Gottfried chooses to leave? Oh puh-leeze
First, know this: Mark Gottfried didn't quit.
That's ridiculous.
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| Gary Parrish thinks it stinks how the word 'quit' is being used in Gottfried's exit. (AP) |
Because that's not how this happened. And it's not why this happened, either.
This happened because Gottfried started the season on shaky ground and did nothing to stabilize his position. He opened with a loss to Mercer, watched his starting point guard (Ron Steele) quit last week, fell to 2-3 in the SEC with Saturday's loss to Kentucky and lost the confidence of his bosses and the fan base along the way.
According to sources, an undisclosed off-the-court issue might have expedited the situation, and I'll just leave it at that. Regardless, Gottfried's fate was sealed barring a miraculous turnaround, and on Monday the administration decided it didn't want him to have the opportunity for a miraculous turnaround, which is why he was forced to resign in an afternoon meeting with his athletic director.
So now what?
My guess is Gottfried will take his buyout and disappear, much like LSU's John Brady did when he was fired last January. Assistant Philip Pearson will take over on an interim basis, and I'll be shocked if he doesn't reach out to Steele to see if the senior will return to the team.
According to sources, Steele didn't quit last week because of an injury, as Alabama suggested in yet another misleading (or untruthful) press release. Rather, he quit because of a falling out with Gottfried, and now that Gottfried is gone it makes sense that Steele might try to finish the season and make the Crimson Tide competitive in the SEC West, particularly when you consider that it's not that difficult to be competitive in the SEC West.
Meantime, Moore will launch a national search for a replacement.
Among the names sure to be prominently mentioned are Tubby Smith of Minnesota, Anthony Grant of Virginia Commonwealth and Mike Anderson of Missouri -- though none are guaranteed to accept an Alabama offer because Smith and Anderson already have comparable (if not better) jobs, and Grant will likely be involved with Arizona or any other high-level position that opens (Georgia? Virginia? Oregon?).
Further down the list will be Mike Davis, the UAB coach (and former Alabama player) who could possibly lure in-state star DeMarcus Cousins to campus as part of a pseudo package deal. But would Alabama really be interested in a guy who A) was fired at Indiana, B) is about to miss the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season at UAB, and C) lost three players to academic casualties this past December?
Answer: I'd be surprised.
But not nearly as surprised as when I heard Gottfried "quit" on Monday.
