Dysfunction Junction

Today we are going to discuss dysfunctional pro sports teams. One of the more sensational headlines of the past week was the revelation by Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy that center Dwight Howard, the team’s star player, allegedly approached Magic management and asked that Van Gundy be fired. This incident occurred during a press conference, a press conference in which Howard was in the room. Howard later denied approaching management with such a request.

Stan Van Gundy: A.K.A. "Stan Van Jeremy" and (according to Shaq) "The Master of Panic" 1

AWK-WARD!!!

If “awkward” is the new funny, then the Magic organization must be in stitches right now! This is the latest in an increasing trend of dysfunctional relationships among players, coaches, and management in professional sports organizations. This latest chapter for the Magic comes after most of the season was spent speculating, in a circus-like atmosphere, whether or not Howard would stay with the team next year and, if not, where he wanted to be traded.

The interesting dynamic is that the Magic will be in the playoffs and are only one game back of the Indiana Pacers for third place in the Eastern Conference. Most teams in similar situations are not so fortunate. Perhaps that is a testament to Van Gundy’s coaching ability and/or Howard’s dominance on the court. Perhaps the wheels have simply not come off yet.

Van Gundy, left, has a pair for stepping into the square with Dwight "Superman" Howard, right. 2

D.C. CAROUSEL

The Washington Redskins are the reigning kings of dysfunction in the NFL, though they have some close competition from the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders. The Redskins have won 15 games in the last three years. The Redskins only have two playoff appearances in this century and only one in the past 35 years if one excludes the teams of the 1980s and early 1990s coached by Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, who came out of retirement from 2004-2007 in an attempt to salvage some respectability for the franchise.

The Redskins are known for having an owner in Dan Snyder who is willing to spend it all to win. He has simply spends it all wrong! Transactional debacles since Snyder has owned the team include Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Deion Sanders, Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth, the gold standard for wasteful free agency spending. Last month, McNabb, whose reputation as a class act and a team player preceded him after a career in Philadelphia (perhaps the toughest and most fan-critical environment for a high profile athlete), threw the Redskins under the bus as a difficult place for a young quarterback to develop. McNabb last played for the Redskins in 2010.

Perhaps, when he was a child, someone told Snyder his money would rot if he didn't spend it. 3

But the most dysfunctional and disturbing element of this organization has been its inability to hire and retain coaches. In the 19 seasons since Gibbs’ first retirement, following the 1992 season (in which Gibbs unsuccessfully attempted to defend the Redskins last championship from Super Bowl XXVI), the Redskins have had seven different head coaches (including Gibbs’ second stint as coach). That staggering number includes coaches who have had success with teams other than the Redskins, including Norv Turner, whose Chargers are regulars in the playoffs, Marty Schottenheimer, arguably the best coach in NFL history to never reach a Super Bowl, college coaching legend Steve Spurrier, and two time Super Bowl champion coach Mike Shanahan.

Shanahan’s reputation was impeccable before coming to Washington. Since then, his inability to win and well documented conflicts with Haynesworth and McNabb have cast a shadow over his coaching legacy. Somehow, I doubt Shanahan forgot how to coach. I think he is coaching with a team for which “up” often becomes “down”.

Everything was good in the worlds of Shanahan and McNabb until they got mixed up with the Redskins. 4

AMAZING MESS

After losing Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, it has been all downhill for the Mets. After blowing huge September leads in consecutive years, 2007 and 2008, to miss the playoffs, the Mets went from fighting for first to fighting off the cellar. This team has finished in fourth place in the five-team National League East in the last three consecutive years.

The Mets have now missed the playoffs in five consecutive years. Since last winning the World Series in 1986, the Mets have only made the playoffs four times. They only have seven playoff appearances in their 51 year history. In contrast, the Arizona Diamondbacks did not exist until 1998, yet have been to the playoffs five times and won the 2001 World Series.

Winning futility aside, the organization is in peril. The Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz were ordered to pay in excess of $150 million of ill-gotten gains from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme to Madoff’s fraud victims. Neither public sentiment nor the baseball gods have smiled upon the Mets.

The Mets also have trouble keeping personnel in place. Current manager Terry Collins is the Mets’ fourth skipper since 2008. This is a team that ran off former All-Stars Carlos Beltran and Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez in the same year. Fortunately, Mets fans have had ample time to become accustomed to disappointment. That is a good thing because the losing will continue.

Mets Manager (for this year) Terry Collins. The NFL's Houston Texans made "Next Man Up" their mantra during this past season. The Mets have a different variation on that same expression. 5

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1) Image from www.unathleticmag.com
2) Image from www.fullcourtpumps.com
3) Image from www.deadspin.com
4) Image from www.gridirongrit.com
5) Image from www.mets360.com