cleo22270 | Heat

773 | 10 hours ago

I remember when Spo was the young, inexperienced coach carried by the talent of the Heatles that LeBron wanted Pat Riley to fire after 17 games.

MickeyNicholson | Heat

318 | 10 hours ago

I was just thinking the same thing. Thank god he didn’t get his way. The only head coach to survive an entire stint of LeGM

IEatDummyCheeks | Kings

62 | 9 hours ago

Outside of David Blatt getting swapped for T Lue has there been a LeGM move that actually worked out for the better?

RegulationRaptorsFan | Raptors

241 | 9 hours ago

Pushing the Cavs to trade Wiggins and Bennett for KLove. Pushing the Lakers to trade their young guys for AD

Wow_Good_Stats

164 | 9 hours ago

Those don’t count because I hate LeBron and don’t accept reality ✨

OilOfOlaz | Celtics

5 | 5 hours ago

put on the celtics flair bro!

smalls_1804 | Knicks

3 | 5 hours ago

I mean, I don’t think the Cavs needed to be convinced to trade for K Love. LeBron might’ve called his shot but I’m sure they were happy to make a win-now trade. Also don’t think the Lakers needed much convincing to trade for AD. They fucking love stars and I’m sure were thrilled at the prospect of creating another star duo

beyardo | CLE

13 | 4 hours ago

Maybe so, but it seems silly to blame him for the moves that go badly and ignore the moves that went well.

blackfoger1 | Supersonics

3 | 4 hours ago

God Bennett. What a bust sadly. and thank god Minny jumped at that chance.

Kashmir33 | NBA

64 | 9 hours ago

None if you credit only the bad ones to him and the good ones to his GM.

greywolf2155 | Supersonics

2 | 3 hours ago

That’s moneyball, baby

prettyboylee | Lakers

30 | 9 hours ago

Being LeGm has won him 4 chips.

If we go back and take a look at his bad decisions and we hypothesise what it would like if he hadn’t, I don’t think any of those scenarios result in him winning another ring except maybe the Westbrook one.

idreamofdouche

23 | 8 hours ago

Being the best player in the world won him 4 chips.

prettyboylee | Lakers

6 | 8 hours ago

Yeah so is the idea here that if he wasn’t doing the LeGM thing he would have won more? Because the guy I’m replying to is talking about it working out for the better

DrearySalieri | Vancouver Grizzlies

2 | 6 hours ago

Arguably using his leverage to guarantee roster upgrades to teams he moved to has been immensely successful.

Organizing the Heatles. Getting the Cavs to trade for Klove.

Like let’s be clear: he’s not Sam Presti. If he didn’t have the advantage of being LeBron James his GM record would be mixed. But he’s also had his share of savvy upgrades between his misses.

idreamofdouche

-3 | 8 hours ago

He saying that LeGM hasn’t gone very well and there are many examples of it, the most obvious one being Westbrook.

JALbert | Supersonics

1 | 8 hours ago

LeBron won 4 chips despite being LeGM, not because of it.

greywolf2155 | Supersonics

1 | 3 hours ago

And all 4 of them involved a big front office move that he pushed for (the Heatles, KLove, and AD)

His history is mixed, but there are definitely wins in there

SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS

1 | 3 hours ago

He had it easy as a GM, LeBron was on the team!

OldOrder | Hawks

27 | 9 hours ago

I wonder how many minutes sportscenter got out of Bron shoulder checking Spo during that time out.

Adorable-Bike-9689

19 | 9 hours ago

We had Spoelstra dead and buried when LeBron bumped into him during that timeout lol

JonathanKuminga

19 | 9 hours ago

Yep, getting shoulder checked by LeBron because they weren’t undefeated

SloshaPacana

7 | 9 hours ago

I absolutely love how only LeBron gets blame when Wade wasn’t happy with him either and even now Wade has come out and said he said what are we doing when they hired him in the first place because he was young inexperienced and basically a video guy

He called him a preparation coach and that there’s more to coaching than preparation and only after they lost the finals that Spo got much better and re-invented himself

clonemusic | Mavericks

3 | 8 hours ago

You don’t seem like you absolutely love it.

And lebron shoulder checked him and has the coach killer history …

BionicSix | Lakers

2 | 8 hours ago

He was just the video guy keeping the seat warm for Pat.

