“I’ve had a lot of people find my cellphone number who I didn’t know had my cellphone number,” Sayler said Saturday afternoon. “It’s been nonstop since about 10 minutes after the release went out. That makes me feel good, but I’m surprised at the number of people who think the process works this fast.”
The men’s season that ended with a Mid-American Conference Tournament loss at Western Michigan last Monday was the last of Cooper’s five-year contract. He went 59-100 (.371) overall and 29-59 in the MAC. That is the worst winning percentage for a Miami coach with five or more seasons on the job since John Mauer was 46-80 (.365) from 1930 through 1938.
Cooper’s five sub-.500 seasons extended to a program-record eight the number of consecutive losing records, and the ongoing 10-year drought since the RedHawks’ last NCAA Tournament appearance is their longest since they made their first trip in 1953.
Ironically, Friday’s announcement came on the 10th anniversary of Doug Penno’s banked 3-pointer from the right wing that lifted Miami to a 53-52 MAC Tournament championship game win over Akron, clinching the RedHawks’ most recent NCAA Tournament appearance.
Wright, who still had a year left on the contract he signed after being hired by Sayler before the 2013-2014 season to replace Maria Fantanarosa, was 35-87 overall and 16-56 in the MAC.
Having hired Wright didn’t necessarily make having to fire him more difficult, Sayler said.
“It’s hard with anybody,” the fifth-year athletic director said. “I wouldn’t put a range on it with any one person. It’s always gut-wrenching, especially when you’re dealing with good people as well. If anybody enjoys it, they have a screw loose. It stinks, no matter who it is.”
Sayler has an idea of what he wants in Miami’s new coaches, but there’s also room for somebody who doesn’t necessarily fit the mold.
“You look for and hope you find the right match, but sometimes, you get a surprise with someone who possesses some unique qualities and wins the day,” he said.
Sayler’s last significant hire was football coach Chuck Martin before the 2014 season. Martin had head coach experience at Division II Grand Valley State and coordinator-level experience at Notre Dame, but that doesn’t necessarily create a template for prospective basketball coaches, Sayler said.
“It’s really fluid,” he said. “It depends on how things emerge. I wouldn’t put an exact box on it. I just think Chuck fit perfectly with what we needed at the time, but I don’t think you can use that as an exact model to replicate what we’re looking for in basketball coaches. Certainly, you want somebody with experience in recruiting, especially in this part of the country, and you want somebody who’s got experience in developing players. If they don’t have experience as a head coach, one thing you wonder about is how they’ll react to moving over six inches on the bench. We’ll keep an open mind on that. Chuck checked all the boxes.”
Sayler seemed to be channeling a little John Wooden when asked if he had any idea of the timing for completing the hiring process. Wright was hired on April 19, 2013.
“It’s funny,” Sayler said. “You want to hurry, but you don’t want to rush. Some people are in the NCAA Tournament and might not be able to talk as much. Others are free because their season is over. Typically, around Final Four time is when some actual movement starts to happen. We’re trying to just get prepared.”
Sayler was reminded that his comment was similar to “Be quick, but don’t hurry,” one of the late UCLA men’s basketball coach’s more famous sayings.
“That’s not a bad person to duplicate,” Sayler said.
About the Author