The worst coach firing in sports history

[Sean Miller Fan]

You think Pitt was too tough on Jamie Dixon?

How about Leicester City? Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club. Less than a year later, he is fired with 13 matches left as Leicester has reverted back to what they were (a club in danger of being relegated). I am sure the season has been disappointing for Leicester but the guy won the EPL.....at Leicester. He couldn't have become that bad of a coach that fast.

The college basketball equivalent of this would be Jamie Dixon winning a NC at TCU this yeat then being fired next January.

 

[Pittx9]

Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club.

I'd be shocked if anything else was close. For my money, that was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever. I forget the exact odds before the season, but espn showed some people who bet on them. Something in the ballpark of like $20 pre-season to win something insane (like 10s of thousands of dollars I believe.)

 

[Atch]

You think Pitt was too tough on Jamie Dixon?

How about Leicester City? Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club. Less than a year later, he is fired with 13 matches left as Leicester has reverted back to what they were (a club in danger of being relegated). I am sure the season has been disappointing for Leicester but the guy won the EPL.....at Leicester. He couldn't have become that bad of a coach that fast.

The college basketball equivalent of this would be Jamie Dixon winning a NC at TCU this yeat then being fired next January.

Sean, serious question......what is Leicester City?

 

[BFo8]

I'd be shocked if anything else was close. For my money, that was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever. I forget the exact odds before the season, but espn showed some people who bet on them. Something in the ballpark of like $20 pre-season to win something insane (like 10s of thousands of dollars I believe.)

William Hill in Las Vegas had 5000-1 up for awhile and took a few small bets. Unfortunately I was not one of them.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I'd be shocked if anything else was close. For my money, that was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever. I forget the exact odds before the season, but espn showed some people who bet on them. Something in the ballpark of like $20 pre-season to win something insane (like 10s of thousands of dollars I believe.)

William Hill in Las Vegas had 5000-1 up for awhile and took a few small bets. Unfortunately I was not one of them.

Yea. A $20 bet won you 100 grand.

 

[wbrpanther]

You think Pitt was too tough on Jamie Dixon?

How about Leicester City? Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club. Less than a year later, he is fired with 13 matches left as Leicester has reverted back to what they were (a club in danger of being relegated). I am sure the season has been disappointing for Leicester but the guy won the EPL.....at Leicester. He couldn't have become that bad of a coach that fast.

The college basketball equivalent of this would be Jamie Dixon winning a NC at TCU this yeat then being fired next January.

The US Oly

I'd be shocked if anything else was close. For my money, that was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever. I forget the exact odds before the season, but espn showed some people who bet on them. Something in the ballpark of like $20 pre-season to win something insane (like 10s of thousands of dollars I believe.)

Were you around when the US Olympic Hockey team beat the Russians in 1980. THAT was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever.

 

[NTOP]

You think Pitt was too tough on Jamie Dixon?

How about Leicester City? Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club. Less than a year later, he is fired with 13 matches left as Leicester has reverted back to what they were (a club in danger of being relegated). I am sure the season has been disappointing for Leicester but the guy won the EPL.....at Leicester. He couldn't have become that bad of a coach that fast.

The college basketball equivalent of this would be Jamie Dixon winning a NC at TCU this yeat then being fired next January.

Not a sport, sport.

 

[PantherO]

For the record....Dixon was not fired.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

You think Pitt was too tough on Jamie Dixon?

How about Leicester City? Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club. Less than a year later, he is fired with 13 matches left as Leicester has reverted back to what they were (a club in danger of being relegated). I am sure the season has been disappointing for Leicester but the guy won the EPL.....at Leicester. He couldn't have become that bad of a coach that fast.

The college basketball equivalent of this would be Jamie Dixon winning a NC at TCU this yeat then being fired next January.

The US Oly

I'd be shocked if anything else was close. For my money, that was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever. I forget the exact odds before the season, but espn showed some people who bet on them. Something in the ballpark of like $20 pre-season to win something insane (like 10s of thousands of dollars I believe.)

Were you around when the US Olympic Hockey team beat the Russians in 1980. THAT was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever.

I thought about that. You can make the case that the USA beating the Soviet Union was the greatest upset of all time but since it was such a short tournament, you cant compare it to the 38 match gauntlet in the world's most popular sports league having to endure home and homes with legendary clubs Man U, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham.

No disrespect to USA hockey but you cant compare winning a 6 game tournament with 1 miraculous upset to consisent dominance over 38 games.

