Is Mike Woodson's Job Saved?

[TheDude]

So if we do NOT win this series whether that mean lose tonight or lose in Boston, do you think that Woodson's job is now safe?

I hope not. Even in our wins, there have been several comments made by announcers and sportswriters that our halfcourt offensive system is horrendous. I even heard Hubie Brown say that the Hawks offensive sets were "simple" and that because of that, we must rely on our athleticism and one-on-one...said that josh smith was able to score big points at home against top Dman in Garnett "even though" had to do it one-on-one because of our poor halfcourt offense.....

Look, I'm glad our players have done well this series. But it is still obvious that we are playing with good talent, but with poor coaching. Think about it, what are coaches in charge of?

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1) x's and o's- it is obvious by all that watch basketball that we are not only, not very good, we are actually pretty terrible in this department. the halfcourt offense is terrible and we see player after player look at the coach in a flabbergasted way when he gives direction.

2) player motivation- woodson is about as creative as my glass of water. photocopies of championships, using other coaches talking points (admitted/brought up phil jackson last game). looking dumbfounded on the sideline on almost every single shot of him

3) in game management- it has been documented on this forum several times of his mismanagement of substitutions and player playing time.

4) player development- this could go either way. Josh Smith has developed. Horford has done nicely. but i would argue that it has been poor. Marvin has progressed up to the point of a jumpshot and stopped. Josh Smith does well due to athletic prowess and offseason working with hakeem/murphy. Horford is just a beast anyway. Shelden showed no development. Solomon has showed little improvement. Salim is the same, slightly better decision-making. I would say that he's poor in this area, with some development having to be credited to the players themselves

so if he should NOT be fired, then why not? if you analyze his job duties and look at the performance in those areas, you can see that for this team to make a huge jump forward, we need someone who is a real coach..

no disrespect to Woodson, he's a nice guy and a player's coach but he is in over his head right now and needs to continue to work on his own skills before he is ready again to be a real coach.

[Admin]

I think he has earned another year and I want Woodson back UNLESS there is a CLEAR upgrade available. I would be willing to bring in D'Antoni (although I doubt he is fired) or Avery as I think both of them are excellent coaches who got shafted by poorly constructed lineups and micro management. I'm not willing to fire Woodson just to fire him. There absolutely has to be a clear upgrade available.

[frosgrim]

ASG is not firing anyone. They may not renew a contract though. I may be parsing words, but the reality is that Woodson does not have a contract for next year. This gives them more flexibility.

IMO, Woodson has done nothing in the playoffs that would change anyone's opinion of him. Those that defend him, still do so and can point to the home wins. Those who believe he is not worth keeping can point to the road losses in the playoffs and the strange rotations he's using.

FWIW, I don't like Woodson's continued media campaining for his job. He's thrown BK under the bus on several occasions in the media. Regardless of how you feel about BK, Woodson's activities in this realm are unprofessional and, frankly, immature.

I keep hearing that the players have to have accountability, but what about Woodson? Doesn't he have to have accountability for inconsistant rotations, bad offensive sets, and just blantant basketball gaffs over the years?

[Dexmethylphenidate]

About 2 or 3 coaches available were coach of the year at some point and were proven winners. I'll take them in a heartbeat.

[Plainview1981]

I don't see how a couple of games of overachieving should allow him another year.

[Admin]

I said a month or so before the playoffs started that if the Hawks made a strong showing in the playoffs that he should be given another year. Some agreed, some didn't. The fact is that Woody is nowhere near as bad as some make him out to be. He is an average coach who is getting better. If we can replace him with a good or great coach then let's do it, but DO NOT replace him with another average coach.

[Admin]

As far as I can remember it was BK who rolled the first boulder onto Woody, LONG before Woody started taking shots at BK and using the media to try and save his job. I agree that it has been unprofessional, to a degree, but BK is the one who, for lack of a better term, started it.

Of course Woodson should be held accountable for his poor substitution patterns, poor offensive sets, etc. However, I am not entirely convinced that our poor half court offense is just on him. We will see though if/when he is replaced by another coach whether it was truly coaching mistakes or if we have too many dumb/lazy players.

[coachx]

I would take an upgrade in a heart beat. ( Mike Fratello or Avery Johnson). However, some guys out there would simply be lateral moves.....Paul Silas comes to mind as move for changes sake.

