“This is one of the professions you enter knowing that there will come a day when you can be fired for not performing, or your staff can be let go because your head coach is not performing, or perhaps has done something out of character and gotten into trouble. When that happens, as an assistant coach, your life is directly impacted.
That happened to me at Pittsburgh. We were there for two years under Coach Stallings, and one day, he walked in, took $10 million, and was asked not to coach anymore. I went home and told Beth and Riley that we had to move. That was a very difficult time for me because it was the first time in my life I had ever been let go - fired, resigned, or whatever term people want to use. It was completely out of my control, 100 percent. I quickly realized I no longer wanted that. I no longer wanted my family’s livelihood to depend on someone else’s decisions that could change in a split second.
I can admit now that I made a tactical mistake. I left Georgetown University—the city and university where I grew up, watched, and learned under a great man, John Thompson, and also under JT3. I chased money to Pittsburgh, which turned out to be a terrible mistake. I received a $100,000 raise, which most people would consider a great opportunity, but two years later, I was fired.
It almost derailed my career. To be honest, it was a dark period in my life. I did not know if I would be able to resurrect my career because I was now attached to a team that did not win. You get the stigma of being fired. Even though it happens all the time, when it happens to you, your ego is bruised, your confidence is shaken, and you still have to put food on the table and provide for your family.
Your daughter comes home from a great day at school only to find out that you are moving again. That is hard. Those are the things people do not see. They see the games on television, but what they do not see is that when decisions are made about coaches, the assistant coaches and their families are equally affected… without the benefit of a buyout.
I have also been on the other side, when we were let go at Florida Gulf Coast after winning 22 games and going to postseason play. Imagine being let go not because you failed to perform, but because you did perform, and both situations were completely out of my control.
There are many factors that go into these decisions, and people often don’t understand how deeply a family can be affected, especially when you are an assistant coach whose livelihood depends on the performance and behavior of others.”
Kevin Sutton
High School Basketball Head Coach
Kevin highlights the realities of being an assistant coach at the collegiate level. Your job security is not based on the number of wins you had that season, nor is it based on how well you have done your job. It is based primarily on things that you cannot control.
Coaching is a transient profession, and difficult career decisions must be made. Kevin recognized that he had made a mistake chasing the financial rewards of a “promotion” to a better job, but ultimately, it did not work out as planned. But what if it had? Would he have regretted it then?
There are several lessons to be learned from this passage, but I encourage you to consider the impact these changes have on your family. Ensure that decisions are not made selfishly and that the family is involved in the conversation. I have turned down job opportunities that, while on paper were great for my career advancement and paid great, would have placed my family, particularly my children, in a situation where change would not have been healthy. For those of us who are competitive and look to advance our careers, there is nothing wrong with that. It may be very hard it may be to say no, but sometimes a no is necessary for what is best in the long term for personal fulfillment.
Ask Yourself:
Do I have a plan in place to support my family financially and emotionally if my head coach is let go or if the program undergoes a change in direction?
How can I maintain my professional reputation and mental well-being when faced with career setbacks that are outside of my control?
When evaluating future opportunities, what specific criteria, such as location, leadership, salary, or program culture, will help me make a decision that aligns with both my personal values and professional goals?
Excerpt taken from Reflections on the Coaching Life Volume 2.