The wall between media and coaching is crumbling, especially in basketball. Steve Kerr left TNT to immediately lead the Golden State Warriors to the NBA title in 2015, and today ESPN NBA analyst and podcaster JJ Redick is reportedly a favorite for the open Los Angeles Lakers job, despite having zero professional coaching experience. Elsewhere, Brian Griese left ESPN to become the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach, which followed John Lynch leaving Fox to become the 49ers general manager.
That's at the professional level. At the college level, one school has already made the move the Lakers are thinking about.
On Tuesday, the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay announced Doug Gottlieb -- yes, that Doug Gottlieb -- has been appointed its new head coach.
Gottlieb is a former point guard at Notre Dame and Oklahoma State who has been a mainstay of the college basketball media for two decades now, with lengthy stints at ESPN and CBS and Fox, where he hosts a national, daily 2-hour radio show which he will continue to host as Green Bay's head coach.
I asked Moon if Gottlieb would be permitted give opinions on nat'l radio about college basketball, in addition to offering NCAA Tournament picks/predictions. He said: "They'll (Fox Sports) have to work through that with what it looks form the radio side, and us from our side."
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) May 14, 2024
To say this is an odd arrangement is an understatement.
If John Calipari gets off to a 4-4 start in his first season at Arkansas, what is Gottlieb going to say about it? If he compliments a Razorbacks player, is that going to be considered tampering? What's the right tone Gottlieb can take that will keep listeners interested but not create blowback or actual, NCAA-regulation repercussions for Gottlieb and the Green Bay basketball program?
One could say Gottlieb could just avoid college basketball altogether, but then again why is Fox Sports continuing to pay him if he can't talk about the sport he's a legitimate expert about? Is Gottlieb going to come prepared with blistering takes after an NFL playoff weekend, in the middle of conference season for Green Bay basketball? How's that going to go over, especially if Gottlieb loses during said weekend?
Furthermore, what are the financials here? Is Green Bay not paying Gottlieb enough to drop his radio show? Is Fox paying so relatively little it can afford to keep employing a host with a time-consuming side gig? Gottlieb also hosts a podcast produced by Fox, All Ball, which discusses the "biggest stories across college basketball and the NBA."
For what it's worth, Gottlieb says coaching Green Bay is a personal mission of his. He's the son of former UW-Milwaukee head coach Bob Gottlieb, and he was a finalist for the Green Bay job a year ago that ultimately went to Sundance Wicks. The Green Bay job opened Monday when Wicks took the Wyoming job.
"It is an honor beyond measure to be named the 10th Men's Basketball coach in UWGB history. I would like to thank Chancellor Mike Alexander and Josh Moon for this incredible opportunity," Gottlieb said. "Every kid has a dream growing up, some want to be firefighter, others want to be president, I have always wanted to be a head basketball coach at the Division I level."
Gottlieb, who also interviewed for the Oklahoma State job in 2017, finessed his way to a D1 head coaching job without having to climb the ranks as an assistant. His coaching experience is limited to two stints (one as a head coach, one as assistant) with Team USA in the Maccabi Games, the Jewish version of the Olympics.
"(A)s a kid who was born at Columbia Hospital and a dad who was, at that (time) a head coach in the UW system, it is even more amazing to get this opportunity to come back to Wisconsin and live out my dreams," he continued. "Green Bay Basketball will be a family, and you are all welcome to join the family. Together, we are going to play great basketball, bring positive attention to the Fox Valley and UWGB community and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it. I can't wait to meet you all and welcome you to the new Phoenix Family. If you need me, I'll be in the gym. Let's be great."
The proof will ultimately be on the court, but my ultimate question for Gottlieb is this: If this job is "an honor beyond measure" and "an opportunity to come out to Wisconsin and live out my dreams," isn't it worthy of 24 hours a day of devotion, and not 22?
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.