Post-K Transition

[gam7]

In the months that I've been reading these boards, I have not seen any discussion on this topic - apologies if this is rehashing a long-ago-resolved issue.

Who do you think will take over after Coach K retires (hopefully not for a while)? Does it have to be someone with Duke ties?

How will Duke handle the transition to avoid falling into something like the Doh-ridge era? Is it even possible for there to be a smooth transition from Coach K to someone else?

About 10 years ago, I thought the best possible successors would be Quin Snyder or Tommy Amaker. More recently, people seem to have assumed that Johnny D is the heir apparent. In the family, I suppose anyone on the staff has to be a candidate. I think Jeff Capel would be the most intriguing hire if it has to be someone with Duke ties.

I used to feel strongly that we should keep a successor in the family, but now I think that would be foolish (and may have been one thing that Carolina got wrong). I mean, would anyone be disappointed if we were able to convince a Brad Stevens or someone of that ilk (without Duke ties) to take over?

And how the transition happens is just as important as who we transition to.

Thoughts?

[_TheFakeJWill_]

ive wondered this as well. i wouldnt mind
Johnny D
Jeff Capel
Bill Self
Jay Wright

Just my 2 cents though but i do hope it stays in the family though. and Coach K also said he will stay at Duke even after he retires though...

[gep]

ive wondered this as well. i wouldnt mind
Johnny D
Jeff Capel
Bill Self
Jay Wright

Just my 2 cents though but i do hope it stays in the family though. and Coach K also said he will stay at Duke even after he retires though...

I would put Brad Stevens in that list... just a gut feel watching this year's NCAAT. I don't know about Bill Self... I never felt real good about him (gut feel, again). Also, referring to the post above, I wonder if Coach K being "involved" with Duke after he retires will actually make it easier or harder for a former Duke player/coach to take over... easier--Coach K easily available for consultation... harder-Coach K always there "looking over his shoulder"... maybe even intimidating?

[gam7]

I wonder if Coach K being "involved" with Duke after he retires will actually make it easier or harder for a former Duke player/coach to take over... easier--Coach K easily available for consultation... harder-Coach K always there "looking over his shoulder"... maybe even intimidating?

I would think that Coach K's involvement after retirement would be on balance a negative for well-established non-Duke candidates who don't have a pre-existing personal relationship with him. I just have trouble seeing Jay Wright or Bill Self or Brad Stevens agreeing to step in if K heavily involved.

I think Coach K's heavy involvement could only work with someone in the family - and even then it would be really delicate balance. I suspect Coach K won't even know until he's retired how comfortable he will feel letting someone else have the final say on everything.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I would think that Coach K's involvement after retirement would be on balance a negative for well-established non-Duke candidates who don't have a pre-existing personal relationship with him. I just have trouble seeing Jay Wright or Bill Self or Brad Stevens agreeing to step in if K heavily involved.

I think Coach K's heavy involvement could only work with someone in the family - and even then it would be really delicate balance. I suspect Coach K won't even know until he's retired how comfortable he will feel letting someone else have the final say on everything.

If I remember correctly, Coach K said that when he plans to retire, he is GOING to retire. No involvement with Duke athletics one way or another. He also said that he doesn't think he'll get involved with selecting the next coach (I find that hard to believe). But I do think he'll step away and enjoy retirement.

Another interesting question - where will Coach retire? Durham? Chicago? Indiana? Sunny, ole Florida? Dean is still based in Chapel Hill, right?

[uh_no]

Another interesting question - where will Coach retire? Durham? Chicago? Indiana? Sunny, ole Florida? Dean is still based in Chapel Hill, right?

I can't imagine coach K moving his family

[flyingdutchdevil]

I can't imagine coach K moving his family

That would be true if he had young kids. But Coach K's family is all grown up with families of their own, and I'd be a little surprised if K didn't move because of his family. Not moving due to a love of Durham is another question. K's been in Durham for so long that it naturally makes sense to retire there...

[moonpie23]

i've always thought that mark few would make a good candidate...

[uh_no]

That would be true if he had young kids. But Coach K's family is all grown up with families of their own, and I'd be a little surprised if K didn't move because of his family. Not moving due to a love of Durham is another question. K's been in Durham for so long that it naturally makes sense to retire there...

well that, and he just does so much for the community, especially with the emily K center....I can't imagine him skipping town with that kinda thing going on....I picture him like john wooden...sitting in cameron till he's 100 watching games and enjoying what he built for over 40 yeras

[MisterRoddy]

I can't help but to bring up that some of my fellow Heat fans on PSD seemed to love the idea of K coming in to coach the Heat. I immediately scoffed at the idea and set them straight: K is staying in Durham for the rest of his coaching career. Period.

