None of the coaches on the short list are better than Woodrow

[NineOhTheRino]

What is happening here? Can anyone here honestly say that one of these guys could have done a better Job with the Hawks talent.

Better than Woody:

Casey

Jackson

Corbin

Larry Drew

This may end up being as dumb as replacing Dan Reeves with Jim Mora.

[Buzzard]

What is happening here? Can anyone here honestly say that one of these guys could have done a better Job with the Hawks talent.

Better than Woody:

Casey

Jackson

Corbin

Larry Drew

This may end up being as dumb as replacing Dan Reeves with Jim Mora.

Dan Reeves coached great players and missed in the Super Bowl. Comparing Reeves to Woody is like comparing Jerry Sloan, who has also coached great players but missed in the Finals, to Jim Mora. Way off base IMO

Edited May 26, 2010 by Buzzard

[APE]

Has Woody had an interview anywhere?

Edited May 26, 2010 by Bruin

[NineOhTheRino]

Dan Reeves managed great players and missed in the Super Bowl. Comparing Reeves to Woody is like comparing Jerry Sloan, who also has manged great players but missed in the Finals, to Jim Mora. Way off base IMO

Don't think about it by comparing Dan Reeves to Woody. Compare Dan Reeves to the guy he was fired for. My point is that If you're going to fire a guy then you damn well better have the resources to hire someone better.

You could also compare this to the Pistons replacing Flip with Michael Curry.

or to stay on my Joe Dumars theme...

replacing Michael Curry with John Kuester

Edited May 26, 2010 by NineOhTheRino

[Buzzard]

Don't think about it by comparing Dan Reeves to Woody. Compare Dan Reeves to the guy he was fired for. My point is that If you're going to fire a guy then you damn well better have the resources to hire someone better.

You could also compare this to the Pistons replacing Flip for Michael Curry.

That is what I am doing. Woody is comparable to no one who is a great coach. I do not see a obvious step down from Woody to anyone. The step down from Reeves and Flip is obvious. In no uncertain terms to stay pat with Woody is accepting defeat. Staying pat with Reeves or Flip is giving yourself at least a fighting chance.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Buzzard

[Wretch]

What is happening here? Can anyone here honestly say that one of these guys could have done a better Job with the Hawks talent.

Better than Woody:

Casey

Jackson

Corbin

Larry Drew

This may end up being as dumb as replacing Dan Reeves with Jim Mora.

I don't think any of them is a "known" talent, but given the choice between Woody and just about anybody...we'd all probably take anybody. I want someone with good HC experience (BADLY), but looking at that list...if I just HAD to pick someone, I'd pick Corbin just because he's been Sloan's understudy.

[Buzzard]

I don't think any of them is a "known" talent, but given the choice between Woody and just about anybody...we'd all probably take anybody. I want someone with good HC experience (BADLY), but looking at that list...if I just HAD to pick someone, I'd pick Corbin just because he's been Sloan's understudy.

I like Corbin, Casey, and Thibodeau (he is rumored to be off the market now). No such thing as a lock to be the next good or great coach; but all three have very successful resumes. Those that want Sam Mitchell; I disagree simply based on who he was fired by. Colangelo is no slack GM when it comes to evaluating players or coaching talent IMO and I trust his judgement on this one far more than mine.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Buzzard

[gutz]

Seriously though anyone is better than Woody right? Casey is a better coach than woody. Go read this blog on Yahoo.com by Kelley Dwyer....i think it will change your mind about Casey

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-Atlanta-Hawks-need-to-hire-Dwane-Casey;

Edited May 26, 2010 by gutz

[NineOhTheRino]

Seriously though anyone is better than Woody right? Casey is a better coach than woody. Go read this blog on Yahoo.com by Kelley Dwyer....i think it will change your mind about Casey

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-Atlanta-Hawks-need-to-hire-Dwane-Casey;

he lost me at: "Casey can make this work. Not championship-work, the ceiling is too low for this roster"

[Sothron]

What is happening here? Can anyone here honestly say that one of these guys could have done a better Job with the Hawks talent.

Better than Woody:

Casey

Jackson

Corbin

Larry Drew

This may end up being as dumb as replacing Dan Reeves with Jim Mora.

Mike Woodson is the worst head coach of any sport I have ever seen. He never called plays, he ran no offense and he never made an in game adjustment in all his years here. ANYONE would be a better coach than that sad joke.

[lethalweapon3]

Has Woody had an interview anywhere?

Nope.

Cleveland's fans don't want Mike Brown-lite.

Chicago won't look at more realistic candidates until they know they're out of the LeBron sweepstakes.

New Jersey's owner will want to show he can open up the pocketbook for a coach, but not necessarily to bring Woody back to the NYC/NJ area where he started his NBA career. Probably the only remote chance out of current openings right now.

The Clippers make all kinds of sense... until you think about the owner. Woody has a low asking price, but would he want to work for a man who only shells out when he's buying his way out of racial discrimination lawsuits? That's not even taking Elgin Baylor's "Southern Plantation" allegations into consideration. And has Sterling even decided whether he'll honor the previous coach's (Dunleavy Sr.'s) contract yet?

Indiana needs to release J.O.B. of his j.o.b., but won't because his paycheck is guaranteed next year.

