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It would be disingenuous for me to act like I wasn't trying to bait people into thinking this post was about Ollie, but then again, that was part of my point. People read the post with their mind made up and they brought their own context to a subject that didn't require any of it. I imagine that is one of the obstacles unproven coaches face in the profession and I don't think it's an insignificant one. The first and most important step to being a great coach is to get people to think that you're a great coach. That means you need people who matter to step out on a ledge and reiterate that even when it's not popular. The fact that they didn't - Jim Calhoun being the most notable - in this particular case speaks volumes, but don't let it obscure the vital elements of the operation: communication, trust, accountability. I'd have been fine keeping Ollie if there were reason to believe everybody was on the same page in these three areas. Now that he's gone, the light is going to shine a little brighter on the AD and the infrastructure being put in place. Pulling the plug is hard. Not pulling it can be even harder. I'm not arguing that Ollie was mistreated so much as I am cautioning that it isn't usually this cut-and-dry. Hurley might coach five years here without accomplishing x y and z. It doesn't mean he won't accomplish those things in his next five years.