[sagegrouse]

well that, and he just does so much for the community, especially with the emily K center....I can't imagine him skipping town with that kinda thing going on....I picture him like john wooden...sitting in cameron till he's 100 watching games and enjoying what he built for over 40 yeras

Amen. Moreover, his family is totally involved in Coach K, Inc. All members live in or near Durham IIRC. Then there are the grandchildren nearby.

Plus, there is his involvement with the Coach K/Fuqua/Kenan Center of Leadership and Ethics.

sagegrouse

[jjh1080]

First of all, Shane will be president when he is done with the NBA so he won't have time to coach at Duke. Any current Dukie coaching will have a lot more to prove to be considered a candidate.

The coach will have to be someone who has proven himself to be a leader, not talking about winning but about leadership. Thus, there are only two candidates:

Rick P (Quickie Rick)
John Cali

I think this past season Roy W took his name out of the leadership pool.

Don't get your panties in a bunch, I was joking...

My belief is when Coach K goes so goes Duke. Many professional head hunters will tell you to not take a job that the person before did such a good job at. Who in their right mind wants to be compared to what Coach K did at Duke?

Look at what happened at UNC when Dean retired. It took years to right that ship. Since Knight left IU the ship has not been righted. I'm waiting to see what happens at Arizona.

Just think about it, if the coach keeps winning at Duke it will be because of what Coach K did to get Duke started and if they don't win they will be compared to what Duke did under Coach K and people will wonder, out load, why this coach can't do the same thing.

I cheer for Duke because of Coach K, not for Coach K because of Duke.

[hq2]

Battier won't coach at Duke; I think he's got his eyes set on even bigger things. Hopefully, I'll get to be at his inauguration in 20 years!

[duke79]

First of all, Shane will be president when he is done with the NBA so he won't have time to coach at Duke. Any current Dukie coaching will have a lot more to prove to be considered a candidate.

The coach will have to be someone who has proven himself to be a leader, not talking about winning but about leadership. Thus, there are only two candidates:

Rick P (Quickie Rick)
John Cali

I think this past season Roy W took his name out of the leadership pool.

Don't get your panties in a bunch, I was joking...

My belief is when Coach K goes so goes Duke. Many professional head hunters will tell you to not take a job that the person before did such a good job at. Who in their right mind wants to be compared to what Coach K did at Duke?

Look at what happened at UNC when Dean retired. It took years to right that ship. Since Knight left IU the ship has not been righted. I'm waiting to see what happens at Arizona.

Just think about it, if the coach keeps winning at Duke it will be because of what Coach K did to get Duke started and if they don't win they will be compared to what Duke did under Coach K and people will wonder, out load, why this coach can't do the same thing.

I cheer for Duke because of Coach K, not for Coach K because of Duke.

Good point. Always tough to follow a great leader, whether in business, sports, politics, or the military. Look at General Electric. Stock hit $60 per share when Jack Welch was running the company and fell to $7.00 per share when Jeff Immelt took over. All the business media compares Immelt unfavorably to Jack Welch (whether fair or not). Who followed John Wooden at UCLA? I don't have a clue. Whoever follows Coach K at Duke is going to have VERY big shoes to fill. I almost feel sorry for that person. It will be very tough to live up to the legent that Coach K has created.

[Johnboy]

Who followed John Wooden at UCLA? I don't have a clue.

Gene Bartow, who went 52-9 in two years and took UCLA to the Final Four the year after Wooden left (1975-76) and the Sweet Sixteen the year after that. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of fame last year.

After Wooden left, UCLA went through a string of coaches who would stay only a couple/few years and then leave, until Jim Harrick stayed for 8 years. We all have a sense of dread about Coach K leaving. It seems to me that K's immediate successor will probably be a transitional figure and will only be head coach at Duke for a short time - 2-3 years.

UCLA, Carolina and St. John's have had what I'm calling "transitional" coaches after their legendary coaches retired, but Kentucky, Kansas and Indiana have avoided the phenomenon. I'm not sure how to classify Bucky Waters (who followed the legendary Vic Bubas at Duke) - 4 years may be just long enough to avoid the "transitional" tag.

[sagegrouse]

Many professional head hunters will tell you to not take a job that the person before did such a good job at. Who in their right mind wants to be compared to what Coach K did at Duke?