And Thibodeau has New Orleans on lock. I'm guessing Woody replaces Thibo if Doc chooses to stay in Boston.

~lw3

[sturt]

What is happening here? Can anyone here honestly say that one of these guys could have done a better Job with the Hawks talent.

Better than Woody:

Casey

Jackson

Corbin

Larry Drew

This may end up being as dumb as replacing Dan Reeves with Jim Mora.

I think many of us feel that what you're asking is essentially an irrelevant question.

It's not what any of those guys WOULD HAVE done versus what Woody did. That's in the past. Obviously.

So, it's irrelevant. Can't control that.

The relevant question to ask is:

"Can anyone say honestly that one of these guys WILL DO a better job than what Woody would have done?"

The important difference lies not so much in how good the candidates can be... but rather, in how clear it seems to be that the job Woody would have done in 2010-11 would have taken us backwards in a big way.

Even if one of the candidates can step in and tread water, that's superior to the coach that Woody would have been next season.

[Vol4ever]

Maybe Woody did need to be replaced BUT don't you have a plan in place if you were going to do this? It appears to me they stayed with Woody too long and panick set in.

I have no faith in any name I've heard connected with the job, all have been pretty well failures. I hope Sund has something up his sleeve, but I don't have high hopes.

I hate to be negative with this...................but it is what it is!

[NineOhTheRino]

Maybe Woody did need to be replaced BUT don't you have a plan in place if you were going to do this? It appears to me they stayed with Woody too long and panick set in.

I have no faith in any name I've heard connected with the job, all have been pretty well failures. I hope Sund has something up his sleeve, but I don't have high hopes.

I hate to be negative with this...................but it is what it is!

Sund was OK with bringing Woody back. It's MGJ that made this call. And that's my whole beef with the situation. Was Woody anything special? No. But why go through the trouble if you're not committed to bringing in someone considerably better.

Edited May 26, 2010 by NineOhTheRino

[KB21]

Maybe Woody did need to be replaced BUT don't you have a plan in place if you were going to do this? It appears to me they stayed with Woody too long and panick set in.

I have no faith in any name I've heard connected with the job, all have been pretty well failures. I hope Sund has something up his sleeve, but I don't have high hopes.

I hate to be negative with this...................but it is what it is!

Well, IMO, if you have no faith in any of the names available, then you aren't going to be happy regardless. You wouldn't have been happy had they kept Mike Woodson, and you aren't happy with any of the names that are actually available. My question is, what did you expect? Did you actually think that Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Jerry Sloan, or Greg Popovich were going to leave their current jobs to take this one?

Greatness isn't guaranteed in any coach, and most of the great coaches became great because they had great players.

[AHF]

NineOhTheRino asks a good question.

Can any of the coaches on this list lose the worst series in NBA playoff history like Woodson? Can they really set the new record for the most futile and embarrassing playoff sweep?

I'll cross my fingers and hope we can get someone that good.

[sturt]

Sund was OK with bringing Woody back. It's MGJ that made this call. And that's my whole beef with the situation. Was Woody anything special? No. But why go through the trouble if you're not committed to bringing in someone considerably better.

Someone considerably better than.... Woody was?... or considerably better than Woody was going to be?

And, AHF's point is well-taken. In spite of all of his own talk at the beginning of the season about how much better his bench was and that it would prevent him from needing to give so many minutes to his starters (and Joe, in particular), the conventional wisdom (not having looked at the actual average minutes comparison) is that that was BS... Woody got us to 53 wins, yes... but the playoff performance was just about as pitiful and pathetic as you will ever see happen with any 53-win team in NBA history.

The record will show that I've always been okay with Woody. But it was, without question, time for a change.

[spotatl]

I've defended Woodson and I think that the team will win fewer games next season without him even if Joe comes back but it was time for a change. HIs defensive philosophy got absolutely exposed. he couldn't get his palyers to stop shooting long 2 point jumpers against a team that is OK with giving up long 2 point jumpers. The team needs a change.

I think a more accurate way of putting it is that none of the coaches n the short list are obvious upgrades on Woodson. (I'd also put Byron Scott and Avery Johnson in that) But at this point even if the new coach isn't an obvious upgrade- just getting a different voice in is necessary.

Edited May 26, 2010 by spotatl

[AHF]

I've defended Woodson and I think that the team will win fewer games next season without him even if Joe comes back but it was time for a change. HIs defensive philosophy got absolutely explosed. he couldn't get his palyers to stop shooting long 2 point jumpers against a team that is OK with giving up long 2 point jumpers. The team needs a change.

I think a more accurate way of putting it is that none of the coaches n the short list are obvious upgrades on Woodson. (I'd also put Byron Scott and Avery Johnson in that) But at this point even if the new coach isn't an obvious upgrade- just getting a different voice in is necessary.

Whether people agree or disagree on Woodson's pedigree relative to the other coaches on the list, I don't see how anyone can disagree with your conclusion.

[Wretch]

NineOhTheRino asks a good question.

Can any of the coaches on this list lose the worst series in NBA playoff history like Woodson? Can they really set the new record for the most futile and embarrassing playoff sweep?

I'll cross my fingers and hope we can get someone that good.