Top 10 Worst College Coaches

[JimmyHoya]

Found this on another board.

www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=7254&src=gm136

Doesn't really seem to have an actual criteria, but funny nonetheless. Bob Knight ain't 2nd worst. Bliss' spot is fitting. The bit about the steer is disturbing.

[TBird41]

and here it comes....

[RusskyHoya]

Given that most of these coaches achieved at least some modicrum of success, I think what the list proves isn't who the worst coaches are, but that you have to be a little (or not so little) crazy to be successful in the NCAA.

Btw, for awhile Osborne reached near-"Bear Bryant in Alabama" status in Nebraska. Good enough to get himself a spot in Congress. I'm really amazed none of the MSU players knew what a steer was, cause there ain't a hell of a lot else around Starkville, 'cept maybe the Skoal factory.

Personally, I find Scrotie the Nad and Keggy the Keg far more disturbing. Well, except for Dave Bliss - he's just scum.

[aggypryd]

I can't get to the website from work...

Can someone post the list?

[JohnJacquesLayup]

ditto, our web filter categorizes it as "Adult/Mature Content;Intimate Apparel/Swimsuit;Arts/Entertainment"

Ha!

[prhoya]

mmmmm-mmmmmmm (self-imposed gag order)

[Filo]

For those without access, the list has nothing to do with coaching ability (well maybe tangentially, if you think part of being a good coach is serving as a role model for your players). Rather than the "10 Worst College Coaches," it should be called something like "The Top Ten Horrible Human Beings Who Happen(ed) to Coach a Major College Sports Team." The list: Tom Osborne, Larry Eustachy, Jackie Sherrill, Gary Barnett, Woody Hayes, Bob Huggins, Jim Harrick, John Chaney, Bobby Knight and Dave Bliss.

[Boz]

Am I the only one who thinks John Chaney doesn't really belong with those others?

Look, I know the man is looney tunes, and that situation with sending in goons was despicable. No excuses for that, whatsoever.

On the whole though, I think I'd put him on a much higher level than the rest of these guys for his entire career.

(I am excusing the John Calipari incident because, in retrospect, now that we all know Greasy Jack a little bit better, who wouldn't want to walk up to him and say they're gonna' kill him?)

Maybe I'm being too easy on him, but I'd put Chaney more in a category of, "A Really Great Coach For 95% Of His Career On And Off The Court, Who Went Out On A Very Bad Note."

[Jack]

boz1 said:

Maybe I'm being too easy on him, but I'd put Chaney more in a category of, "A Really Great Coach For 95% Of His Career On And Off The Court, Who Went Out On A Very Bad Note."

Not sure, because he was before my time, but does Woody Hayes also qualify for that distinction? I know what Boz Schembechler will say, but try to be objective.

[aggypryd]

Don't know about Tom Osborn...He's a Republican, but other than that, I appreciated what he did on and off the field...

Larry Eustachy. John Chaney, Gary Barnett made regrettable errors, but should be forgiven.

Bobby Knight is just Bobby being Bobby...he does a lot of good that gets overlooked, but he can be a bit of an ass at times...

Bob Huggins...a great on the court coach...seems like he has personal demons that he's battling...not a great role model...

Jim Harrick and Dave Bliss are truly horrible human beings...

[TigerHoya]

Jack,
The part the article doesn't mention is that Bauman, the Clemson player Woody punched, lives in the Columbus area now and works in sales. Needless to say, he downplays all publicity over it. He actually has a handle on one of the Clemson sites and comes into chat on rare occasions but doesn't say much.

[hoyarooter]

Woody Hayes was a Neanderthal. Having written that, however, my recollection is that his players revered him, and I would likely characterize him as Boz did Chaney.

[SaxaCD]

I'd take Knight off the list before Chaney, but then again, I probably wouldn't have had either of them on it.

boz1 said:

Am I the only one who thinks John Chaney doesn't really belong with those others?

Look, I know the man is looney tunes, and that situation with sending in goons was despicable. No excuses for that, whatsoever.

On the whole though, I think I'd put him on a much higher level than the rest of these guys for his entire career.

(I am excusing the John Calipari incident because, in retrospect, now that we all know Greasy Jack a little bit better, who wouldn't want to walk up to him and say they're gonna' kill him?)

Maybe I'm being too easy on him, but I'd put Chaney more in a category of, "A Really Great Coach For 95% Of His Career On And Off The Court, Who Went Out On A Very Bad Note."

[Filo]

Aggy - The knock on Osborne was his willful blindness when it came to Lawrence Philips.

I overstated it a bit when I said "horrible human beings" - it really is a list of a few horrible human beings and a few coaches who showed some awfully bad judgment on one issue or another.

[Boz]

I am probably giving Chaney a little more of a pass because for a long time, he was acknowledged as a pioneer and a leader as a coach, much in the same way that JTII was. And he never had the kind of off-court troubles/ethical challenges/screw-ups that many of these others did.

Then again, as a kid I had a Springer Spaniel that I really really loved, and was the kindest, gentlest pet a boy could ever know. When the dog reached a certain age, however, she lost her mind and began biting, pooping and performing many other undesirable behaviors completely at random and without explanation. I will always remember the pet I loved, but I will also always remember the insanity at the end.

So, do we remember John Chaney the outstanding leader of young student-atheletes on and off the court, or do we remember John Chaney the crazyman? A little from column A, a little from column B, probably.

I have nothing against Woody Hayes. I am a Michigan fan by proxy, not a True Blue. If you want someone to go off on Woodrow, call up doseofreality. He's probably got all the dirt not related to the Clemson incident.

Isn't there room for Jan van Breda Kolff on this list? If for no other reason that if they hadn't screwed up so badly, Mike Gansey would never have been at West Virginia.

[aggypryd]

filo said:

Aggy - The knock on Osborne was his willful blindness when it came to Lawrence Philips.

In hindsight, yeah...that was a very bad decision. But at the time, I could see why he did it. I don't think anyone knew Phillips was as disturbed as he is.

It wasn't a situation where he brought Lawrence Phillips back so he could win the national title. Anybody that remembers Nebraska's squad that year knows that the Huskers were going to beat the crap out of any team that stood before them. As a matter a fact, they played several games without him and didn't miss a step.

Osbourne brought L.P. back so that he could increase his stock for the NFL draft. Something that I probably would have done.

[SFHoya99]

Barnett gets no free pass. McCartney was scum, and Barnett was brought in because of his clean (Northwestern) image, and proceeded to recruit as many criminals, allow his players to run free, cheat, and do much worse.