as white replacing black, we just have to have the courage to admit it.

by Wild Weasel on Apr 4, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I Wish Some Would Just Drop Their Fixation On White Or Black

Period.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Strongly agree

It’ is getting old. If there was any signicant anti-black sentiment Tubby wouldn’t have had a nice long run. Longer than most previous coaches at UK. That alone should stop the comments – alas, but it won’t.

by hoboat33 on Apr 4, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Thank you Forty...

I remember my dad saying that all the time even before I was old enough to understand it.

Whenever I say this to my husband about “UK hating media,” he just rolls his eyes at me. But it’s the truth!

by uk1982 on Apr 4, 2009 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Isn't it harder to turn things around in college football than in college basketball?

I say that only because there are so many more players on a football team. If you bring in two or three top bball recruits, you can start turning a team around very quickly, but you’ve got to have a lot more guys than that in football. And if your football team has been bad for a while, convincing lots of top recruits to come in right away has to be fairly difficult.

So my point is that it seems like most high-pressure college football jobs are tougher for that reason alone than basketball jobs. Alabama has been through several more football coaches in the last 10 years than UK has in basketball.

by WildcatFanInDC on Apr 4, 2009 11:45 AM EDT reply actions

Something In Common

It’s noteworthy that the top 3 have a commonality: neither have to share their state’s attention with a major professional franchise in their particular sport of dominance; more so in the case of KY and AL than ND since the Irish, due to their religious affiliation is virtually a national (perhaps international) team.

by Wild Weasel on Apr 4, 2009 12:46 PM EDT reply actions

This In Common, Too

Bear Bryant. Adolph Rupp. Knute Rockne.

Each has a legendary coach in their history.

The next coach (at any of the 3) may never be better than any of those 3.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Rockne

For those unfamiliar with his ND record, his Irish teams went undefeated 5 times and won 6 national championships in 13 seasons. He won 88% of his games at ND.

by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 4, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I would probably put Michigan football over LSU IMO...

but it is more or less a push

by Clay Mason on Apr 4, 2009 1:10 PM EDT reply actions

Complete list

Toughest jobs in college sports
1. KENTUCKY BASKETBALL
2. ALABAMA FOOTBALL
3. NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
4. LSU FOOTBALL
5. OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL
6. NORTH CAROLINA BASKETBALL
7. OHIO STATE FOOTBALL
8. MICHIGAN FOOTBALL
9. NEBRASKA FOOTBALL
10. TEXAS FOOTBALL

Also good quote from ex-UK media relations director Scott Stricklin: