Nolan Richardson will get hired if he lets people believe he is changed

Mike Freeman wrote an interesting column yesterday about Nolan Richardson and why the former Arkansas coach never got another chance in the industry.

I mean, the guy's resume speaks for itself. He reached three Final Four with the Razorback, winning a national title in 1994. He has over 500 career wins. He is the only coach to win a JuCo national title, an NIT title, and an NCAA title.

But Richardson also had issues. Namely, he got himself in trouble by running his mouth.

In 2002, Richardson railed against the Arkansas fans and administration for being mistreated during his time there because he is black. He challenged athletic director Frank Broyles to fire him, and Broyles took him up on that challenge.

Richardson hasn't coached in the college ranks since them while watching guys like Todd Bozeman, John Calipari, Bobby Huggins, Bobby Knight, and the Suttons get job after job.

And as you would expect from Richardson, he had no problem airing his grievances with Freeman:

I've been asked by friends if I've been banned from college basketball all these years for being outspoken. I'd have to say yes. Anyone can see that

I'm sure that after what happened to me at the University of Arkansas, I became, in the eyes of the guys who do the hiring and firing in college basketball, an uppity guy. I don't apologize for how I conducted myself at Arkansas. I was not a 'Yes sir, no sir' type of man. All these years, athletic directors, I think, see me as someone with baggage. But look around. Look at some of the coaches who have gotten hired since I was let go. If I have baggage, what do they have?

The difference is perception. Black coaches, we're judged as a group, and judged more harshly. White coaches are judged individually and usually more leniently.

No matter how well they did the white power structure in college basketball mostly ignored them. If McLendon had been white, he'd have been a star in the coaching world. If all the great coaches in basketball history like Knight or [John] Wooden had been black, they'd be nobodies

Therein lies the exact reason that no one has rehired Richardson despite the fact that he doesn't have a laundry list of arrests and NCAA violations, like the coaches mentioned earlier.

Regardless of the color of your skin, I think we can all agree that Richardson is a difficult coach to deal with. But he is far from the only coach that is difficult to deal with and far from the only coach with baggage.

The difference?

Those other coaches make an effort to hide their baggage. They try to sell themselves as changed men. Working to get a head coaching position is like trying to land any other job. An employer isn't going to want to hire you, regardless of how well you can do your job, if they think that you are going to be a headache. They aren't going to want to hire you if they believe you have a history, baggage if you will.

Why do you think there are all these warnings for college graduates to be careful what they put on their facebook or myspace pages?

You want to give a potential employer the best possible first impression. Do those quotes sound like Richardson has changed one iota? If you were an AD, would you want to risk hiring a coach that has no qualms with giving quotes like that to a national media outlet, especially when the "knock" on that coach is that he has a tendency to speak out?

I'm not saying its fair or right or just. I'm not saying that Richardson wouldn't be great if he were to get another college gig. I'm just saying that's how it is.

Compare what Richardson said to another recent interview with another disgraced coach.

Billy Gillispie has as much baggage as any coach in recent memory. From multiple DUI's to idiotic halftime interviews, Billy Clyde hasn't exactly been what one would call a stand-up guy. But he is looking to get back into the college coaching ranks, and take a look at how he is putting himself out in the media:

I'm pulling for [Kentucky]. To be able to do what they have done so quickly, no one has more respect for that than me, because I have been part of that [at UT-El Paso and Texas A&M]. I think they made a smart move [in hiring John Calipari]. It affected me a little bit, but I will bounce back.

I met a lot of great people there and I don't have any ill will toward Kentucky. The Kentucky fans are as good as there is in the history of sport. I got fired from the job, but I understand how the business works.

I think it's been a great year for me. I've been on the fast track for a long time professionally. I never had a chance to take a deep breath. I've forced myself to become educated in a lot of different areas because of some of the mistakes I've made, and I think I've used my time wisely. I think I've enriched myself as a person and helped myself as a coach. I don't know that this is not one of the best things that has ever happened in my life.

For all I know, Gillispie could have given that interview between swigs of Jack from his flask. But reading that interview and the quotes pulled from it make you believe that he is changed, that he is no longer drinking, realized he was an ass, and is ready to re-enter the coaching profession with a new approach.

You can't say the same about Richardson's interview.

Billy Gillispie is a good coach, but he doesn't compare to Nolan Richardson, who is to the "40 minutes of hell" defense what John Calipari is to the "dribble-drive motion" offense.

But I would bet anything I own that Gillispie will get a job before Richardson.