_Tar_Ar_Ais_

2 | 8 hours ago

Imagine if that Trio and Spo toughed it out and worked through things together

bokeh

2 | 3 hours ago

Unless you magically cured Bosh’s blood clots it wouldn’t change anything

WatercressContent454 | Lakers

-1 | 5 hours ago

Lebron was right, spo can’t coach. He didn’t win anything without lebron

JMoon33 | NBA

0 | 7 hours ago

He’s not doing so good now with a big 3 of Bam, Hero and Norm

heat_fan_ | Raptors

233 | 10 hours ago

And never won COTY kinda crazy

cleo22270 | Heat

124 | 9 hours ago

When you look at the context of his career/the Heat’s history, it makes more sense:

2008-2010: middling East playoff teams, carried by Dwyane Wade.
2010-2014: lots of regular season and playoff success, but didn’t get credit because of the abundance of star players
2014-2019: Heat were in the wilderness, in and out of the playoffs
2020-2024: Overperformed in the playoffs, underperforming in the regular season (except for 2022)
2025-: back in the wilderness

If I had to retroactively give him a COTY, it would probably be:

2008: for lifting a 16-win team back into the playoffs in his first season
2016: Finished with the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference, despite Bosh’s blood clots cutting his season (and career) short
2022: COVID/injury-stricken Heat power through to the Eastern Conference 1-seed.

thesch | Bulls

52 | 9 hours ago

Yeah and the problem with 2022 was that that was Monty Williams’ year where it was a foregone conclusion because the Suns were coming off a finals appearance and ended up winning 60+ games

CurrentRoster

20 | 9 hours ago

and in 2009, the Cavs made a big jump from decent east team that can go far to title expectations (50 to 66 wins) and in 2016, 73-9 record is gonna get you the award no matter what (even tho steve kerr actually coached less than half of that season)

monty honestly should’ve won in 2021

smalls_1804 | Knicks

1 | 5 hours ago

Yeah ironically the Warriors had a better winning percentage with Walton than with Kerr. But Kerr did set up the system and it was a big part of the reason they were able to translate dominant Steph into literally the greatest regular-season team of all time rather than just an elite regular season team

kingofnick | Suns

7 | 9 hours ago

Monty was probably more deserving the season before too, although Thibs did deserve it.

AnimaniacAssMap | Nets

13 | 9 hours ago

He should’ve won it that year they started out 11-30 and finished 30-11 to go .500

Cartman55125 | Heat

8 | 9 hours ago

I think this demonstrates that the award needs to be re-conceptualized

swalsh21 | 76ers

113 | 9 hours ago

COTY is just the “surprising decent team” award

Wow_Good_Stats

25 | 9 hours ago

And it rarely works out for the coach who gets it. We’ve seen like 4 coaches get COTY and then be fired the same year or the next year.

tomdawg0022 | Timberwolves

6 | 7 hours ago

We’ve seen like 4 coaches get COTY and then be fired the same year or the next year.

“There’s two kinds of coaches, them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.” - Bum Phillips, former NFL coach (Houston and New Orleans)

Cletus_Starfish | POR

25 | 8 hours ago

I’d probably call it the “did better than expected” award, because sometimes it’s given to the coach of a team that’s already good and they overperformed expectations (Atkinson last year, Kerr 2016, Williams 2022). The Heat are usually expected to be at least decent, often because Spoelstra is such an excellent coach, so ironically he’s kind of a victim of his own success here.

CurrentRoster

1 | 9 hours ago

that’s how cavs won over pistons last year, or sometimes narratives can switch from “shit team” to “big jump to playoff contention” team

diecommajerks

20 | 9 hours ago

Jon Cooper is longest tenured NHL coach (Lightning coach since 2013) and also doesn’t have their equivalent to Coach of the Year

baco_wonkey | Kings

24 | 9 hours ago

And for the non-hockey fans here: He has 4 finals appearances and 2 Stanley Cups in that time.

just1gat | NBA

9 | 8 hours ago

lost twice; fire the bum

Electric_jungle | Washington Bullets

1 | 9 hours ago

Thank goodness. He would have been fired years ago.

braddeus | Heat

148 | 9 hours ago

FO celebrating by turning up the difficulty sliders: Ja trade

MickeyNicholson | Heat

44 | 9 hours ago

“I can fix him” (Miami’s version)

BenniBMN | Lakers

66 | 9 hours ago

Not to be one of those guys but, this is how I’m finding about Tomlin stepping down

GoldAd9912 | Supersonics

39 | 9 hours ago

It’ll be absolutely surreal to see him somewhere other than Pittsburgh.

