Ranking of ACC Coaching Jobs

[75Crazie]

I think I have to disagree with the article linked to from the home page that ranks the ACC coaching jobs (assuming all jobs were available and you had your pick). It is next to impossible to replace a legend, and I expect Duke will suffer for a while, maybe a good long time, once Coach K leaves. I think ranking a small, private school with a history of academic importance in its athletic endeavors as second in the conference in terms of desirable jobs is a long stretch. Coach K brought a huge set of diverse skills, not only technical basketball coaching skills but inter-personal skills as well, to the job that made him eminently suited for this particular position; any new coach will be very hard-pressed to match that combination. Where Duke as a school merits the most praise I believe is in its support of him in the early years ... but today is a different time and I am not at all sure that the administration or the supporter base will be anywhere near as accepting of the struggles of a new coach. But I am not tapped in at all to to Duke zeitgeist any more, so it is quite possible that my skepticism is misplaced. However, I would have ranked Duke lower in that list just because I believe it takes a much higher level of skills other than coaching skills to succeed there than it does at most schools. Am I all wet?

[Olympic Fan]

I don't have the problem with UNC No. 1 and Duke No. 2 -- just consider where Duke would have ranked in 1980, when K took over the job ... a job where Duke had terrible facilities, a small fan base and the toughest academic standards in the ACC. His legacy is to turn Duke into one of college basketball's Blue Bloods (as UNC already was). The next coach will have to follow a legend, which will be tough ... but he will have almost every other advantage -- great facilities, a huge fan base, unmatched name recognition.

The school that jumped out at me from the list was NC State at No. 4. Anybody else remember 14 months ago when the Pack was searching for a replacement for Sidney Lowe and about all that anybody on ESPN (both print and on-air) could talk about is what a lousy job it was and how no big-time coach would want to work in the shadow of Duke and UNC. Guess they were wrong, huh?

[MCFinARL]

I think I have to disagree with the article linked to from the home page that ranks the ACC coaching jobs (assuming all jobs were available and you had your pick). It is next to impossible to replace a legend, and I expect Duke will suffer for a while, maybe a good long time, once Coach K leaves. I think ranking a small, private school with a history of academic importance in its athletic endeavors as second in the conference in terms of desirable jobs is a long stretch. Coach K brought a huge set of diverse skills, not only technical basketball coaching skills but inter-personal skills as well, to the job that made him eminently suited for this particular position; any new coach will be very hard-pressed to match that combination. Where Duke as a school merits the most praise I believe is in its support of him in the early years ... but today is a different time and I am not at all sure that the administration or the supporter base will be anywhere near as accepting of the struggles of a new coach. But I am not tapped in at all to to Duke zeitgeist any more, so it is quite possible that my skepticism is misplaced. However, I would have ranked Duke lower in that list just because I believe it takes a much higher level of skills other than coaching skills to succeed there than it does at most schools. Am I all wet?

I think this might be a question of how you define the best jobs. In the abstract, at least, I think the Duke job has to be high on the list--the fan base is strong, the facilities are good, the games get a lot of TV coverage, the program has built up an elite reputation that attracts high-level recruits (and at least some of that would survive the departure of Coach K). I also think the Duke basketball brand (I cringe typing the word "brand," but that is today's reality) is strong enough and valuable enough to the university that the administration would be likely to provide a fair amount of support to a new coach, at least at first. All these would be very attractive characteristics of the job despite the challenges of dealing with Duke's size and academic expectations.

On the other hand, you are quite right that being the first coach to follow Coach K will present its own very difficult challenges. So if you are considering the position from the point of view of being the next coach of Duke, rather than just being the coach of Duke, it might not be the greatest job. It will require someone both highly skilled and extremely self-confident, but also willing to adapt as needed to the local environment.

[hurleyfor3]

I'd say the best jobs are those where the school has a ton of resources and alumni support, in an agreeable area to live in and recruit to, but without a ceaseless pressure to constantly perform. Nationally, Florida and Texas come to mind. Most of the Pac 10 really, outside of Ucla and Arizona. In the ACC, I'd say GIT and FSU and possibly Miami hit all three criteria in a way Duke and unc don't.

K's assistants generally score high here. Stanford, ND (basketball) and Harvard are quite good posts, I'd say.