“There are only two kinds of coaches – those who have been fired, and those who will be fired.”
-Bum Phillips, former NFL head coach
How Josh McDaniels has used a Microsoft Excel file titled “lessonslearned.xls” that he started hours after getting fired by the Denver Broncos to document what he would differently the next chance he gets.
The Redemption of Josh McDaniels: Failure taught Patriots OC how to pick his spots (LINK)
One of my favorite pieces that documents the post-firing process coaches go through is an article Pete Thamel wrote on Greg Schiano spent the year following his firing from Tampa Bay. Schiano focused on self-growth in his year off and tried to visit as many colleagues as he could.
How ex-Tampa Bay Bucs coach Greg Schiano is preparing for his next job (LINK)
Linked below are three separate articles on Tom Crean’s revitalization following his firing from Indiana University. In the first article, Crean details the best advice he received from a coaching friend on getting let go. The second story (the best of the 3) is a first-person piece from Crean himself on how he spent his year off from coaching. The third article talks about the support system Crean fell back on after getting fired.
With no regrets after Indiana firing, Tom Crean looks ahead to the next opportunity (LINK)
Out as Coach at Indiana, Tom Crean Embarked on the Ultimate Gap Year (LINK)
Crean may have fallen out of favor at Indiana, but his coaching family will be there to pick him up (LINK)
The article below gets into Pete Carroll’s self-reflection that was spawned by his firing in New England, but the best thing to read is Carroll’s book Win Forever. It’s a fantastic book and chapter 6-9 really break down Carroll’s post-New England process of developing a coaching philosophy.
Pete Carroll, Robert Kraft both benefitted from difficult breakup (LINK)
This past December, David Aldridge wrote a good piece for NBA.com on getting fired from an NBA coaching job. For the piece Aldridge spoke to several coaches including Rick Carlisle, Mike Fratello, Sam Mitchell and Lionel Hollins. Good stuff in here from Carlisle on the weeks that directly follow one’s contract-termination.
The adventures of a fired coach (LINK)
