When defending the success of a basketball coach, justifying By comparing to doc Sadler says everything you need to know.
Using those standards,Bill Callahan was a monumental success when compared to Mike Riley
Tuco, I think you're an intelligent guy based on your posts and our previous exchanges, otherwise, I wouldn't spend the time debating with you. I think a reasonable person would recognize that basketball history is quite a bit different than football history, though I did appreciate your comparison to Callahan.
That said, I'm going to challenge what I think is your point of view. I'm pretty clear that you don't believe Miles is the right guy for the job. I can appreciate that point of view, as no one can be sure of anything, and to be honest, after the transfers last year, I began to wonder if my faith in him was blind. Maybe it still is, but at least I can admit that the jury is still out.
My sincere belief is that it is very, very challenging to move a program from one with no history into one that is consistently competitive. I look at Nebraska's 100 year history and it's obvious to note an overall lack of success. Moe Iba earned the program's "first official NCAA bid". After the team lost in the first round, he retired, though fans had been calling for his job.
Danny Nee, probably the coach with most successful memories in recent history, had a .572 overall record. I'm not here to state claims definitively, but there were whispers that much of Nee's success came at the cost of paying players. Even with an increase in talent, this team and his tenure failed to succeed in the NCAA tournament.
The next two coaches proved to be less than successful, leading to the current day with Miles.
I ponder - is every Athletic Director simply dumb, lazy, cheap that Nebraska hasn't reached the level of success in basketball, or is it simply tough to do?
With a history (or lack there of) of performance, it's my suggestion that moving to the next level isn't very easy. Nebraska has had two coaches make the NCAA tournament. Only one who made it multiple times (Nee). Here we are in Miles' sixth season and the team is close to earning a second NCAA birth. If he makes the tournament twice in a six year run, I'd say that puts him on pretty rare air in the history of Nebraska basketball.
Now, let's go with the premise that you're just right and he's no good. Who do you hire? This is where it gets dicey. There are no silver bullets in this sport. Coaches who have had success at instantly turning basketball programs around (Bob Huggins, Frank Martin, Calipari, more...) are at least suspicious of shady recruiting practices. The others (Bill Self, Coach K, Roy Williams, etc.) are only going to be coaching at the most elite programs. I just don't know who the magic bullet is, and if Nebraska has a guy who not only is a positive role model, good with fans, but also potentially makes the tournament 2 of 6 seasons, with a chance of really making noise next year, I don't understand why we're in a hurry to run him off.