 

[wbrpanther]

I thought about that. You can make the case that the USA beating the Soviet Union was the greatest upset of all time but since it was such a short tournament, you cant compare it to the 38 match gauntlet in the world's most popular sports league having to endure home and homes with legendary clubs Man U, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham.

No disrespect to USA hockey but you cant compare winning a 6 game tournament with 1 miraculous upset to consisent dominance over 38 games.

Yes you certainly can. The teams you are talking about are all Professionals. The Russians were the best hockey team in the world and one of the best of all time. The USA team were a bunch of college kids who were together only a couple of months.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Yes you certainly can. The teams you are talking about are all Professionals. The Russians were the best hockey team in the world and one of the best of all time. The USA team were a bunch of college kids who were together only a couple of months.

But there is a huge difference between winning a one off game and winning a season long competition. There is no way, and I mean literally none, that the odds on the US beating the Russians that night would have been even close to 5000-1. They wouldn't have even been close to one tenth of that. They almost certainly wouldn't have been even 1/100th of that.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I thought about that. You can make the case that the USA beating the Soviet Union was the greatest upset of all time but since it was such a short tournament, you cant compare it to the 38 match gauntlet in the world's most popular sports league having to endure home and homes with legendary clubs Man U, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham.

No disrespect to USA hockey but you cant compare winning a 6 game tournament with 1 miraculous upset to consisent dominance over 38 games.

Yes you certainly can. The teams you are talking about are all Professionals. The Russians were the best hockey team in the world and one of the best of all time. The USA team were a bunch of college kids who were together only a couple of months.

No comparison, wbr. If you got a College Hockey All-Star team together for 2 months and let them play the best team in the NHL, their odds of winning that game are much better than LC having the most points in the Premiership after 38 games.

 

[Pittx9]

William Hill in Las Vegas had 5000-1 up for awhile and took a few small bets. Unfortunately I was not one of them.

I hear that, would've been a real nice pay day.

 

[Pittx9]

The US Oly

Were you around when the US Olympic Hockey team beat the Russians in 1980. THAT was easily the most improbable championship in any sport ever.

If you're including Olympic play, absolutely. My bad, with quick thinking I was only really speaking of season championships in a league. I wasn't around for the '80 olympics but still know what a tremendous upset that was.

 

[ej6687]

You think Pitt was too tough on Jamie Dixon?

How about Leicester City? Claudio Ranieri led them to what was quite possibly the most improbable championship in sports history last year.....in his first season with the club. Less than a year later, he is fired with 13 matches left as Leicester has reverted back to what they were (a club in danger of being relegated). I am sure the season has been disappointing for Leicester but the guy won the EPL.....at Leicester. He couldn't have become that bad of a coach that fast.

The difference in money from being in the PL to dropping to the Championship is so huge, teams will literally do almost anything to avoid it, even firing the coach you won the league with last year.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

And then, after firing him, they beat Liverpool handily to get out of the relegation zone.

It amazes me how quickly coaches/managers in hockey and soccer can turn teams around so quickly, yet just as quickly have things fall apart.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Not a sport, sport.

The richest and most popular sports league in the world isn't a sport? Lol. Ok.

Your loss NTOP.

I wouldn't be surprised if their weekend tv ratings in Pittsburgh are higher than Pitt basketball's.

 

[Pitt79]

Not a sport, sport.

You mean not a sport, sport you see it as something really boring and sleep inducing.... like baseball.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

You mean not a sport, sport you see it as something really boring and sleep inducing.... like baseball.

I like guys like @NTOP and John Steigerwald. They hate soccer. We have many things in common. We agree on plenty of things. One thing that we don't share a likeness for though is soccer. It's a generational thing. And that's ok. But thanks to soccer, my sports viewing world is much grander than theirs. Especially at a time of year when options are limited. As someone who grew up without soccer, and played baseball every day in the school yard and played collegiately, I'd take an EPL game over a MLB game every day of the week. I'd watch the bottom two teams in the EPL play a game over a Red Sox vs Yankees game every time.

 

[Pitt79]

I like guys like @NTOP and John Steigerwald. They hate soccer. We have many things in common. We agree on plenty of things. One thing that we don't share a likeness for though is soccer. It's a generational thing. And that's ok. But thanks to soccer, my sports viewing world is much grander than theirs. Especially at a time of year when options are limited. As someone who grew up without soccer, and played baseball every day in the school yard and played collegiately, I'd take an EPL game over a MLB game every day of the week. I'd watch the bottom two teams in the EPL play a game over a Red Sox vs Yankees game every time.

