Geez, he gets fired just after one season, does that mean he gets the rest of his contract (12M dollars) for free? http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-76ers-obrien&prov=ap&type=lgns O'Brien fired after only season as Sixers coach By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer May 23, 2005 PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Jim O'Brien was fired Monday after only one season as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and replaced by former star Maurice Cheeks. O'Brien, a Philadelphia native who played for Saint Joseph's, went 49-33 in his only season and the Sixers were elminated in the first round of the playoffs. He was in the first year of a four-year contract that paid him about $4 million a year. O'Brien, though, was not very popular with his players, who often complained about their roles, most notably former All-Star Chris Webber. Cheeks was one of the most popular 76ers from 1978-89 and played on Philadelphia's last championship team, in 1983. Cheeks was fired March 2 after nearly four seasons as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He had a 162-139 in Portland, the fourth-highest win total in Blazers history. Cheeks will be Philadelphia's fourth coach since Larry Brown resigned and left for Detroit following the 2002-3 season. Randy Ayers was fired 52 games into the 2003-4 season and replaced by Chris Ford.
Nice, you just beat me to it. I'm shocked (sort of). Obie was and still is liked alot around the Philly community. He is from the area and all. I guess there was a fall out with the players (as stated in the article). I'm not so shoked by the Mo Cheeks hire. People LOVE him in Philly. This will be interesting.
Yep. Philly is on the hook until Obie gets a new job. Which may not be so quick. He really soiled his good Boston rep this past year and was villainized up and down the franchise. Not so much over X and Os, but for being an arrogant prick. Webber and Kenny Thomas spring to mind as guys that wanted to break him in half. It's nice that Mo Cheeks gets the job that he should have had a year ago. Still makes no sense that Portland didn't let him come home last summer. Something of note - not only are they on the hook for OBie, but most teams aren't planning on hiring a new coach until after the CBA is settled. A lot of teams are worried about paying out contracts despite a lockout. Evan
They're paying three coaches, Ayers, Obie, and Cheeks -- not to mention Webber and AI's outrageous deal.
Cheeks is a classy and dignified guy. I loved watching him play as a Sixer. But the fans in Philly are the roughest anywhere. How long will they love Cheeks if the Sixers don't win? There were whispers in Portland this year about Cheeks' dedication to the job. I don't if this will work out.
` Apparently, not only did he have a major falling out with the players, he had a major falling out with the 76ers management and staff.
Iverson is a coach killer. Not by his attitude but by him be the franchise. Its really unbelievable that Larry Brown got so much out of that team. You're only gonna get so far if you depend on him to score 30 points a game shooting 40%.
If Cheeks can't get these guys to play to their full potential no one will, they should be able to advance to the second round next year with miami detroit and indiana/chicago.
Not by the end of the season they didn't. While he is a Philly guy, many fans had turned on him 100% after the C-Webb trade. People here expected that the deal would automatically give the Sixers the division title and the third seed in the playoffs. When that didn't happen, many fans started to put the blame squarely on the coach. I listen to sports radio every day in Philly, and O'Brien was hardly beloved by the playoffs. p.s. Add Dalembert to the list of guys who wanted to "break O'Brien in half." This firing helps make is easier to re-sign a happy Dalembert.
I love this deal. Give Mo a chance. I grew up following Mo Cheeks, Dr J, Moses and the Sixers. I hope he succedes. I also think he is a players coach -- he will hopefully be able to deal with the AI and CWebb egos. A true point guard coaching Allen Iverson --- that should be interesting.
