Carmelo Anthony and the Most Notorious Coach Killers in Sports History

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

"Win the crowd and you will win your freedom."  -Proximo from the movie Gladiator

When a talented athlete performs well, he has immense power.

When a talented athlete fails to perform well, he still has immense power.

Thus there are two classes of coach killers—the Michael Jordans and the Michael Vicks.

Jordans of course, bedazzle with their legendary play. They win the loyalty of fans, teammates and owners. They run the team.

Vicks frustrate with their failure to live up to their potential, but they still have the loyalty of fans, teammates and owners. Blame for their lack of performance goes right to the man with the playbook.

What follows are wanted posters for 15 players accused of the heinous act of coach-a-cide.

Click on, and play the judge.

Guilty or innocent?

Michael Jordan Sinks Doug Collins

Source: NBAtoday.net

Suspect: Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Aliases: MJ, Air Jordan, His Airness

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Doug Collins.

Modus Operandi: Have petty arguments with coach ("Jordan said the [practice] score was 5-4, while Collins said it was 5-3"), sulk when coach tells you not to practice in the summer, sulk when you have to play point guard to help the team, nudge coach out of a job.

Vince Young Offs Jeff Fisher

Suspect: Vince Paul Young, Jr.

Alias: VY, InVINCEible

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Jeff Fisher.

While it seems at first that it was Fisher that offed Young, (Young was released before Fisher was cut loose) it looks like this could be a case of M.A.C.H. (mutual assured career homicide).

After the Titan's star left, Fisher (a.k.a. Coach .500 or Coacho Ocho) became vulnerable.

Modus Operandi: Haunting comments from VY lingered and malingered:

"I didn’t feel like (Fisher) trusted me. In the five years I was there, I was always looking over my shoulder. I didn’t feel like I was his guy all the way. I put in a lot of work and my stats and my winning, it showed I had grown."

Deron Williams Axes Jerry Sloan

Suspect: Deron Michael Williams

Aliases: Slick, Willie, D-Willie

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Jerry Sloan.

Modus Operandi: Sulk when coach doesn't play him enough rookie season, pretend to smooth things over in subsequent years to the point that coach lets him call plays, then arrive at the point where he picks his own play over his coach's. Have ensuing argument, drive coach off.

Cheerleader's Mom Cans Nicols Zivich

Source: wtsp.com

Suspect: Susan Jacobse (mother of Estero High School varsity cheerleader)

Aliases: None known

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Nicole Zivich, varsity cheerleading head coach.

Modus Operandi: Send emails to school board, superintendent and principal complaining—at first—about safety issues in regards to coach's choice of cheer stunts, then about expensive cheer uniforms, bikini car wash fundraisers, too many tryouts, mandatory practices.

Then shows true colors and complain that the coach (pictured above on the right) is a Hooters waitress. 

E-mails from the angry parent called Zivich an "inexperienced 24-year-old Hooters waitress" with "no professional credentials."

Another e-mail proclaimed that Jacobse's daughter "won't be waiting tables" like her coach.

Demarcus Cousins Boots Paul Westphal

Source: live.drjays.com

Suspect: DeMarcus Cousins

Aliases: Boogie, Silverback, Big Cuz, Big Marc, Curley

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Paul Westphal.

Modus Operandi: Feud openly and often with coach, make comments like this after a blowout loss:

"I don't know what that was. Running the offense coach tells us to run. Just doing what coach say. Got to do what your coach say."

Allegedly demand to be traded. 

Then sit back and watch coach disappear.

Neymar Assassinates Dorival Júnior

Source: entretenimento.uol.com.br

Suspect: Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior

Aliases: Neymar

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Dorival Júnior.

Modus Operandi: Throw a temper tantrum and curse out coach (one of the best in Brazil—with an outstanding record) for letting another player take penalty kick. 

Get banned for two games.

Be so damned talented that the team's board of directors opts to punish coach instead.

Carmelo Anthony Ices Mike D'Antoni

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Suspect: Carmelo Kiyan Anthony

Alias: Melo

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Mike D'Antoni.

Modus Operandi: Refuse to join in the huddle, complain when not receiving ball, sulk when disagreeing with coach's play, allegedly leak a rumor about seeking a trade.

Note: At this point, is it safe to say that when a star player "asks to be traded," it's just a euphemism for "demands the coach be fired"?

