With no disrespect to Jim, why are coaches exempt and given a sort of lifetime contract?

[dasher]

yes, I totally understand that. I understand why he doesn’t want to leave. But he isn’t the owner, the University is. And they could make the decision for him. It shouldn’t be his decision. That’s my ultimate point. Is why does the university not step in and force him out after several down years. They are hurting their product. This is a what have you done for me lately business. 7 straight years is a trend, and IMO an acceptable time period.

In the last 7 years, we have been to a final four and two or three sweet 16's. It hasn't been a disaster.

 

[hoopsupstate]

In the last 7 years, we have been to a final four and two or three sweet 16's. It hasn't been a disaster.

I think after JB leaves, we might beg to have similar type years. We’ll know in the next month or so how we will look moving forward with any 2022 commitments.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

So hear me out.

In any other job or profession in the world, you get old enough and either retire, are forced to retire, or are kindly told to retire rather than being fired. At some point, you can no longer perform the daily tasks that your job requires of you. But for some reason, it seems like head coaches always get a pass and legends are able to go out on their own terms even though they have a lack of success at the end of their tenure (bobby bowden, frank beamer, etc)

What Jim has done for the University and the City as a whole is incredible and should be applauded and celebrated. He has won a championship, brought the city and university a ton of success and notoriety that it would not get otherwise, and is a Hall of Fame coach. What he has achieved in his career is unbeleivable and almost unfathomable. I have enjoyed what he has done in my short 32 years, and absolutely adore him. I will be thankful and always remember what he did for the city, the team, and the fun and enjoyment he gave me as a fan. He will always be remembered as a legend in the Syracuse community.

BUT...

If this was any other profession, he would be fired or forced into retirement due to his lack of success. There still needs to be a level of accountability, Jim should not be above this review. He is essentialy being held on to due to his past success and accomplishments, and I am not sure why this is the norm? Past success does not guarentee future success. It would be one thing if this was a year or two situation, but that is not the case. As I believe Alasc's posted the other day Jimmy is closing in on 7 straight 13 loss seasons, and as I mentioned later in the article that he had only 4 such seasons from 1969-2014 when this streak started.

I ask why has nothing changed? Do I think it is time for the university to step in and move on? Yes, I do. But besides my believe, why has nothing changed in this seven year run? No change in recruiting philosophy, no change in assistants, no pressure from the athletic department or university? I guess I just do not understand why past history makes someone invincible. If this was football for example, coordinators would be changed, head coaches would be changed, facilities would be altered, etc.

Maybe the bottom line is I am not a nostalgic person. But I am also not a fly by the seat of your pants type of guy either. I feel like Jim has had plenty of time to right the ship, but it just has not happened. I didn't start to believe he should be forced out until the end of last year up until this past week. But as many others here have stated I have started to become ambivalent on game days. I used to get overjoyed, and that feeling is just missing now because I continue to see the same stuff occur over and over again, which leads to many loses.

I guess the whole point of this post was to wonder aloud and see what you guys think, why are legends given too much leeway after several continuos poor years of success? What have people seen over the last 7 years that tell you we are trending in the right direction? (and yes, Im very aware we went to the final four in 2016, but we still barely made the tournament. I believe Regular season wins and losses is more indicative of how good a team is. A lot of teams have made runs in the tournament, getting hot at the right time, playing well together. But as history shows, you are more likely to have sucess in the tournament if you have a good regular season record, higher probability of winning).

You start out with a valid question but, to me at least, you transition to JB being fired for “poor performance”. To me, that’s nonsense.

In the past ten years, we have gone to five Sweet 16’s, four Elite 8’s, and two Final Fours.

Some fans were disappointed with this year’s Sweet 16, despite it coming in a year where several players had Covid, we had two stretches during the season when we couldn’t practice due to quarantine, and had several injuries.

With all of that we still made the Sweet 16. Do you know how many other ACC teams made the Sweet 16?

One

Only one B10 team made the Sweet 16.

Maybe the ceiling isn’t what it once was and maybe the concept of a “lifetime contract” is a valid discussion point, but “poor performance” doesn’t apply to JB. At Widhack’s level it is all numbers on a spreadsheet and JB brings in those numbers.

 

[kcsu]

In 1 maybe 2 years JB generates more revenue for SU than he and his entire assistant coaches have been paid since he became Head Coach. Pretty good ROI

 

[dasher]

In 1 maybe 2 years JB generates more revenue for SU than he and his entire assistant coaches have been paid since he became Head Coach. Pretty good ROI

Not to mention that the Op wants a standard set that we do not apply to the President of the United States or Supreme court Justices whose jobs are almost as important as basketball coach at a rather small upstate NY school.

 

[the villager]

Like it or not JB is here until HE decides to leave. He will be at games until he can’t and will always live in Syracuse.

 

[elimunelson]

I love the "let's run the guy out of town that just went to a sweet 16" narrative. This is a Tom Brady unique/unchartered waters situation that no one can simulate.

Let the matrix do what the matrix will do. JAB deserves the runway. Syracuse University is still getting better results from JAB in March than most other schools. It's a bit of a rollercoaster but i'm glad we're still on it than the debacle that was SU Football.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Kingdom of hate? No, not quite. Do I want a new coach sooner than later? You bet. Do I recognize JB‘s contributions to the program? You bet.

And wrt ‘team has got their legs under them now’, I’ll believe it when I see it.

I'll take that bet. This is the house that JB built. You don't sound like you recognize that.

 

[SoBristol]

It’s scary people believe this BS.

If you don’t believe it, try setting out some facts. Because I gave you the accurate sequence.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

yes, I totally understand that. I understand why he doesn’t want to leave. But he isn’t the owner, the University is. And they could make the decision for him. It shouldn’t be his decision. That’s my ultimate point. Is why does the university not step in and force him out after several down years. They are hurting their product. This is a what have you done for me lately business. 7 straight years is a trend, and IMO an acceptable time period.

Wildhack showed, with Desko, he’s willing to move iconic coaches out