I would be pretty surprised if Beilein doesn’t return to coaching. It is what the man does. I also think you have to acknowledge the situation with Patrick as well.
Just because those are the jobs that people see as potentially open doesn’t mean those are the only jobs he could be in the mix for.
If he lands at UCLA or Texas then I’ll agree. I don’t think those are likely.
But just because he could land another high major job before next season doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mistake to leave Michigan.
Difference between “it was a mistake” and “it didn’t work.” Very well could be the last (and only) offer that Beilein ever got to coach in the NBA. Pretty obvious that that was something he wanted to try and in that case it was the right decision.
I’m down for Beilein at Texas. Would be painful and weird as heck, but I’d watch every game I could.
The inmates run the asylum in the NBA. This was a terrible fit from the start but clearly JB had an itch that needed to be scratched. You just would have thought he would have waited for a better situation.
I don’t really get these comments about Beilein retiring. Is it a possibility because of his age? Sure. But I would say it is a very slim one.
I think a few things are very clear: Beilein is unbelievably competitive. It was under a year ago that was willing to take on a new challenge and move up to the highest level to try to turn around the Cavs. He did that because he thought he could succeed in the NBA.
He is prepared to coach multiple more seasons. Why would he walk away from the game altogether so quickly? He knew Cleveland was a long-rebuild and signed a 5-year contract this past summer.
He has a great deal of pride. He has never been fired before and he has never been an assistant. He essentially hasn’t failed at any coaching stop. I find it very hard to believe he wants his last gig to be a 4-5 month (failed) stint in the NBA.
No, I agree that he “probably” will coach again. I think sometimes, especially when we are younger, that we don’t really realize there will come a time when we will have to slow down. Sometimes that decision is made for us. Sometimes we have the opportunity, the privilege, to make the decision ourselves, but the time will come. Sometimes we can do it gradually. It is very difficult when it is abrupt, or when there is no plan. I DO hope, and I’ve said this, that Coach B has, or will have, a plan. I really think he does (or soon will). I hope his plan is his own, that it is on his terms. I think it will involve Kathleen and his family circumstances. Maybe Patrick will be involved in the evolution of those plans. I really don’t know, but, as I’ve said I wish him the best. He deserves everything good.
So I’ll be the one to raise the elephant in the room. Would you rather be where we are today, .500 in the big ten with a top 5 recruiting class on the way? Or be in a world where Beilein never left in the first place?
Definitely where we are now. I don’t think that’s an elephant in the room at all.
There’s no elephant for me. We’re only .500 in the Big 10 because of an injury. We’ve seen what has happened to Beilien coached teams when his best scorer is injured. He was obviously one foot out the door and he was going to go to the NBA sooner rather than later. It’s just something he wanted to try and I’ve rooted for him every step of the way. To me it happened at the perfect time for Michigan and we got pretty lucky landing Juwan Howard.
I hate change. I wish JB would have never left us, to be honest. Having said that there is no going back. Juwan is my new coach now and I would not trade him for anybody. And although I think there will be some growing pains I think he is doing a great job and will get better and better over the course of the next few years.
I hope JB lands in a good spot. Personally I hope JB lands in the Big Ten. The more good coaches in the league the better.
I would have been very happy if Beilein had never left. However, he did and I am quite happy with Howard as our coach. Since I can’t reverse it, I won’t wish for it. It will be fun to see how Howard evolves as a coach and whether he can match/beat Beilein’s success at Michigan.
I love and respect John Beilein. I am rooting for him. It’s awesome that he got to check the box of “coach in the NBA” on his resumé. He is a hall of fame coach no matter what.
Leaving a job in the middle of an unprecedented run of success (both for him individually and for the school) to take a new job that results in being forced out within 6 months and scrambling to find a job with a competitor…I don’t think it’s a wild jump to consider it a mistake. Unless he just wanted to retire anyway, but it doesn’t seem like that is the case.
I said it when we made the hire and I’ll continue to say it. I think Juwan is the perfect coach to build upon the brand JB built. Love JB but I think the ceiling is definitely higher now.
If B never left we would be a better place right now…but the fact we have pivoted and appear to have a competent coach for the future is better for the future.
You must be expecting Juwan to win a national title then.
Yeah I think that he definitely will have a shot at it. That doesn’t seem that controversial to me.
We went to the natty with Beilein. You said our ceiling is higher with Juwan. So you must think Juwan is going to win a natty.
I don’t see it as out of the realm of possibility. There are so many factors that come in to play and there is definitely an element of luck involved, but it would not surprise me to have Howard lead the team to a national championship game.
Again, yes. I don’t think that’s controversial. And no that’s not the only measure of a program’s success. I guarantee you that over Juwan’s tenure there will be a lot more eyes on the program. He brings a level of excitement in the way he carries himself and the team that JB just didn’t have. Plus recruiting, that’s a pretty big tell.