How do you get a D-1 Job? Simple be a meat puppet.

No names will be used in this blog post.

Watching the Missouri Valley recently we've seen an old friend on the bench. Now we don't want to out him, but we do want to out D-1 basketball in general.

Would you hire a man who..
Coached a Great Midwest team, result coach fired
Coached a Horizon League team, result coach fired
Coached a Missouri Valley team, result coach fired
Coached a Big 12 team, result coach fired
Coached another Big 12 team, result coach fired
Coached yet ANOTHER Big 12 team, result coach fired
Coaches another Missouri Valley team that was a staple in the NCAA tournament, and now they're having their worst run in years.

Why does he get hired? I don't know but maybe because his dad is an influence peddler in the AAU circuit and head coaches think he has access to players.

The NCAA wants to initiate reform in college basketball and college sports in general but they have to take a long look in the mirror. They stopped being about student athletes when the TV contracts reached 9 and 10 digits in compensation.

There are no punishments for coaches who are habitual line steppers, who simply flee to another program to avoid punishment. Players and institutions get hurt in the wake. One coach who was a pre-season quagmire of a mess alleging academic fraud is now being celebrated as bringing back a storied program to dominance. How soon before allegations at his new address start popping up and he skips to yet another program?

What is the process of being an NCAA coach? Do you need an education degree, seems plausible to require that since you're working at an institution of higher learning! Were any of the 3 coaches fired for alleged player abuse in NCAA football certified teachers? I know it seems trivial but maybe taking a class on ethics or methods of learning would be appropriate. Maybe they would have learned putting your hands on a player or allegedly abusing them doesn't teach them anything and is counter productive, oh and ILLEGAL!

Is it an extensive basketball knowledge? We've sat with many head coaches and assistant coaches at the collegiate level. There are some very good coaches, guys who know the game. Guys who care about their players. Then there are meat puppets who know so little about the game it makes you wonder, who hired this guy? Some are smooth talkers, some are used car salesmen in a jumpsuit, some are related to highly placed political figures and really who doesn't like a celebrity? Some are simply dubious characters who lie, cheat and steal their way to assembling talent laden rosters and try not to screw it up too bad. You've seen these guys, they stealthily talk about what's the next job for them and how they can move up the ladder for the pay day.

It's a struggle to see the ethics line in broadcasting, where major networks hire former coaches who have been accused or in some cases proven to be cheaters and to see them manning the sidelines and studio desks and remote spots from AAU tournaments. Are they breaking the stories on how they got caught which would be interesting to see, no they're just biding their time until another job opens up and their name is out there because they're covering games 3 nights a week. And these are the so-called experts. Malarkey, there are hundreds of high school basketball coaches who know more about the game and are far more entertaining than these meat puppets. Also journalism is a craft of ethics, we will report the news as it is, unbiased and fairly. Why hire a cheat and then not have it mentioned in that person's online bio or ever addressed on the air? Who's doing the reporting of a the latest scandal in college sports? Oh a former cheater himself. How convenient.

The NCAA is a mess, it needs to lose it's tax exempt status because it is all about business and not about education. If not, then hire educators and police them properly, make rules that are clear and easy to understand since the current NCAA rules manual requires a law degree to navigate. Pay the coaches what you would pay your rock-star professors, and no 7 digit contracts.

Are there some who do it right? Yes and there are players who use this opportunity to get a free education and the experience of a lifetime. Those are the stories that should be celebrated. The guys who repeatedly lie, cheat, steal in this profession should be ostracized so the business of education can get done.

Oh and in case you're wondering the NCAA assistant has never delivered one of his dad's players to the programs he's worked in. Seems Papa knows enough not to send his AAU players to play for his son. And as far as we can recall, he's never been a coach on a team to make the NCAA tournament. Yup sounds like a good hire!