Doug Gottlieb currently serves as the head coach of the men’s college basketball program at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The results of his first 18 months and three weeks at the helm (8-34, .190 winning percentage) do not bode well for his job security in the long term.
He is going to be fired at some point in the future if the Phoenix does not start to win games.
This harsh reality does not only apply to the college basketball coach in Green Bay. Any person who does not produce results at his or her job will eventually be fired. Kenny Payne was ousted by his alma mater last season after a 12-52 start. Fran McCaffrey, the all-time winningest basketball coach in University of Iowa history, was let go because he failed to advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Doug Gottlieb is big mad.
I do not listen to Doug Gottlieb’s radio show, nor am I familiar with his opinions on sports. Maybe we agree on things. Maybe we don’t. I would guess that it is the latter, given his recent rant about me.
I was actually right in the middle of a heated discussion with Gottlieb in my DMs when I was made aware of this targeted attack. The same guy who pretended on-air not to know who I am was already in dialogue for 237 days.
“If there is actual human being (sic) who works for BroBible, you can find me on Facebook, you can find me on Instagram, or you can call Fox Sports Radio or you can DM me” he says.
Now please excuse me while I shatter my extremely high journalistic standard to break the third wall… Doug, YOU sent ME the first DM! Twice!
Green Bay athletic director Josh Moon’s decision to hire a Fox Sports Radio host is a great story.
I do appreciate that Gottlieb backhandedly calls me a “journalist.” Thank you. I did graduate from a four-year accredited university with a degree in Big J Journalism. Hotty Toddy.
However, when people ask me what I do for a living, I do not refer to myself as a journalist!
I prefer the term storyteller. A writer. A thinker. (A wonk.)
And forget that we’re talking about Doug Gottlieb specifically, any Division-I college that hires a men’s basketball coach with zero prior coaching experience (unlike Mike Bibby) is a great story. Especially when the coach is allowed to host a daily national radio show. It is an even better story when the coach loses a lot of games and/or throws a stool.
Both of those things already happened in Green Bay just 10 games into Gottlieb’s second season.
The Phoenix needs to win college basketball games.
I am very aware that there are other college coaches who have or had this sort of dual-employment arrangement. This agreement between Gottlieb and UW-Green Bay is unique to itself.
It is not apples to apples.
More specifically, Gottlieb asked me via my DMs (which he coincidentally forgot to mention on the radio) whether I know Jim Valvano and Tom Brennan also hosted radio shows in addition to their head coaching jobs. There were a few nuances to each of their off-court roles that made them different from what Gottlieb is currently doing, but the bottom line is this:
Valvano won a national championship. Brennan is the all-time winningest coach in Vermont history.
Neither legendary coach threw a stool in rage after an 8-33 (now 8-34) start to their careers. They won.
Gottlieb also used the example of Deion Sanders, who he said hosts a podcast in addition to his role as the head football coach at Colorado. While that is not true as of 2022, when Coach Prime left Mississippi for the job in Boulder, he does appear as a guest on other media platforms more often than most coaches. There is a big difference between Deion Sanders and Doug Gottlieb in terms of societal status.
However, the Buffaloes are only 16-21 in the last three years. That is not good.
Gottlieb asked me if I have been equally as critical of Sanders and others as I am of him. Fair question.
Yes. I am! My criticism is not specific to Gottlieb. Only he and Hugh Freeze respond in my DMs. Hm.
(I am choosing not to include direct screenshots of our conversation to be fair to Gottlieb even though I’d love to air it all out. Just give me the word.)
Put down the phone!
With all of that being said, I do know how to do the whole Big J journalism thing and I do enjoy doing it. I would love the opportunity to spend a day in the life of Doug Gottlieb! I think it would be a cool story.
From what he tells me, his daily schedule looks something like this:
- 7:00 a.m. — Coffee with donor
- 8:15 a.m. — Staff meeting
- 9:00 ~ 9:30 a.m. — Film
- 9:30 ~ 11:15 a.m. — Practice
- 11:30 a.m. ~ 12: 00 p.m. — Staff practice recap
- 12:00 ~ 1:00 pm. — Finalize travel arrangements and radio prep
- Close eyes for 30 minutes
- 1: 30 p.m. — Radio
- 4:00 ~ 5:30 p.m. — Staff meeting
- 5:30 ~ 6:15 p.m. — Workout
- 6:15 ~ 7:00 p.m. — Call players
- 7:00 p.m. — Watch next opponent, make recruiting and fundraising calls
I do not know when Gottlieb sleeps outside of the midday nap but he messaged me for about an hour at 7:00 p.m. on a Tuesday. That likely kept him up later than expected and/or cut into his scouting and phone calls.
I offered to figure out the travel arrangements to witness Gottlieb’s daily routine with my own eyes. My in-laws have deep ties to Green Bay and I am long overdue to visit anyway. Win-win!
Doug Gottlieb has not accepted my offer.
If it is not possible for me to visit, I did ask Gottlieb a few direct questions like he suggested. He is not willing to answer them. Nor is he willing to share the context of the leaked Josh Moon video that was filmed and posted by “someone with a phone in our practice gym.”
If there is “kind of nothing” to the video, why not provide context?
Without context, I can only share my opinion— just like when Gottlieb called for Mike McDaniel to be fired even though he has “never spoken to Mike” and “doesn’t know him.” Pot, meet kettle.
Gottlieb says I am allowed to have opinion. Thanks, Doug.
My opinion is that University of Wisconsin-Green Bay athletic director Josh Moon’s decision to hire a head basketball coach with zero prior coaching experience was never a good idea in the first place, regardless of name. The arrangement with Fox Sports Radio makes it even more bizarre.
The Phoenix needs to win games to prove me wrong or Gottlieb will not survive. Moon should go with him if that day comes. Green Bay must start trending in the right direction against The System tonight.