by Andrew Golding
Call Tom Goss anything but suspenseful. With a decision that surprised no one, the new Michigan Athletic Director named former assistant Brian Ellerbe as U-M's interim men's basketball coach. After all, what other option did Goss really have?
While thirty-six coaching candidates were interviewed by phone, and seven in person over the previous two weeks, the likes of Cazzie Russell and Roger Reid, among others, could not have ever been considered serious contenders for one of the most prestigious coaching jobs in college basketball. Russell - the current coach at the Division III Savannah College of Art and Design - received a great favor from Goss by even mentioning his name among the numerous coaching candidates; the former U-M star is several years away, at least, from being Division I coaching material.
Ultimately, Goss realized there was only one course of action he could possibly take: pass on the available candidates this year, retain Ellerbe, and re-evaluate the coaching position next year. Due to the release of the report on UM's NCAA infractions only one week before the start of practice, and the subsequent firing of coach Steve Fisher, Goss had no other options. A coach meeting his criteria would have received a media skewering by accepting the UM job at this time, and subsequently leaving the players in his own program behind. Additionally, such a move would have been in opposition to the "core values" Goss stated his Athletic Department will have.
Goss' appointment of Ellerbe ended an exciting two weeks in Ann Arbor, beginning with the firing of Fisher, which was scooped by ABC/ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale during the broadcast of the UM- Northwestern game on ESPN. Goss held a press conference in Crisler Arena after the UM victory and stated that he decided to fire Fisher because he was "troubled by evidence in the report that our basketball program has not been held to the standards we believe all programs at the University of Michigan should meet."
Fisher, silent for seven months during the course of the Kansas City law firm's investigation into the basketball program - as requested by the University - held his own press conference the following Monday morning at the Sheraton Inn Hotel in Ann Arbor. Flanked by his players and supporters, Fisher stated that you can "call me a lot of things. Don't call me dishonest. Don't call me a person who doesn't have integrity." Additionally, he declared that "I will not apologize for who I am or what I've done. I am immensely proud to be Steve Fisher." The press conference ended as Fisher patted his tearful son on the head, and exited.
The next day, former Fab Five star Chris Webber offered his opinions on the firing in a strange, seven-minute phone conversation with WDFN radio. Webber refused to answer questions concerning his alleged relationship with booster Ed Martin and his interview with NCAA investigators. "It is none of your business. I don't know you. What are you going to do for me?" he said.
Webber did comment that "I really don't feel like I'm a part of the University of Michigan anymore...I think he [Fisher] was betrayed by a new athletic director who doesn't know anything about Michigan tradition and is not a Michigan man."
Strong words from a man who attended UM for a mere two years, but factually incorrect ones. Goss played football at U-M from 1966-68, one more year than Webber played basketball here.
Days later, Fisher's name was mentioned for the coaching vacancy at South Alabama, a slot which he interviewed for and was offered depending on whom you talk to. The Jaguars say Fisher was never asked to take over, only to consider whether he would take the job if it was offered. Fisher told the AP that "I felt at this immediate time, it wasn't appropriate for me to leave and take the job."
No matter whether he declined the South Alabama position, or was never offered it, things have certainly changed for Steve Fisher. Eight years ago, he was the undefeated coach of an NCAA championship team, plucked from anonymity only three weeks earlier because he was a "Michigan man." Today, he is the former UM coach, and a former candidate for the head coaching position at the University of South Alabama.
For Brian Ellerbe, the new head man at a top Division I school, things are looking up. "We've got good players" he noted at the press conference introducing him as interim head coach. "We have to tell them what to do, and they have to do it."