Feels like the NFL has lost a lot of the long tenured coaches in the previous couple of years, starting with losing Carroll/Belichick a couple days apart on 2023. Maybe Andy Reid is next too

Edit: thought I was on r/ nfl for some reason

MickeyNicholson | Heat

14 | 9 hours ago

Not to mention Pop on the NBA side of things!

GoldAd9912 | Supersonics

6 | 9 hours ago

Yeah He started coaching the spurs a couple of years before I was born and probably 20 years before the average user of this sub was born haha. Surreal and bittersweet to see him and all of them go

drippo-potamus | Spurs

34 | 9 hours ago

I can see him going out the same way Tomlin just did. He’s great at managing decent and mid rosters into winning seasons in playoff teams but at some point, unless they decide to commit to years of tanking, or committing to a top-tier player, they’re going to be in the same position for a while.

Tomlin had to have the shittiest roster of quarterbacks I have ever seen outside of Big Ben.

thesch | Bulls

32 | 9 hours ago

Tomlin had to have the shittiest roster of quarterbacks I have ever seen outside of Big Ben.

Ask any Bears, Jets, Browns, Raiders, Titans fan…if you go for that long without a real QB the best you can usually hope for is like 1 or 2 good years every decade. I think it’s impressive that Tomlin managed to get to 10 wins over and over with Mason Rudolph types and washed up old guys on the verge of retirement. Something had to change in Pittsburgh though so I get why they decided to part ways.

drippo-potamus | Spurs

24 | 9 hours ago

2022-2023 with the quarterbacks being Pickett, Trubisky and Rudolph and still not ending with a losing record either year is hall of fame worthy in itself.

GunsmokeIV | Kings

7 | 9 hours ago

Came out 8-8 with Rudolph and a Duck.

WhyNotOrioles

7 | 8 hours ago

Yeah. Tomlin’s Steelers were in that tough place where they needed a better QB, but they were never bad enough to draft one. 19 straight non-losing seasons will do that.

MickeyNicholson | Heat

14 | 9 hours ago

No bro we’re getting Giannis any day now /s

MySilverBurrito | Heat

8 | 9 hours ago

Pull up the archives (Giannis vice jersey edits)

jcheeseball | Heat

11 | 9 hours ago

Depending on what he wants I’d imagine he’s going up the same path Riley and Alonzo did. I’d imagine he’ll eventually become the President, I’m just not sure if he jumps Zo or not.

elbenji | MIA

4 | 8 hours ago

Lol Spo has done way more than Tomlin has, considering we went to two finals this decade with Jimmy and friends.

He has the job for life unless he wants to retire and become the next Pat

miseducation | Heat

2 | 6 hours ago

Pretty important context you’re missing about Tomlin: his best teams coincided with the most dominant NFL dynasty in history in the same conference. Pats won the AFC championship 6 times during Tomlin’s tenure and the Steelers lost to them in the conference championship in the last year they had the a stacked roster. It’s a really impressive tenure with that context imo.

penguin_torpedo | Nuggets

1 | 5 hours ago

Idk about football but Spo has nothing to do with that. If Pat wanted they could easily sell a d start tanking. And spot helps to boost the value of their players, he’s always making the best of their roster.

drpepper7557 | Heat

-1 | 7 hours ago

Tomlin had to have the shittiest roster of quarterbacks I have ever seen outside of Big Ben.

He only had no big ben for the last 4 years though. Wilson and Rodgers werent great but were far from the worst QBs. I like Tomlin but his qb excuse is overblown imo.

drippo-potamus | Spurs

2 | 7 hours ago

Big Ben missed essentially a full season in 2019 and the back was Rudolph* . When he came back, he’s already into his, 15th season? He had the corpse of Aaron Rodgers off of a year long injury, by the time he had Russell Wilson he was trash and couldn’t even keep the job with the giants shortly after, and then there is Trubisky, Fields, etc

So essentially a quarter of his coaching career was less than high quarterback play and he still did not have a losing season. In any other circumstance, ¹⁄₄ of something is a substantial amount. Could another Super Bowl or two elevate him, absolutely, but there is a shit ton of coaches with better rosters without any.

