10 Most Thankless Coaching Jobs in Sports
Sometimes, the job outweighs one's personality in sports. Certain franchises, surrounded by allure, dollar signs and countless successful seasons turn coaching positions into a world of "what have you done for me lately?"
Not all jobs are created equal. So we wanted to find out which 10 coaching positions in sports can oftentimes be deemed thankless. These are places touching all walks of life in which winning drives everything and those put into a position of power are constantly on the hot seat.
Perform or get lost is the motto. Here now are 10 thankless coaching jobs in sports.
Honorable Mention: LSU Tigers Football
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The SEC has remained a thankless conference for coaches in many ways due to insanely high level of competition. LSU has proved this point, firing head coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron after a 2-2 start, per The Advocate's Ross Dellenger and Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman.
Miles' firing comes after the 2014 and 2015 seasons in which his team lost five and three games, respectively. The records weren't shocking, but they showcase the school's will to win.
LSU remains a storied program, even in turmoil. The Tigers have enjoyed a history of bowl-game wins, including the BCS Championship in 2007.
What comes next remains up for discussion. For now, the LSU job has proven once again—like most SEC endeavors—to be a thankless position.
New York Yankees
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The New York Yankees have won a ton of ballgames over the years. Twenty-seven World Series titles included. When you win as much as the Yankees do, the job of managing talent becomes thankless.
It's not even a knock on any of the great managers who took control of this team. Billy Martin, Miller Huggins, Casey Stengel, Joe Torre and others have enjoyed the fruits of a loaded roster and a wonderful city. It's just how things go.
Greatness is expected in New York. So when things don't go well, the merry-go-round of managerial changes comes swinging around with music blaring out of a fuzzy set of speakers.
You have to dig back to 1980 to see how thankless really looks. The decade of big hair and synthesizers produced nine managers in 10 seasons. Winning came in streaks, which allowed George Steinbrenner to pick and chose his on-field leaders.
Nowadays, things have calmed down. After Torre left in 2007, there hasn't been much movement. Joe Girardi has remained in place. But the Yankees job remains a hot one, and history proves it. Had it not been for the Yankees' miraculous 2016 season, Girardi might have finally been axed, per Ryan Fagan of Sporting News.
Real Madrid
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Money talks, and Real Madrid ownership tends to listen. The world’s most valuable football club—football of the international kind—per Forbes, is on its 15th manager since 1999.
It's not only because of losing. Madrid has won the UEFA Champions League title on four separate occasions over the same period and performed equally as well in La Liga play.
Leading Madrid has become a thankless, yet important, job because of global domination. Winning isn’t ingrained in the culture. Crushing your rivals is.
Managers are expected to produce results. Failing to capture league titles is for the birds and warrants instant removal. Competing with not only the world’s other best clubs, but also rival Barcelona, makes this an extra-special brand of thankless.
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Cleveland Cavaliers
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The Cleveland Cavaliers' head coaching job is the latest to join the thankless category. And who's to blame for this? LeBron James, of course.
You take what you get with King James. He's a brilliant player and was the main reason this team won the 2015-16 NBA Finals, after going down 3-1.
Despite all of the good, James also dictates the coaching position. It doesn't matter if it's Mike Brown, David Blatt or Tyronn Lue. Any perceived riff ultimately comes down to whether James can co-exist with the floor general.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical dug into the relationship between his former coach, Blatt, and James prior to his midseason firing. The gist of the article talks about how Blatt never had a shot to last as the Cavs coach. James and his management team quickly disposed of him.
Whether Lue sticks around ultimately could play back to James. But that's the trade-off in Cleveland. Dominate the Eastern Conference, win championships and keep the King happy.
Dallas Cowboys
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Do not get it confused: This is Jerry Jones' world, and we are all living in it. The Dallas Cowboys owner has pulled the strings when it comes to coaching changes and personnel decisions since he purchased the team in 1989.
Jones has switched out winning and losing coaches with an equal amount of zest. Whether it was Jimmy Johnson, Chan Gailey, Wade Phillips or Bill Parcells, the Cowboys' head-coaching gig has remained thankless as can be.
The NFL is a business. And in that sense, Jones has carried the Cowboys to the promised land. Besides a handful of championships in the 1990s, the team is valued at $4 billion, according to Forbes. It’s a total that places the Cowboys above every other sports franchise in the world.
When revenue is pouring in, coaches need to realize the job is bigger than they ever will be.
USC Trojans Football
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The USC Trojans football program has been a coaching black hole since Pete Carroll packed up his duffel bag and headed for the National Football League.
After a lengthy tenure of success, highly sought-after recruits and controversy, the Trojans have struggled to find an identity. Once the cream of the crop in college football, this program has seen four coaches come through the door since 2009—Carroll’s last year in SoCal.
