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Kaltefleiter: Firing Felton makes matters even more murky
Story updated at 11:23 PM on Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Dennis Felton's critics have lined up at Damon Evans' door and they're demanding blood.
"Off with his head," they're clamoring.
They're fed up with the losses, the inconsistency. They're tired of hearing about Bruce Pearl's miracle work at Tennessee. They're tired of hearing about the Hurricane Harrick recovery effort.
They're tired of a basketball program that's more insignificant these days than an Atari 2600.
Felton's critics want immediate change, by God, and they emphatically believe that jettisoning Georgia's fifth-year coach is the only remedy.
At this juncture, they would be wrong.
Ditching Felton only would make matters worse for a program that was progressing until this season started. Instability is what Georgia should avoid at all costs. An abrupt coaching change shatters the exact balance Felton, Evans and the rest of Georgia's higher-ups have craved since Harrick's removal.
This season was doomed before it ever started when Georgia's leading scorers from last year, Takais Brown and Mike Mercer, were suspended and eventually dismissed from the team. Felton tried to keep things in perspective by saying that the key departures wouldn't affect how the Bulldogs performed. But he had to know his team was headed for the abyss of the SEC; he just couldn't say it publicly.
Lest we forget, Evans played a prominent role in what happened to Brown and Mercer. They were suspended a combined 24 games because of Evans' controversial academic guidelines. If Evans pulls the plug on Felton, a coach he gave a two-year extension to less than eight months ago, then Evans shares some responsibility, too.
When Georgia hired Felton in 2003, he was charged with rebuilding a program in shambles and turning it into a winner. All the while, he was given the ultimatum of recruiting players gushing with talent, impeccable character and scholarly pursuits. Then when two of them stray from those qualities, Evans is there to hit the "fire" button?
It's like telling a ranch hand to protect a hen house from foxes only to turn around later and scold him for killing one.
Frankly, one question that Evans must answer is would firing Felton really be cost effective right now?
The school could owe him more than $2 million if termination is the decision. At the same time, Georgia would have to pony up another lucrative, multi-million dollar offer to convince somebody that the program is a winner waiting to happen.
Snow cone salesmen would have an easier time peddling their product in Siberia.
Whether Felton can be an effective coach at the SEC level remains to be seen. That's mostly because the players he's had at Georgia - with the exception of Brown, Mercer and Sundiata Gaines - would be benchwarmers at most top-tier teams in the league.
The only way to know for sure is to grant Felton a reprieve until the end of next season when he's had two years with the current group of freshmen and the even more talented ones arriving for next season.
If Georgia doesn't reach the NCAA Tournament this time next year, then by all means, Evans should unsheathe the ax. Until then, Felton's head should rest easy on the block.
John Kaltefleiter is the sports editor of the Banner-Herald.
Story updated at 11:23 PM on Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Dennis Felton's critics have lined up at Damon Evans' door and they're demanding blood.
"Off with his head," they're clamoring.
They're fed up with the losses, the inconsistency. They're tired of hearing about Bruce Pearl's miracle work at Tennessee. They're tired of hearing about the Hurricane Harrick recovery effort.
They're tired of a basketball program that's more insignificant these days than an Atari 2600.
Felton's critics want immediate change, by God, and they emphatically believe that jettisoning Georgia's fifth-year coach is the only remedy.
At this juncture, they would be wrong.
Ditching Felton only would make matters worse for a program that was progressing until this season started. Instability is what Georgia should avoid at all costs. An abrupt coaching change shatters the exact balance Felton, Evans and the rest of Georgia's higher-ups have craved since Harrick's removal.
This season was doomed before it ever started when Georgia's leading scorers from last year, Takais Brown and Mike Mercer, were suspended and eventually dismissed from the team. Felton tried to keep things in perspective by saying that the key departures wouldn't affect how the Bulldogs performed. But he had to know his team was headed for the abyss of the SEC; he just couldn't say it publicly.
Lest we forget, Evans played a prominent role in what happened to Brown and Mercer. They were suspended a combined 24 games because of Evans' controversial academic guidelines. If Evans pulls the plug on Felton, a coach he gave a two-year extension to less than eight months ago, then Evans shares some responsibility, too.
When Georgia hired Felton in 2003, he was charged with rebuilding a program in shambles and turning it into a winner. All the while, he was given the ultimatum of recruiting players gushing with talent, impeccable character and scholarly pursuits. Then when two of them stray from those qualities, Evans is there to hit the "fire" button?
It's like telling a ranch hand to protect a hen house from foxes only to turn around later and scold him for killing one.
Frankly, one question that Evans must answer is would firing Felton really be cost effective right now?
The school could owe him more than $2 million if termination is the decision. At the same time, Georgia would have to pony up another lucrative, multi-million dollar offer to convince somebody that the program is a winner waiting to happen.
Snow cone salesmen would have an easier time peddling their product in Siberia.
Whether Felton can be an effective coach at the SEC level remains to be seen. That's mostly because the players he's had at Georgia - with the exception of Brown, Mercer and Sundiata Gaines - would be benchwarmers at most top-tier teams in the league.
The only way to know for sure is to grant Felton a reprieve until the end of next season when he's had two years with the current group of freshmen and the even more talented ones arriving for next season.
If Georgia doesn't reach the NCAA Tournament this time next year, then by all means, Evans should unsheathe the ax. Until then, Felton's head should rest easy on the block.
John Kaltefleiter is the sports editor of the Banner-Herald.
