Dear Billy,
Hey, man. I'm sorry you got fired.
I'm not going to pretend I'm heartbroken, or anything, but I do feel fairly bad for you. I want to let you know two things:
First, it's going to be OK. Even after everything (and by "everything" I just mean you leaving A&M for Kentucky, even though we LOVED you. We loved you)--I still believe in you. For whatever reason--I don't know if it was the crazy pressure you were under, or that highly-recruited Kentucky kids don't take to your strict discipline like underdog kids do--you did not tear it up at Kentucky.
But I still know that you are a good coach. A really, really good coach. Maybe you just need the right type of program, but I am confident that at your next job (which you will of course get, although I don't know at what level), you will go back to excelling. I know it.
However, the topic of your next job, whatever it may be, brings me to my second point:
You have got to change.
My hunch is that you didn't really need the boosting that I gave you a couple paragraphs up. You know you're good, or else you wouldn't have wanted so badly to bolt from A&M in the first place. So this is the more important point: starting acting right.
Kentucky probably would have given you more of a chance if anybody there liked you. And it's your fault they don't, buddy. Change 1: you've got to be less of a jerk, at least until you really prove yourself. People will tolerate a jerk if he wins. Until you get comfortable and successful at a job, hide your tendencies.
Change 2: in the "hiding your tendencies" genre, maybe try to scale back the drinking and skirt-chasing? People do pay attention to what you do, so you should really tone it down in that area.
Change 3: play zone every once in a while. Geez. (I remember your stubborn commitment to man-to-man losing us a couple of games against Tech, but apparently you do not.)
Change 4, and this might be the most important: get over whatever your bizarre deal is with not signing contracts. That's so weird, dude. I really think you have some sort of phobia or irrational hatred of the things and let me tell you, it does not do you any good. It makes you seem slimy and, again, even if/though you are slimy, you shouldn't make it so obvious.
Again, I want to emphasize that this is friendly advice. Good luck on the job market. I'm sure I will continue to follow your career with interest.
Sincerely,
Rachel
Friday, March 27, 2009
Keeping Up With My Correspondence (with Billy Gillispie)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
"Gillespie Regrets Not Winning More" Really Billy? Really??
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6347574.html
I also realize I spelled his name wrong, oops!
I used to do that all the time, and then I'd wonder why my google searches didn't bring anything up.
I never realized his name was spelled weird. Wow.
Say what you will about him, I think two years is not enough to prove anything. And I see that the coaches of Florida and Memphis have already removed themselves from consideration. I hope KY ends up with someone who is far down their list.
It's true that two years doesn't prove whether you're going to be a successful coach or not, but it is enough to prove whether you're a total jerk or not. Sure, if he'd made a run to the Final Four or something, he'd still have his job even if he choked puppies at midcourt during halftimes. But from what I've been reading, if he'd had the same record and had put any effort into being pleasant or friendly, I really think they would have given him at least one more year.
Here's a story I read today by some Kentucky guy that makes a pretty convincing case that Billy was just running a mean, nasty program: http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=16364
If they fired him for the reasons they said they fired him (though admittedly, you can't usually trust what sports bureaucrats say), I really can't blame them.
Post a Comment