I couldn't disagree more with the headhunters' advice. Many top-level management jobs are basically impossible due to internal (organization, responsibilities, and resources) and external factors (brands, sales, competitiveness). Seeing that someone else has succeeded in the job would be especially comforting to me, particularly as an outsider coming into a company or organization.

In Washington, for example, Secretaries or Energy and Homeland Security usually appear to be struggling with their jobs, while the Secretary Defense usually gets a good rating. Fact is, Energy and Homeland Security are largely impossible -- Energy because of the lack of a clear mission and the power of the constituent elements and Homeland Security because it was created out of separate and often warring agencies (INS, Customs, Border Patrol, FEMA, Coast Guard, etc.) and Congress refused to give the agency, when created, enough centralized resources to create a strong management team. The Department of Defense is executing the President's constitutional powers as commander in chief and, therefore, is immune from much of the outside meddling that occurs in other agencies. Moreover, the folks in the Pentagon are good at "making the boss look good," whether in uniform or civilian attire.

What has this to say about Duke? Well, I and most others would leap at the chance to coach at a top-ten academic university that is in the top five in all-time wins and National Championships, BECAUSE success begets success. It is a heckuva lot harder to succeed where no one else has -- which makes Cut's performance in football so impressive.

sagegrouse

[Billy Dat]

Michigan State did pretty well staying in the family with an unproven head coach.

I can't imagine the program going outside the family and the guy, to me, who feels like he's being groomed is Chris Collins.

[SupaDave]

It seems that a thread involving life after K pops up every off season. I submit that it is way too premature to speculate. Coach has said on numerous occasions that he has no plans to retire anytime soon, and much change will occur between now and then in college basketball and at Duke that could affect the outcome.

Coach K isn't going anywhere. He has a lifetime contract with University and will be active at Fuqua and other aspects of the University, and the Emily K. Center in Durham at the very least.

Yep - totally correct on both points.

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/...ight=successor

[jjh1080]

In Washington, for example, Secretaries ...

sagegrouse

Seriously, you want to use Washington, D.C. as a comparison. That place is probably the biggest pit of incompetency there is. I'm waiting for Shane to straighten things out there.

As someone who works with and consults with head hunters, taking over a job after someone before you has been as successful as Coach K has been, they would tell you they will keep your name and information handy, you'll be back in the near future. I've seen it way way more than guys being successful after replacing a successful guy.

One needs to keep in mind the history of Izzo. He went to college and started his college coaching career at Northern Michigan. Later, he came to MSU and worked under Jud before getting the head coaching job. Thus, this guy was not born and breed MSU. Jud saw Izzo was good and brought him in, he didn't give him his start. Thus, when comparing Izzo to guys likely Johnny D, I would say Johnny D is family and Izzo was a close friend of the family but not family.

[Trapper John]

Long time listener, first time caller. While I have been a Duke fan since starting business school at Fuqua, I have been an Alabama football fan since I was a kid. While I was still young, the legendary Bear Bryant stepped down as head coach, to be succeeded by Ray Perkins, as the school tried to keep a line of succession with someone from the Alabama “family”.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from this is that winning breeds arrogance, losing breeds humility or at least flexibility (which is, in my opinion, necessary to return to winning). I admit that Alabama fans remain some of the most arrogant in the SEC, but the attitude has softened considerably, finally allowing a new, distinct leadership persona to run the program his way. True, there are a few lucky fits like Roy at Carolina or even Gene Stallings at Bama, but I believe those are the exception rather than the rule.

Prior to Saban, outsiders who attempted to do things their own way (see Curry, Bill) were run out on a rail because Alabama wasn’t so much about winning as it was about winning Paul Bryant’s way. For example, up until recently, there was a significant part of the fan base that wanted to go back to the wishbone (granted, not a terrible idea if you’ve got Paul Johnson as your coach, but he’s not “family”…). How would you feel if the next coach exclusively runs a 2-3 zone as the primary defense at Duke? In the short term, that will be anathema for the majority of the fanbase, but after missing the tourney a few times, details like that will not matter as much.

When winning becomes more important than winning with a certain style (offense, defense, whatever), that’s when a program is ready to give the next coach more than just the valet key to the program. Notre Dame football still isn’t there yet, and honestly, academic standards may keep them that way.

I’ll leave you with this sobering thought: 5-6 years after K retires, 90% of recruits won’t know who he is. That’s why the fan base is so important. Let the AD do his/her job and then let the new coach do his job, but we need to do our job in keeping Cameron as the best environment in college basketball and making it a place everybody wants to coach and play. In all likelihood, coaches (and success) after K will come and go, but the fans line of succession can and should remain unbroken.

Trapper