St Joseph's fires Phil Martelli

[Col. Bleep]

Sometimes you have to know when to leave ... ahead of the posse.
He is well liked in the industry and has been reasonably successful for a long time. Expect him to find another job at a mid major.

Like Wake Forest?

 

[kcsu]

What about Gmac.

 

[Sherman20]

Wow. Aren’t him and JB longtime coaching friends?

 

[Sherman20]

He's been living off the shine from the 2004 "Perfect Season" for a while now. St. Joe's has been mediocre to poor for the past 15 years. Since 2004, St. Joe's has only made the NCAAs 3 times with only 1 win. You add that to Nova(their most hated rival) becoming a national power and the fans have become restless. It's about time they moved on imo.

At a mid major like St Joe’s, you SHOULD be able to live off that for a long time.

 

[bpo57]

Wish the media wasn't so biased. How can you be shocked that despite a weaker A10, they have had only four 20 W seasons in the last 14 years? They have finished in the Top 3 of the A10 once (T-3rd) in the last 14 seasons. Six of the last 10 seasons they have failed to have a winning record and he has a 183-176 record over the last 11 seasons. That is a long time, stop acting like it was one bad year media.

That's one way to look at it. In the five seasons leading up through the 2015/2016 season SJU averaged over 20 wins a season and won two conference tournaments. Over the next three seasons the record was poor but his team was hurt badly by injuries as I referenced above.

I'm quite familiar with the program as my son goes to school there and I can tell you it would be difficult for any mid-major to thrive when losing as many key players as they lost over the last three seasons. Should they have had more depth to help deal with the injury situation? Sure but this is St Joe's and not some basketball powerhouse. Therein lies the problem imo, the expectations are a bit unrealistic. SJU is rarely ever going to get upper echelon talent. And that's not going to change just because they bring in a new coach.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

My son loved the SJU campus. Very cool school. Great soccer pitch. The goalie coach really liked my son, but their goalie money was tied up in a kid from Houston Dynamo, and you are never gonna play ahead of the money. We got to see them play. The Dynamo kid, on that day, was not very good.

 

[bpo57]

My son loved the SJU campus. Very cool school. Great soccer pitch. The goalie coach really liked my son, but their goalie money was tied up in a kid from Houston Dynamo, and you are never gonna play ahead of the money. We got to see them play. The Dynamo kid, on that day, was not very good.

Yes it is a very nice campus. Bit of a crime problem on the edges of the campus but that is often the case at many colleges. Where did your son decide to go to school?

 

[DeGrozz]

If I recall, he made big bucks on Wall Street before coming back to coach his Alma Mater. I might be confusing that, as I am getting older.

Wiki says that he finished playing in 1976 and has been coaching since 1977. But then again, it's Wiki...

 

[Alsacs]

Martelli blocked a kid’s transfer request a couple of years ago.
He had a good run over a decade ago.
The love he is getting from the national media is out of control. I can understand St.Joe’s/Philly people giving him love but questioning his dismissal? He has been mediocre for over a decade.
I understand his team may have had injuries but that is a one or two year excuse.
He took care of the national media and now they returning the favor.
41-55 the last 3 years is not even mediocre.
Philadelphia HOFer no doubt but St. Joseph’s had every right to make this move without the national backlash its getting.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

That's one way to look at it. In the five seasons leading up through the 2015/2016 season SJU averaged over 20 wins a season and won two conference tournaments. Over the next three seasons the record was poor but his team was hurt badly by injuries as I referenced above.

I'm quite familiar with the program as my son goes to school there and I can tell you it would be difficult for any mid-major to thrive when losing as many key players as they lost over the last three seasons. Should they have had more depth to help deal with the injury situation? Sure but this is St Joe's and not some basketball powerhouse. Therein lies the problem imo, the expectations are a bit unrealistic. SJU is rarely ever going to get upper echelon talent. And that's not going to change just because they bring in a new coach.

Is it unrealistic to finish Top 4 in the A10 and make the NCAA/NIT more seasons than not? In the last 11 seasons he failed to make the NCAA/NIT SEVEN times. He only made the NCAAs twice. He only finished Top 4 in the A10 three times over that span (two 4ths abs one tie for 3rd. Expanding out to 14 years he only has 3 NCAAs and failed to make the NCAA/NIT 8 times. That’s over 50% of the time, while just over 20% of the time he made the NCAAs. His Top 4 finishes over 14 years was three. So again just over 20% of the time he finished Top 4 of the A10. Is 14 years not long enough?