I grew up with no soccer, I played baseball everyday to, not collegiately, or even past Connie Mack League, but I played softball until my late 30s. I did play in an adult rec soccer league for 4 years, so I do have an appreciation for playing, albeit as GK, which is more than I can say for hockey. But anymore, I never watch even an inning of baseball for years at a time, I watched the Pirates lose game 7 vs. Atlanta in 1992, and the next time I sat and watched an entire baseball game on TV after that was the 2013 NLWC game. I can't stand baseball, and love soccer now. Is it generational? I'm 57, so who knows, I just decided at some point that I love soccer and hate baseball. Also, my daughter playing the last 8 years and helping coach at times got me more into it. We'd play next to a field where girl's softball of the same age group played, it was horrible, all strikeouts and walks and nobody hit it out of the infield, so glad my daughter played soccer and not that.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

I grew up with no soccer, I played baseball everyday to, not collegiately, or even past Connie Mack League, but I played softball until my late 30s. I did play in an adult rec soccer league for 4 years, so I do have an appreciation for playing, albeit as GK, which is more than I can say for hockey. But anymore, I never watch even an inning of baseball for years at a time, I watched the Pirates lose game 7 vs. Atlanta in 1992, and the next time I sat and watched an entire baseball game on TV after that was the 2013 NLWC game. I can't stand baseball, and love soccer now. Is it generational? I'm 57, so who knows, I just decided at some point that I love soccer and hate baseball. Also, my daughter playing the last 8 years and helping coach at times got me more into it. We'd play next to a field where girl's softball of the same age group played, it was horrible, all strikeouts and walks and nobody hit it out of the infield, so glad my daughter played soccer and not that.

I can relate for sure. We like soccer for the non stop action. But some dont see it that way if the ball isn't going into the net. I am not sure why points, goals, or runs translate to excitement.

To each his own.

 

[NTOP]

The richest and most popular sports league in the world isn't a sport? Lol. Ok.

Your loss NTOP.

I wouldn't be surprised if their weekend tv ratings in Pittsburgh are higher than Pitt basketball's.

Standing around for 83 minutes, running for 3 is B-O-R-I-N-G. Since all but 250 million people in the world claim it as their "primary" sport, that's the result.
My math: 320 Americans, 70 million care. That leaves 40 million illegals waving Mexican flags, but they have no I.D. So 250 million are living better because they don't like fusbol.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Standing around for 83 minutes, running for 3 is B-O-R-I-N-G. Since all but 250 million people in the world claim it as their "primary" sport, that's the result.
My math: 320 Americans, 70 million care. That leaves 40 million illegals waving Mexican flags, but they have no I.D. So 250 million are living better because they don't like fusbol.

Would be true if it were true. Lol. They don't stand around for 83 minutes. They run over 10 miles a game. Other than hockey, it probably requires the most fitness in team sports. And I would still like to know if more people watch a given EPL game in Pittsburgh than watch Pitt basketball. Only someone like SMF would know that answer though. We already know that tv ratings for the foreign league in england often gets higher numbers than the NHL. That's crazy.

 

[Pitt79]

I can relate for sure. We like soccer for the non stop action. But some dont see it that way if the ball isn't going into the net. I am not sure why points, goals, or runs translate to excitement.

To each his own.

Exactly, sometimes a tie feels like a win, or a loss, sometimes a 0-0 game is full of excitement, as much as a 5-4 game. I've been watching my daughter play for years, sometimes you tie a game 1-1, but because you scored in the last minute you act like you WON the Super Bowl, or vice versa, same result but you walk off dejected. What I really love is the non-stop clock, no time outs, no commercials and the non-anal nature of it. Like they won't go to the monitor for 3 minutes trying to determine the exact spot were to place the ball for a free kick, they just set it down somewhere within 10 yards or so and instanty play on! Or like at the end the ref blows the whistle and there is no obsession for the exact reason when it comes to be known. My only fear is "MURICA" is trying hard to ruin soccer, the damn 'Murican TV announcers are lobbying relentlessly for the use of instant replay, which I HATE in every sport! Replay doesn't get it right every time, and anyways, I've found out that I like soccer specifically because they don't obsessively try to get it right every time, you just get to watch uninterrupted play.

 

[Pitt79]

Standing around for 83 minutes, running for 3 is B-O-R-I-N-G. Since all but 250 million people in the world claim it as their "primary" sport, that's the result.
My math: 320 Americans, 70 million care. That leaves 40 million illegals waving Mexican flags, but they have no I.D. So 250 million are living better because they don't like fusbol.

Soccer players in every game run 10 times the distance that an NFL WR runs in an entire season.

