Philadelphia 76ers: Reflecting On Doug Collins’ Tenure As Coach
Doug Collins will remain as a consultant with the Philadelphia franchise.
(Photo by Philadelphia 76ers, Creative Commons)
Despite having one year left on his contract, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins has stepped down from his post. The former Sixers player will remain in an advisory role — signing a deal for five years.
Collins — while not landing a championship — did give Sixers fans some great nights following the team, most notably the series win in the 2012 playoffs against Chicago. Regardless of Derrick Rose’s absence, it was still a great achievement and was the first time the Sixers made it past the first round since 2003.
Hired on May 21, 2010, Doug Collins quickly improved the Sixers — increasing their win total by 14 from the previous season, which was good enough to secure them the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. Unluckily for Philadelphia, they had to face the Miami Heat. Despite that, the Sixers put up a decent enough fight and avoided the sweep, with the series finishing 4-1 for the Heat. The signs were there; Collins had improved this team.
The following season was the one in which I touched on earlier: The Sixers again made the playoffs, dispatching the Bulls in six games and taking the Boston Celtics all the way to a Game 7. Alas, the wily Celtics prevailed, but Collins had proved that he is able to squeeze a lot out of a mediocre roster.
This past offseason bought about a whole world of change. The two previous seasons as bottom seeds in the Eastern Conference — while OK — wasn’t where the Sixers organization wanted to be. The four-team blockbuster trade for Andrew Bynum landed Philly it’s first star since Allen Iverson. Surrounded by a myriad of 3-point shooters in Nick Young, Dorrell Wright, Jason Richardson, many saw the Sixers as possible contenders for one the top spots in the Eastern Conference.
Fast forward to today: The Sixers faltered to a 34-48 regular season, Andrew Bynum will likely not play a game in a Sixers jersey and Collins is no longer the coach of the franchise.
It seems his reputation as being a ‘‘three-and-done’’ coach (Collins has lasted no longer than three years with one team) has once again reappeared. His tough coaching style and demanding nature can see him lose the dressing room on teams and this looked to be the case once again.
Collins will be remembered for many things — both good and bad. On the positive side, he brought the Sixers back to the playoffs temporarily and squeezed a lot out of a little, but on the other hand, he didn’t exactly do anything groundbreaking and failed to develop young stars like Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner into anything like the players they were expected to be.
It is never nice to see a coach lose their job, but it is clear to see the relationship between the Sixers fans and Collins is one that had run it’s course. It is now important for the organization to hire the right coach to rebuild the franchise.