Does a national title make you coach for life?
Posted: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 4:12 PM
Filed Under:
Coaches, ACC
Maryland coach Gary Williams has had better weeks.
His Terps are 13-7 and have lost five of their last seven games, including a 41-point thrashing by Duke over the weekend. Worse yet, he’s at odds with a Maryland senior associate athletic director, which is adding fuel to the growing discord among some Terrapin fans who want Williams out.
Some background:
Williams, a Maryland grad, is 410-222 in 20 seasons at the school. He guided the Terps to their only national title in 2002 (along with their only other Final Four the year before). Only 14 D-I coaches have longer tenures than Williams. Only seven have more 20-win seasons. It’s a résumé any coach would be proud to have.
But Williams’ teams have had issues in recent seasons. Maryland has missed the NCAA tournament three of the last four years, usually a result of their ACC record, which was .500 or worse each of those seasons.
Perhaps the main factor has been recruiting, or lack thereof. Also, three of Williams’ top assistants have left for head coaching jobs since 2004.
Late-season struggles haven’t helped, either. The Terps lost six of their last eight games in 2007-08, eight of their last 13 in 2005-06 and five of their last six in 2004-05. That’s not going to punch a ticket to the Big Dance.
After the Duke loss and a 76-67 defeat to Boston College on Tuesday, doom and gloom is being predicted again this year.
The question now is what will be done with Williams? Some – Tony Kornheiser’s one of ‘em – think Williams should be at Maryland as long as he wants. Others are restless for more postseason success and tired of seeing North Carolina and Duke atop the ACC.
He’s been there long enough to earn a fair shake, but in today’s “What have you done for me lately” sports world, how long does that last?” How much time does a national title give a coach?