USC has realized it’s hard to replace a legend, no matter how lustrous your program has been. With current lead man Clay Helton off to a 1-3 start, the wheels are already churning about a possible firing, per Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports.
“It’s way too soon to pass judgment on that decision, but the early returns have not been promising,” Eisenberg said.
If Helton is forced out by season’s end, USC will be looking once again for a solution. With a premium placed on instant results, USC has definitely veered into thankless territory.
New York Knicks
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The New York Knicks coaching situation has been a convoluted mess, dating back to when Jeff Van Gundy was let go in 2002.
Since Van Gundy's departure from the Big Apple, the Madison Square Garden hallways have been littered with a barrage of coaching names. Don Chaney, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, Herb Williams—in an interim role—Mike D'Antonio, Mike Woodson, Derek Fisher and Kurt Rambis have all tried to right the ship.
None of those guys succeeded. The Knicks made the playoffs only four times since the 2001-02 season.
Knicks president Phil Jackson will now turn to Jeff Hornacek for an answer. Can the former sharp-shooting NBA forward turn things around? The roster, composed of Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings and Kristaps Porziņgis, at least gives him a foundational core to use.
But per usual, it's the Knicks. Can we expect any better? Thankless is part of the gig, dating back 14 seasons now, and it doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon.
Washington Redskins
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The second NFC East team featured on this list is positioned in the nation’s capital. Ownership has directly controlled Washington’s decision-making process for a long time now.
To trace why it’s become thankless, you have to go back to 1999.
Daniel Snyder purchased the Redskins in '99. Since he took control of the franchise, it’s important to note the team has churned through eight head coaches—including bringing back Joe Gibbs for a handful of seasons.
Perhaps no coaching tree, minus the Cleveland Browns, has been as confusing Washington's, with the changes we’ve seen take place.
Snyder’s intense grip on this team has turned off many coaches. When Mike Shanahan was in charge, he claimed Snyder attempted to change the team’s offense to favor his then-star quarterback, Robert Griffin III. Not good.
Constant turmoil and underlying secrets have turned this once-special NFL job—held by the likes of Gibbs and Vince Lombardi—into the epitome of thankless. There’s never been a sense of security or consistency in Washington, no matter the result.
Los Angeles Lakers
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Those who aren’t named Phil Jackson or Pat Riley, please take a seat in the back of the classroom.
In Los Angeles, Jackson and Riley have been the only two men—minus Del Harris’ five-year run—to have created a legacy that’s been almost impossible to follow. Lakers’ ownership, whether it was Dr. Jerry Buss or the rest of the Buss clan, has traditionally sent coaches not named Jackson and Riley packing.
Since Jackson’s second departure in 2011, the Lakers have shuffled through some big names. Mike Brown was first hired to replace Jackson but was quickly replaced midway into his second year in favor of Mike D’Antoni (although Bernie Bickerstaff served as interim coach before D'Antoni's arrival).
D’Antoni was fired after a brutal 27-55 campaign in 2013-14, paving the way for Byron Scott’s return. The longtime Lakers’ great lasted two seasons on the bench before he was canned.
It will be up to freshly-hired Luke Walton to try and rip this once-prestigious position out of a thankless world. Can he become the first man to pass by the ghosts of Jackson and Riley?
Cleveland Browns
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Coaching the Cleveland Browns has remained a task in futility for years. Perhaps no franchise in sports has dismantled and released coaches with such fluidity as the Browns.
With Hue Jackson in charge this season, he represents the ninth Browns coach—including Terry Robiskie’s interim run—since 2000. To add fuel to the fire, the Browns have only made the postseason once in that time frame, making the rotation of head coaches a common theme in Cleveland.
Without a solid answer or any sense of continuity, the Browns gig remains thankless as can be. Hopefully, Jackson can eventually turn things around, cementing his name as an Ohio legend in the process.
Because similar to their laundry list of quarterbacks, the amount of coaches who have passed through the doors over the last 16 years is enough to fill FirstEnergy Stadium.
Miami Heat
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When LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade got together in 2010, all of the media attention was focused on them. And rightfully so.
One person who didn't receive any of the focus was then-third-year head coach Erik Spoelstra. Forget the fact he was about to inherit a monster, superstar-laden roster. This was all about the Big Three.
You figured Spoelstra was supposed to win. He had one of the best teams ever assembled on paper. Fair or not, it was part of the narrative.
Four NBA Finals appearances and two titles later, the conversation once is still about the stars. James is positioned in Cleveland, Wade is off to Chicago and Chris Bosh appears to be finished in Miami, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
It's going to be interesting to see how history remembers Spoelstra's tenure with Miami. Can he stay put and anchor the franchise for another decade? Or, will he be remembered solely for being a thankless part of the Big Three's reign in South Beach?
All stats, box scores and coaching information via Sports-Reference.com, unless noted otherwise.
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