That being said, the only thing that guarantees Woody will stick around is to win the next 2 games.......in my mind at least.

[TanAdam]

The simple truth is, this run has earned him AT LEAST another year. I am not saying he deserves it, but he will get it. If this ownership didn't fire him through mid season, they won't take care of business after the season.

Now if he doesn't have a contract for next season than that is a different story.

Man the thought of D'antoni or Avery behind the wheels just makes me dream of the possibilities on offense and what a real coach could do.

[AHF]

After 4 years with the team, I think it is time for change this offseason unless Woodson really pulls something amazing out during the playoffs that make me think the team is still highly responsive to him and he is coaching them up. I disagree with anyone who thinks this team was coached up significantly during the regular season. Woodson isn't a total reject as a coach or anything but we can't wait for him to raise this team on both ends of the floor any longer, IMO. A fresh voice would be helpful for the Joshes who have listened to his message for 4 years.

[coachx]

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Now if he doesn't have a contract for next season than that is a different story.

That is the story. His contract ends June 1, 2008.

So is he worth a new contract to you ?

[Plainview1981]

What run? It's a couple of games of overachieving.

[Plainview1981]

What makes Mike good as a coach? The Hawks are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and the offense isn't good. In fact, the offense usually performances poorly when the other team is a good defensive team.

[Lascar78]

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As far as I can remember it was BK who rolled the first boulder onto Woody, LONG before Woody started taking shots at BK and using the media to try and save his job. I agree that it has been unprofessional, to a degree, but BK is the one who, for lack of a better term, started it.

Of course Woodson should be held accountable for his poor substitution patterns, poor offensive sets, etc. However, I am not entirely convinced that our poor half court offense is just on him. We will see though if/when he is replaced by another coach whether it was truly coaching mistakes or if we have too many dumb/lazy players.

You're dead wrong for the simple reason that Woody has had no media comment. Even after Woody has all but insulted him in the media, when people bring up that he tried to fire Woody he still says "don't believe everything you read" and such. Can't blame him for trying to get a guy fired when he's supposed to have that authority. Woody's the one going more or less public.

I can't wait until they're both gone. Unfortunately I get the feeling that Woody will still be here.

[Admin]

I didn't say he was good. I said he was average. He should only be replaced by a good or great coach. No sense in making a change just to make one.

[DJ_Money]

I think it's reached the point where Bibby and Joe ignore him, Smoove doesn't care to listen to him, and Zaza just flat can't stand the guy.

I agree that we shouldn't make a lateral move. There's coaches out there that would be a huge step up over Woodson.

There's no "Well, no coach in their right mind would want to coach these bums." excuse anymore.

[Admin]

How am I "dead wrong"?? You either believe Sekou or you believe BK. If you believe Sekou then BK did out him and has tried to fire him 3 times. If you believe BK then that means Sekou flat out made up what he said.

Either way Woody's name was dragged through the mud and he was made to look bad and I don't blame him for answering questions about whether he deserves to back with saying that he should. It's not like he has come out on his own campaigning in the media to come back, as far as I can remember he has only done it when asked about it by the media.

[Admin]

Let's hope that is the case that coaches will want to coach here. Avery is the best option right now in my mind and I hope he is waiting until the playoffs are over to decide on a new team. I doubt D'Antoni gets fired but if he does he would be my first choice since he coaches to the style that we are built to play.

[AHF]

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How am I "dead wrong"?? You either believe Sekou or you believe BK. If you believe Sekou then BK did out him and has tried to fire him 3 times. If you believe BK then that means Sekou flat out made up what he said.

Either way Woody's name was dragged through the mud and he was made to look bad and I don't blame him for answering questions about whether he deserves to back with saying that he should. It's not like he has come out on his own campaigning in the media to come back, as far as I can remember he has only done it when asked about it by the media.

What bothers me the most about this media spin is how much he is poor mouthing his own team, making them out to be young players who never had a prayer of winning 37 games but for his amazing coaching job. With the talent on this team plus the addition of Bibby plus no injuries this year worth mentioning, 37 is not something to write home.

Generally, I agree that Woodson has every right to make his case for why he should stay i the media.

[AtLaS]

I hope they at LEAST interview some other coaches to take the job, and not just blindly resign Woodson without even testing the market. I'm sure our team is appealing to many coaches, we have plenty of talent.