Is Dominique capable of being Hawks' coach?

[HAWKS1986]

Dominique is a Hall of Famer, and is well-known by young and old and has 'credibility'. However, is he capable of leading the Hawks?

Former players who I thought might not be good coaches had some success. Larry Bird had a winning record with Indiana. Avery Johnson has had a lot of success with Dallas.

I don't think Mike Woodson is going to survive for another year, regardless of the ownership situation.

Wilkins may be 'temporary', but if you give him solid assistants who can teach and motivate, I believe we may have a better situation here in Atlanta.

Josh's outburst reminded me of what happened with Jeff George and former Falcon coach June Jones. Woodson is not capable of turning it around, and its time for the Hawks to part ways.

Maybe Nique can be a better alternative.

[Packfill]

I don't think he would be viable candidate for a head-coaching position. Usually the players that make the best coaches are the ones that relied on smarts more then athletic ability.

[HAWKS1986]

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I don't think he would be viable candidate for a head-coaching position. Usually the players that make the best coaches are the ones that relied on smarts more then athletic ability.

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Nique has been with the Hawks for a couple of years as an executive and he has seen the maturation process of some of our key young players. So he has had an opportunity to evaluate the Hawks, and may have a 'plan of action' to help the Hawks.

[lawman]

i think steve smith is the best coach for our team

[gsuteke]

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i think steve smith is the best coach for our team

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i don't see any of the same old retreads panning out. Someone like Smitty would be worth giving a shot too, especially if he can surround himself with good assistants.

[DrReality]

I wouldn't wish that on him. He's much more valuable to the organization in his present role. He's the ONLY pro we have who can be the face of the franchise. If he took the coaching job and bombed . . . . it would tarnish his reputation and not have the same value. Coaches can be found in a lot of places while ex-superstars don't come along but once in a blue moon.

[TexasPete]

He has zero coaching experience. No thanks. Same goes for Steve Smith. Great players rarely make good coaches. It isn't as easy to be a great coach as you think. Its almost impossible for a guy with no experience.

[Plastic Man]

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I wouldn't wish that on him. He's much more valuable to the organization in his present role. He's the ONLY pro we have who can be the face of the franchise. If he took the coaching job and bombed . . . . it would tarnish his reputation and not have the same value. Coaches can be found in a lot of places while ex-superstars don't come along but once in a blue moon.

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It would be one thing if Nique really wanted to coach, but I don't think he does. I like him where he's at right now. I'd rather have an experienced coach also.

[Sothron]

The ASG would be desperate to hire Nique. They would absolutely have to surround him with well paid assistants to help with "X" and "O" of gametime. Just like Indiana did with Bird as the head coach and Rick Carlisle being the actual tactician on the coaching staff.

[HAWKS1986]

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The ASG would be desperate to hire Nique. They would absolutely have to surround him with well paid assistants to help with "X" and "O" of gametime. Just like Indiana did with Bird as the head coach and Rick Carlisle being the actual tactician on the coaching staff.

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Well, in Indiana, it worked... Bird has had winning teams in his tenure there...

We need to get Woodson out of here NOW. And Nique wouldn't be any worse. After three years, a 'fresh start' is required... And maybe Nique's 'name' will draw free agents to 'reconsider' the Hawks...

[Sothron]

At this point Lon Kruger and Bob Weiss would both be better than Woodson.

[macdaddy]

Nique has expressed interest in coaching in the past and I think people underestimate his knowledge of the game. I don't know if he'd be a good coach or not but I was up for having him as a midseason replacement. Then you get to try him out and if he doesn't work out he can move back to the front office without any damage to the rep. I'm guessing the next coach is going to have to be someone with proven experience though. Otherwise you're really rolling the dice again.

[thesheedera]

I think the time to give him a test run was a couple of weeks ago. It would be clear it was a temporary situation and an in-house guy was just sliding over so he doesn't lose any face if it didn't work out. He could get a little experience while he filled in for Woodson to finish the season, and the management/ownwership could see if he has a future.

It seems too late now with only a few games left. If you make him the head coach during the offseason you'll need to give him a couple of seasons to be fair to him and yourself to see if it works. It would be hard to fire Nique as a coach after the way he was dealt as a player, and the way he's come back to us with a great deal of class. You'd have to slap him in the face twice in a decade, and he's the best franchise representative you've ever had.

Had we given the team to Smith/Nique a month ago, even as something ridiculous as c-head coaches, as weird and stupid as that sounds, I'd be a lot more excited about the future of the franchise than I am right now. I see some potential with Smith, and I see Nique as a great asst. coach/personel guy. But if you try it now you have to ride it out for a while.