 

[Alsacs]

Is it unrealistic to finish Top 4 in the A10 and make the NCAA/NIT more seasons than not? In the last 11 seasons he failed to make the NCAA/NIT SEVEN times. He only made the NCAAs twice. He only finished Top 4 in the A10 three times over that span (two 4ths abs one tie for 3rd. Expanding out to 14 years he only has 3 NCAAs and failed to make the NCAA/NIT 8 times. That’s over 50% of the time, while just over 20% of the time he made the NCAAs. His Top 4 finishes over 14 years was three. So again just over 20% of the time he finished Top 4 of the A10. Is 14 years not long enough?

Davidson has come in from the SoCon with a better coach and passed St. Joe’s by.
Temple has left the conference.
The A-10 isn’t that hard.
Rhode Island, VCU, St. Louis, UMass, are solid but St. Joseph’s should be competitive more in that conference.

Martelli is a straight shooter and is good to the media. They are returning the favor. I understand St. Joe’s people being upset because he is one of them and loyal but this dismissal is completely justified.

 

[bpo57]

Martelli blocked a kid’s transfer request a couple of years ago.
He had a good run over a decade ago.
The love he is getting from the national media is out of control. I can understand St.Joe’s/Philly people giving him love but questioning his dismissal? He has been mediocre for over a decade.
I understand his team may have had injuries but that is a one or two year excuse.
He took care of the national media and now they returning the favor.
41-55 the last 3 years is not even mediocre.
Philadelphia HOFer no doubt but St. Joseph’s had every right to make this move without the national backlash its getting.

He took care of the national media? Really? I'm not sure the national media paid much attention to him. Until now.

It's a new AD and she wanted her own coach in there. Media and others in Philly give him love cuz they know he can coach and because he was dealt a brutal hand over the last three years in terms of injuries. You never heard anybody suggest he needed to go prior to this three year stretch.

 

[Alsacs]

He took care of the national media? Really? I'm not sure the national media paid much attention to him. Until now.

It's a new AD and she wanted her own coach in there. Media and others in Philly give him love cuz they know he can coach and because he was dealt a brutal hand over the last three years in terms of injuries. You never heard anybody suggest he needed to go prior to this three year stretch.

SVP gave Martelli a commentary on SportsCenter show basically lambesting St. Joe’s and defending Martelli.
Go read Andy Katz and Jeff Goodman on Twitter you would think Martelli is Jay Wright.
You and St. Joe’s/Philly people I get the love. He deserves it from Philadelphia the national people need to relax though.
The national media is taking care of a guy they like.
Jeff Goodman said they should make Martelli the commissioner of College Basketball.

 

[bpo57]

Is it unrealistic to finish Top 4 in the A10 and make the NCAA/NIT more seasons than not? In the last 11 seasons he failed to make the NCAA/NIT SEVEN times. He only made the NCAAs twice. He only finished Top 4 in the A10 three times over that span (two 4ths abs one tie for 3rd. Expanding out to 14 years he only has 3 NCAAs and failed to make the NCAA/NIT 8 times. That’s over 50% of the time, while just over 20% of the time he made the NCAAs. His Top 4 finishes over 14 years was three. So again just over 20% of the time he finished Top 4 of the A10. Is 14 years not long enough?

The A-10 is not a league of powerhouse teams but there are several teams that are highly competitive with each other and have better resources than SJU. VCU, RI, Dayton, StL and SBU have all had occasional periods of success. Similar to SJU.

SJU has been middle of the pack in the A-10 for a long time. It is a matter of expectations, no doubt. Not sure how familiar you are with SJU but they will not be a go-to destination for high level recruits any time soon. They play in a small gym and have very modest facilities. They are wayyy down the pecking order in terms of Philly sports. There's a good chance SJU will look back in ten years and long for the occasional top four finish and A-10 tournament title.

 

[bpo57]

SVP gave Martelli a commentary on SportsCenter show basically lambesting St. Joe’s and defending Martelli.
Go read Andy Katz and Jeff Goodman on Twitter you would think Martelli is Jay Wright.
You and St. Joe’s/Philly people I get the love. He deserves it from Philadelphia the national people need to relax though.
The national media is taking care of a guy they like.
Jeff Goodman said they should make Martelli the commissioner of College Basketball.

I haven't paid much attention to the national media's take but I think most reasonable people feel this could have ended in a better way. Lot of pressure on the new AD. She better make a good move or the ax could be swinging in her direction a few years from now.

