Denny Crum is a Hall of Fame coach. Denny Crum is a true legend whose contributions to the game are immeasurable. After playing and coaching under John Wooden at UCLA, Crum took over at Louisville and has skillfully worked the sidelines for over 29 years with enormous success.
Crum's coaching credentials are impecable at Louisville, guiding the Cardinals to 23 NCAA Tournaments, six Final Fours and two national championships -- his first in 1980 and second in '86. His career has been nothing short of brilliant, and it is worthy of respect, honor and praise.
|  | | Like a CEO whose business is losing money, Denny Crum is being asked to step down by Louisville 'shareholders'. |
And, as his career at Louisville ends, a feeling of uneasiness lingers in all of us who love college basketball, and who respect the innovators and caretakers of the game.
One cannot help but lament that, in a perfect world, a coach of Crum's stature and accomplishment should be able to choose the time and the manner of which he steps away from the game. Unfortunately, as much as we may want to see a coach stay as long as he or she wants, and exit gracefully in a storybook ending, there are few examples of such an ending.
Think about it. How many legendary coaches have been able to exit gracefully?
John Wooden did it, but only by surprisingly announcing his retirement before the 1975 NCAA Championship game. Dean Smith walked away from the game just prior to the 1998 season, but he had to leave behind a national championship contending team, not to mention a program still on top of the college basketball world.
However, more often than not, great coaches must inevitably face the same pressures and challenges that all others face. They have to preside over a strong and winning program, now and in the future.
Being the head coach at a traditional power is akin to being the CEO of a major corporation. Success and succession are always major issues. It would be unimaginable for a corporate board of directors and the company's stockholders to allow an aging CEO to serve at his pleasure when the company's fortunes are sagging, and there is no credible evidence that the company's future would be any brighter. The succession of that CEO, in the midst of a successful or unsuccessful period, is always an important concern, and it is a process that both the company and the CEO should bemindful of and prepared for.
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Only a monarch is
able to serve until death before being succeeded. There are no monarchs in
coaching. |
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The same goes for coaches.
An institution should always be mindful of the direction of the program, and any longtime coach who is closer to the end of a career than the beginning should be involved in the decision-making process. I believe that goes for all coaches, even the likes of Mike
Krzyzewski, Jim Boheim, Lute Olson or Nolan Richardson.
No person or player is allowed the luxury of serving at his or her leisure notwithstanding consistent performance and results, and without regard for the future prospects of the enterprise. Unfortunately for Denny Crum, and for the
game, he was not an active participant in the process of succession, and the
decision will be made for him.
While there is a stunning finality to the fact that Crum will not be the coach at Louisville next season, it is not at all a surprise given the past several years. This decision is not unusual, only unsettling because of Crum's stature.
However, this result is the nature of this or any business. Only a monarch is able to serve until death before being succeeded. There are no monarchs in business or in coaching.
One thing is certain: After the tremor of the news subsides, the disappointment of the last few years of Crum's tenure will fade quickly, and we will be left only with feelings of awe and wonderment of a coach who has had few equals.
When Denny Crum was at his very best, there was nobody better. And he was at his best for a long, long time.
I will remember a coach who was as hard a competitor as I had seen, who cared not about an early-season blemish, but challenged his teams so that they would be ready in March to win a championship. Crum was out in front, ahead of the curve in the coaching profession. He was a model for other coaches, who have learned from him over the years.
In a very real way, there are valuable lessons to be learned from the way this succession scenario played out, and it behooves
other coaches to pay close attention and learn from it. Even as a legend, Crum could not stay forever. However, as a legend, his legacy in the game will live forever.
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