And there's nothing in the world more boring than paint drying.... I mean baseball! In 162 games there is less movement of players than in a single soccer game, with "Moneyball" theory it's as exciting as throwing darts as everyone is playing for a walk or strikeout, and they discourage fun stuff like base stealing as low % and play it safe! 33% of at bats last season did not put the ball in play. It was so much better during the steroid era when at least you had Bash Brother type cartoonish mongoloids slamming balls 500 feet, at least you saw something a little entertaining then.

 

[NTOP]

Soccer players in every game run 10 times the distance that an NFL WR runs in an entire season.

Jogging isn't running. Soccer would benefit by an "over & back" rule. Teams with a lead constantly kick it back to their own goalie......Dean Smith called it the "4 corners". It's telling to me that there are few substitutions....because they're not tired?? Put in a timeline, speed up the action, freely sub out.....that'll reduce the time singing the various "anthem" for medieval towns in the Orkney Islands, etc.

 

[Pitt79]

Jogging isn't running. Soccer would benefit by an "over & back" rule. Teams with a lead constantly kick it back to their own goalie......Dean Smith called it the "4 corners". It's telling to me that there are few substitutions....because they're not tired?? Put in a timeline, speed up the action, freely sub out.....that'll reduce the time singing the various "anthem" for medieval towns in the Orkney Islands, etc.

Don't do any of that, don't ruin it to cater to dumb assses in 'Murica.

 

[NTOP]

Don't do any of that, don't ruin it to cater to dumb assses in 'Murica.

Right...it's now like a chess match....and just as boring. Bumper pool is more fun.

 

[Pitt79]

Right...it's now like a chess match....and just as boring. Bumper pool is more fun.

That's ok, I go to maybe one or two baseball games every year too-to get drunk, but always sit really far away, I don't want to have to be forced to pay attention to avoid getting hit by a ball. It amazes me that people can sit through that garbage and think it's interesting.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Soccer players in every game run 10 times the distance that an NFL WR runs in an entire season.

Jogging isn't running. Soccer would benefit by an "over & back" rule. Teams with a lead constantly kick it back to their own goalie......Dean Smith called it the "4 corners". It's telling to me that there are few substitutions....because they're not tired?? Put in a timeline, speed up the action, freely sub out.....that'll reduce the time singing the various "anthem" for medieval towns in the Orkney Islands, etc.

OK, players "jog" 6-7 miles over 90 minutes. How much actual "running" is done in baseball, basketball, and football?

I have heard a lot of complaints about soccer but you are the only one i have heard that thinks players dont run much. Even the staunchest soccer haters admit that the amount of running they do is more than the other sports. I mean they practically have to be in marathon shape. If you took the most in-shape baseball player and put him on a soccer pitch for 90 minutes and made him run as much as midfielder, he'd literally pass out.

 

[Pitt_97]

Not a sport, sport.

GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

 

[Pitt79]

Hating soccer is different than hating other sports, I actually think some people just hate soccer because they think it's "un-American", and it's just a bunch of Euro-fags prancing around in shorts pretending they are injured. I'm sure some of these people wish that Trump would sign an executive order banning soccer. It's not like they just don't like it and choose to not watch it, they don't even want it played in the USA! They hate it like they hate socialism or good health care! It bothers them that kids in the USA play it.

 

[NTOP]

Hating soccer is different than hating other sports, I actually think some people just hate soccer because they think it's "un-American", and it's just a bunch of Euro-fags prancing around in shorts pretending they are injured. I'm sure some of these people wish that Trump would sign an executive order banning soccer. It's not like they just don't like it and choose to not watch it, they don't even want it played in the USA! They hate it like they hate socialism or good health care! It bothers them that kids in the USA play it.

Not me.....I just find it boring to watch.

 

[PeetWeet1]

OK, players "jog" 6-7 miles over 90 minutes. How much actual "running" is done in baseball, basketball, and football?

I have heard a lot of complaints about soccer but you are the only one i have heard that thinks players dont run much. Even the staunchest soccer haters admit that the amount of running they do is more than the other sports. I mean they practically have to be in marathon shape. If you took the most in-shape baseball player and put him on a soccer pitch for 90 minutes and made him run as much as midfielder, he'd literally pass out.

All elite athletes are in great shape - for what they do. The fitness of most MLB outfielders isn't much different than that of most strikers. Both need to spend a lot of time stationary, but be VERY fast with great ball skills.

Most soccer players would be in the ER if they tried to pitch a game as they simply haven't conditioned their shoulders for that type of abuse.

