I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”
She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.
I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.
Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.
Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.
I’ve been dreading this moment for years.
A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.
Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.
That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.
Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.
John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.
Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)
I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.
When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.
In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.
Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.
I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.
There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)
Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?
She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.
I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.
Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.
Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.
I’ve been dreading this moment for years.
A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.
Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.
That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.
Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.
John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.
Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)
I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.
When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.
In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.
Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.
I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.
There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)
Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?
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