Nelson just Maverick enough for head coach
by Katie Johnson
sports editor
We’ve heard a lot of talk recently regarding whether Don Nelson should be fired if the Mavericks lose during the play-offs.
After Jerry Jones fired Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys’ winning streak quickly faded.
What do these two events have in common?
It brings up the question of whether a coach is really responsible for whether a team wins or loses.
Currently, basketball players’ annual salaries average over $4 million.
Yet the industry often looks to one person who receives all the blame: the coach.
The coach is not out there practicing every day; he does not work out after practice. He certainly is not out on the court during a game.
But when a team of men who are paid millions to play basketball do badly at it, they blame the coach.
It’s really an amazing phenomenon. Some are born true basketball players regardless of coaches. (Michael Jordan’s coach in school told him he would never play basketball.)
Others blame their difficulties on the coaches.
To be sure, much controversy surrounds the topic of coach responsibility.
After leaving the Cowboys in 1995 to go to the Miami Dolphins, head coach Jimmy Johnson never won another Super Bowl title.
A couple years before when the Cowboys won two in a row, fans gave a large percentage of credit to Johnson and were extremely upset when he left for Miami.
Yet, in another year, head coach Barry Switzer led the Cowboys to another title.
Was it the coach or the athletes? And what happened after the last title? Did the players simply start to age, losing some of their touch?
Or did the coaching staff continue downhill?
No one really knows the answers to these questions. However, they are also questions the Mavericks will face if they lose in the play-offs this year.
While I am not discrediting the ability of coaches to guide, motivate and cultivate a team, it must be remembered that these athletes are being paid to do a job.
If these athletes do not do it well, they should not be allowed to blame their performance on the coaching.
However, responsibility blaming has been going on for years and will continue since, as we all know, the game revolves around the players.
The good news, however, is the money revolves around the fans, and for now, the fans seem to be speaking out for retaining Nelson.
And speaking of fans, the Rangers opened to a record crowd at the Ballpark on opening day and won.
We fans keep hoping for the spark that will ignite this team that always seems to fade down the long stretch of the season.
In other sports news, the NFL draft is coming upon us quickly.
Keep an eye out for those drafted who were headed to college a couple of months ago and notice how important these decisions are to our society.
Next week: an update on the Rangers, Stars and, of course, the play-off headed Mavericks.
Last Updated: 4/14/2004
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