 

[realorange]

Martelli leaving St. Joe is almost like shutting down the Palestra.

I'd be willing to bet he was offered the chance to retire and told them NO.

 

[Cheriehoop]

They left a tough situation for his successor unless they were confident they already had someone to take over. Martelli headed up the entire Philadelphia joint area college’s coaches vs cancer events for ages, that was held just the night before they let him go. I guess he had said he wanted to coach 5 more years last year so they ended it 4 years early. He wasn’t just beloved by the media, he was well liked by fellow coaches which could also affect the replacement search unless, like I said, they already had someone specific they had already targeted.

 

[Townie72]

The SJU AD, under pressure to improve BB results, some board members and some frustrated fans have bought into the idea —- the myth—- that there are coaches out there who can come in and do much better in short order. (we read that sentiment on this board after just about every SU loss)

Any coach even considering interviewing for the St Joes job has got to think, "If they fired Phil Martelli with his reservoir of accomplishments and good will, how long a leash will I be given?"

The obvious answer is results need to happen quickly or else. Who wants to sign up for that?

 

[Alsacs]

The SJU AD, under pressure to improve BB results, some board members and some frustrated fans have bought into the idea —- the myth—- that there are coaches out there who can come in and do much better in short order. (we read that sentiment on this board after just about every SU loss)

Any coach even considering interviewing for the St Joes job has got to think, "If they fired Phil Martelli with his reservoir of accomplishments and good will, how long a leash will I be given?"

The obvious answer is results need to happen quickly or else. Who wants to sign up for that?

This is legitimately funny.
Martelli is 64 years old.
He has gone 41-55 the last 3 years.
He has gone 80-81 the last 5 years.

My god Martelli wasn’t fired after one or two bad years.
St. Joe’s isn’t an elite job but they can do better than .500 for 5 years.

He did a great job overall but the fact the school wants to get younger is not unfair.
Sports are a business. Fans pay the bills. They have a voice. St. Joseph’s decided to make a change.

 

[dlegend44]

Martelli is headstrong and one of the "tell like it is" personality types. Not necessarily a bad thing, especially since he is usually right. He clashed with the new AD and she wanted to bring in her own person to run the "important strategic asset"...also know as the basketball program. Sounds like very different philosophies and probably very little love lost between those two.

 

[Townie72]

This is legitimately funny.
Martelli is 64 years old.
He has gone 41-55 the last 3 years.
He has gone 80-81 the last 5 years.

My god Martelli wasn’t fired after one or two bad years.
St. Joe’s isn’t an elite job but they can do better than .500 for 5 years.

He did a great job overall but the fact the school wants to get younger is not unfair.
Sports are a business. Fans pay the bills. They have a voice. St. Joseph’s decided to make a change.

We'll see what happens.

But "listening to the fans" is a fundamentally, collosally dumb idea.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

The obvious answer is results need to happen quickly or else. Who wants to sign up for that?

That is the definition of being a head coach. At what school is that not the case?

 

[kingtidge]

Wish the media wasn't so biased. How can you be shocked that despite a weaker A10, they have had only four 20 W seasons in the last 14 years? They have finished in the Top 3 of the A10 once (T-3rd) in the last 14 seasons. Six of the last 10 seasons they have failed to have a winning record and he has a 183-176 record over the last 11 seasons. That is a long time, stop acting like it was one bad year media.

This.

Just because he's a good guy doesn't change the facts.

He was given the reigns there for a long time and the results aren't all that great and have nosedived in the last 3 seasons.

It's a results-driven business and he's surely pulling down a decent wedge.

Surprised the exit was not more graceful given how long he was there, but I would guess maybe he was a tad contentious about being let go.

It happens.

 

[JaySU22]

Martelli leaving St. Joe is almost like shutting down the Palestra.

I'd be willing to bet he was offered the chance to retire and told them NO.

There’s some speculation that he rejected the idea of a retirement tour year in 19-20, similar to what Fran Dunphy had this year

 

[Townie72]

That is the definition of being a head coach. At what school is that not the case?

Most new coaches are given years to show results depending on how bad the situation is when they arrive.

Coaches with good track record are given years of a "slump" before they are replaced.

In every league there's a bottom half. In the NCAA there scads of below average teams. If they fired every coach at the bottom of the conference or in the last quartile of the NCAA, there would be a whole bunch of vacancies every year.

The fundamental conceit on the part of ADs, Administration and the great unwashed gaggle of fans is that somehow are going to be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat and do much better.