(Much like when a veterinarian tells you he is just putting your sick pooch "to sleep.")

Magic Johnson Takes Down Paul Westhead

J.D. Cuban/Getty Images

Suspect: Earvin Johnson Jr.

Aliases: Magic, Buck, EJ

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Paul Westhead.

Modus Operandi: Win an NBA championship with coach. Hit a minor slump. Complain that coach is running offense too slowly. 

Demand to be traded. (Remember that this is a euphemism. See author's note in previous slide.) 

After coach is taken down, announce that getting paid millions of dollars to play a game (and win) just hadn't been enough fun under the old regime.

Joey Harrington Ixnays Steve Mariucci

Suspect: John Joseph Harrington, Jr.

Aliases: Joey, The Piano Man, Joey Heisman, Joey Blue Skies, Joey Sunshine, The Savior of Detroit

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Steve Mariucci.

Modus Operandi: Be the No. 3 draft pick and raise Motown's hope for a winning team. Produce lackluster results.Throw as many interceptions as George Clooney does parties. Let coach take the fall.

In all fairness, another suspect in this case is Jeff Garcia. According to Jeff Corbett of USA Today:

"Mariucci got fired because he believed he had a better chance of winning with gimpy-legged, weak-armed Jeff Garcia over Millen's quarterback, Joey Harrington." 

Rogers Hornsby Brings Down Jack Hendricks

Suspect: Rogers Hornsby 

Alias: Rajah

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Jack Hendricks.

Modus Operandi: Moan about missing old manager. Let stellar batting average falter. After losing season announce intention to never play under current manager again.

Watch coach get shown the door.

Mario Lemieux Does Scotty Bowman in

Source: NHLsnipers.com

Suspect: Mario Lemieux

Aliases: Super Mario, Mario Le Magnifique, Mr. 66, The Greatest One

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Scotty Bowman.

Let it be known that Lemieux is a very debatable suspect and the information listed in the following M.O. is largely undocumented by reliable sources. 

But as the famous line from Scream goes: "...you can only hear that Richard Gere gerbil story so many times before you have to start believing it."

And, as this quote from a former player demonstrates, Bowman was largely unpopular: “We hated him for 364 days of the year. On day 365, you collected your Stanley Cup ring.”

Modus Operandi: Have spat with the winningest coach in NFL history and resent his attention to building up the defense.

Give owners a choice between superstar player and superstar coach. Um, which one was it that fans come out to see? 

Adelle Geniella (at Age 14) Snuffs Carlie Beck

Source: facebook.com

Suspect: Adelle Geniella and parents Scott and Heather

Aliases: None Known

Wanted for questioning in the killing Playboy site of Carlie Beck, a.k.a. Carlie Christine, the coach of the cheerleading squad for Casa Roble High School.

Modus Operandi: Rack up unexcused cheerleading practices. Get banned from following year's tryouts. 

Dig up dirt on coach for revenge. Hit the jackpot with discovery that coach was Playboy's February 2009 Cyber Girl of the Week.

Alexander Ovechkin X'es out Bruce Boudreau

Source: washingtonpost.com

Suspect: Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin

Aliases: Ovie, OV-1, Alexander the Great

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Bruce Boudreau.

Modus Operandi: Be one of the best players ever, but fail to win a Stanley Cup. Make people wonder why a coach can't win with such amazing talent at his disposal.

Oh, and toss a couple of f-bombs around (on camera) so people know about displeasure with coach.

Michael Vick Does in Jim Mora

Source: epdm.com.cn

Suspect: Michael Dwayne Vick

Aliases: Ron Mexico, Ookie

Wanted for questioning in the killing of Jim Mora, Jr. (and Dan Reeves?)

According to Off the Record's Micah Warren, "while Vick had jaw-dropping ability, his awful attitude and approach to the game combined with his poor decision making on the field, were a big problem."

Modus Operandi: Play to potential inconsistently. Get injured frequently. Make owners and fans wonder why coach can't produce more wins from such an immensely talented player.

Ottawa Senators: Serial Murderers

Suspect: The Ottawa Sentors

Alias: The Sens

Wanted for questioning in the killings of Bryan Murray, John Paddock, Craig Hartsburg and Cory Clouston.

Modus Operandi: Show some potential, then majorly suck to majorly piss off general manager and fan base. Off as many coaches from 2007-2009 as Argentina did presidents during its economic crisis.