Seton Hall fires basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez
BY MIKE VORKUNOV NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
In a sudden and unexpected twist to a season already gone awry, Seton Hall announced that it fired head coach Bobby Gonzalez Tuesday, less than 24 hours following an embarrassing season-ending loss in the first round of the NIT.
Gonzalez was notified of his dismissal in a noon meeting with Seton Hall President Monsignor Robert Sheeran, who told him the decision was effective immediately.
While Tuesday night’s loss was not the catalyst for the firing, it did exemplify what brought it on. During the game Herb Pope was ejected for a blatant punch to a Texas Tech player’s groin, Gonzalez was hit with his seventh technical foul of the season and the end result was an 87-69 blowout loss.
the troika of unsportsmanlike conduct, the coach’s antics and an absence of victory was the culprit all season.
“Obviously everyone who saw the game last night saw the crystallization of everything that was wrong with the coaching and leadership,” said Sheeran in midday press conference.
Pat Hobbs, the Dean of Seton Hall’s Law School and an acting consult to the Athletic Department for the past year, said that the Gonzalez’s firing was the result of a year-long evaluation which ultimately reached the point where he advised Sheeran to end the coach’s four-year team in the position.
“He is a mercurial talent; he can be a lightning rod with [the media], with officials,” said Hobbs. “Some of that is certainly acceptable and in the heat of the Big East wars; you have to expect some of that. But in the end, if you look at the totality of what we were doing on the court and off the court, it came down to Coach Gonzalez is not a good fit for Seton Hall.”
Gonzalez, known for having a short fuse, did not lose his famous temper in the meeting with Sheeran, the monsignor said.
“It was very brief and I thought it was reasonable,” said Sheeran, stifling a laugh before continuing. “He was calmer than I think he is at other times, very professional and appropriate.”
The past year has been a public relations disaster for Gonzalez, and in turn, Seton Hall. In November he got into a spat with writer Gary Parrish over the perception of his three-transfer recruiting class, saying that insinuations of future blowups by any of them were unfair.
In early November one of those transfers, Keon Lawrence, was involved in a wrong-way crash on the Garden State Parkway under suspicion of drunken driving.
After pronouncing that the NCAA Tournament was the goal for his team, the Pirates were off to a slow start in the Big East schedule, which built pressure on the program. In February, less than half an hour before tip-off of a critical game against West Virginia, Gonzalez went onto the radio station WFAN and ripped on a member of the media.
The biggest blow may have come in the days prior to the start of the Big East Tournament, when the New York Times ran a story that described his days as coach at Manhattan and painted Gonzalez as manic, among other traits.
The last straw may have come this week. On Sunday he dismissed Robert Mitchell from the team, only days after Mitchell criticized the coach publicly. Hours after the Gonzalez firing was announced, it was revealed that Mitchell had been arrested Tuesday night for “breaking into a home in South Orange, duct-taping eight people and stealing cash and personal items” while brandishing a weapon.
“Because he is a public personality, in some ways better known than president, (the basketball coach) is to embody the ideals of Seton Hall University,” said Sheeran. “I would like to win, none of us wants to lose, but athletics never exist to besmirch the university in any way.”
His conduct, or more aptly his misconduct, seemed to be the reason for Gonzalez’s dismissal. In four years he led Seton Hall to a 66-59 record, peaking this season with 19 wins and the first postseason trip for the team under his watch.
The players were notified shortly after the decision was made.
The university announced it would begin an immediate national search for his replacement. it has already received several recommendations through multiple avenues. the school will be looking for someone with head coaching experience but has not counted out a top assistant either. A list of candidates has already been started.
“Athletic director Joe [Quinlan] and I will work together to make sure we bring in somebody who can be successful on the court and who will represent the best about Seton Hall as we go forward,” said Hobbs. “We will examine every piece of this, both on and off the court.”
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