Marathoners and soccer players have very different fitness profiles. Soccer players need great bursts and side to side agility. I am sure their VO2 max scores are also off the charts. Closest track athletes are probably 400 m runners. Some may better fit a 200m, 800m, or 1500m profiles. None have maximized their marathon potential - I hope -- as the goal of a marathoner is to be very efficient at relatively slow speeds.

 

[Pitt79]

Not me.....I just find it boring to watch.

That's legit, that's how I feel about baseball, I often go multiple seasons without being able to watch an entire at bat on TV. I do go to games with friends sometimes, but just to drink beer, and I always want to sit way up in the upper deck, because I don't want to get hit by a foul ball because I'm drunk and not paying attention the entire time.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

OK, players "jog" 6-7 miles over 90 minutes. How much actual "running" is done in baseball, basketball, and football?

I have heard a lot of complaints about soccer but you are the only one i have heard that thinks players dont run much. Even the staunchest soccer haters admit that the amount of running they do is more than the other sports. I mean they practically have to be in marathon shape. If you took the most in-shape baseball player and put him on a soccer pitch for 90 minutes and made him run as much as midfielder, he'd literally pass out.

All elite athletes are in great shape - for what they do. The fitness of most MLB outfielders isn't much different than that of most strikers. Both need to spend a lot of time stationary, but be VERY fast with great ball skills.

Most soccer players would be in the ER if they tried to pitch a game as they simply haven't conditioned their shoulders for that type of abuse.

Marathoners and soccer players have very different fitness profiles. Soccer players need great bursts and side to side agility. I am sure their VO2 max scores are also off the charts. Closest track athletes are probably 400 m runners. Some may better fit a 200m, 800m, or 1500m profiles. None have maximized their marathon potential - I hope -- as the goal of a marathoner is to be very efficient at relatively slow speeds.

Pitching is a specialty so yes, ANY elite athlete would have major arm troubles if you told them to do that to their arm 80-100 times every 5 days.

Just saying that no team sports athlete has to be as "in-shape" as soccer players.

 

[thom67]

All elite athletes are in great shape - for what they do. The fitness of most MLB outfielders isn't much different than that of most strikers. Both need to spend a lot of time stationary, but be VERY fast with great ball skills.

Most soccer players would be in the ER if they tried to pitch a game as they simply haven't conditioned their shoulders for that type of abuse.

Marathoners and soccer players have very different fitness profiles. Soccer players need great bursts and side to side agility. I am sure their VO2 max scores are also off the charts. Closest track athletes are probably 400 m runners. Some may better fit a 200m, 800m, or 1500m profiles. None have maximized their marathon potential - I hope -- as the goal of a marathoner is to be very efficient at relatively slow speeds.

If you are comparing any baseball player fitness to any soccer player fitness, you obviously have never tried to play soccer. An outfielder makes 2-3 runs per game while a soccer player makes runs for 90 minutes with only one stoppage during the game. Their conditioning is just plain crazy.

 

[PeetWeet1]

If you are comparing any baseball player fitness to any soccer player fitness, you obviously have never tried to play soccer. An outfielder makes 2-3 runs per game while a soccer player makes runs for 90 minutes with only one stoppage during the game. Their conditioning is just plain crazy.

Obviously, elite soccer players are in fantastic shape. So are wightlifters, nose tackles, sumo wrestlers, ballet dancers and even many baseball players. wrt repeated intense cardio, I suspect little difference exists between elite soccer, hockey and basketball players.

 

[mike412]

You never see an overweight soccer player. The sport is so physically demanding the many in Europe are wondering if the end is near for Christiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta, two of the best players in the sport. Each is 32.

As far as passing the ball back to the GK, it usually isn't done to waste time, but because there is no other option easily available. Or, in the case of Barcelona, it is often done as part of the ball control strategy. Barcelona scored a goal this year after 32 consecutive passes without ceding possession. Two were back passes to the GK, but every player on the team touched the ball at least once. The back passes, whether to the GK or a FB, force the other team to chase and stretch its defense. Ultimately, it is designed to open up a small hole in the defense. One of Barca's goals last Saturday was after a back pass to a FB spread the defense, creating a small crease for Neymar to exploit. Messi then found Neymar with a great pass and with the GK coming out to try to stop him, Neymar chipped the ball perfectly over the GK's head and into the net. It was a brilliant goal -- not just the chip, not just the pass, but the entire play in creating an opening in the defense by stretching it with the back pass.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

As far as passing the ball back to the GK, it usually isn't done to waste time, but because there is no other option easily available.

That is one complaint about soccer that makes absolutely no sense at all. I mean when a basketball player gets the ball in the post do people complain if there isn't an opening for him to score when he kicks the ball back out to a guard further away from the basket to reset the offense?