AutographedSnorkel | Rockets

30 | 8 hours ago

I remember when Pop retired, r/nfl posted this exact same thread about Mike Tomlin, LMAO

Suck it, football!

MickeyNicholson | Heat

5 | 8 hours ago

Oh, how the turn tables

TRUTHSoverKARMAS | Trail Blazers

2 | 7 hours ago

Does anyone know who is next in line for this designation?

ThatDude8129 | Hornets

6 | 6 hours ago

Andy Reid is next since he started coaching the Chiefs in January 2013. Jon Cooper is third since he has been coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL since March 2013.

BScottyJ | Celtics

3 | 5 hours ago

Damn that’s kind of crazy that the next in line have been coaches for less than 10 years

No I do not believe you that 2013 was more than 10 years ago, shut up

WhoUCuh

19 | 9 hours ago

I was junior in high school when the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin.

I’m now 36

Slight_Possession807

9 | 9 hours ago

And the casual Heat fans want em out 🤣 been a HeatLifer since he started, and even through the ups and downs, he manages to sneak his teams into the playoffs. Put some respect on his name…

elbenji | MIA

1 | 8 hours ago

Because they’re idiots and should be ignored

Vegasguy3124

6 | 9 hours ago

I wonder what his career would’ve been like if LeBron got him fired 😂

chmcgrath1988 | Celtics

7 | 9 hours ago

I think Spo had had enough success with Miami to that point (and is passionate enough about/well connected around the NBA) that he probably would have gotten another shot somewhere sooner than later and wouldn’t have been exiled like David Blatt. Idk if he is ever in position to compete for championships though.

sharklavapit | Bucks

2 | 5 hours ago

And his father was a big shot as an NBA executive in the 70s/80s

That’s a BIG connection

Vegasguy3124

0 | 7 hours ago

No he didn’t. lol He was a video analyst LBJ wanted this guy fired 5 games at the start of second season

milkinhisveins | Heat

1 | 6 hours ago

You’re like kind of almost right about two things but overall real wrong

Vegasguy3124

-1 | 6 hours ago

Annnnnnd?

SirGingerbrute | Knicks

6 | 9 hours ago

Shows how much being a Nepo baby helps I guess

Always hated the humble “started as a video coordinator” narrative

No, your dad was an NBA GM and got you a job on an nba coaching staff

Gtfoh

HenrikCrown | Pelicans

5 | 9 hours ago

Pat Riley is a second dad too

He really took care of Spo and has always backed him

Sexy_Authy | Rockets

3 | 9 hours ago

THIS is how I find out Tomlin stepped down??????

2MuchWoods

3 | 9 hours ago

🐰⏱️👈🏼

Scrimps | Raptors

3 | 8 hours ago

Is this how I found out Tomlin got fired?

edit: Yup, this is how I found out.

-motts- | Trail Blazers

2 | 4 hours ago

The lack of “active” in OP is a crime.

rafacena

1 | 9 hours ago

what about Pop?

redsox1804 | Heat

2 | 9 hours ago

Not coaching anymore

Cynadoclone | Trail Blazers

-2 | 9 hours ago

It doesn’t say among active coaches anywhere that I can find?

redsox1804 | Heat

0 | 8 hours ago

With Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin stepping down today, Miami’s own Erik Spoelstra has now held a head coaching position for a single team longer than anyone else currently coaching in the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL.

Cynadoclone | Trail Blazers

1 | 4 hours ago

He edited it

rapelbaum | Heat

1 | 7 hours ago

SPO knows ! Easily top 10 all time, probably already top 5

Disastrous_Dish_7508

1 | 7 hours ago

Damn, I still remember that when he was criticized for too young and lacking of experience to become an NBA coach. feel old too here.

rattatatouille | SAS

1 | 7 hours ago

Wonder if he can make it another decade to tie Pop.

MickeyNicholson | Heat

2 | 6 hours ago

Definitely the only one—in any sport—that has a real chance at it imo

ChickenNoddaSoup

1 | 6 hours ago

And Spo still not that old lol

packmanwiscy | Bucks

1 | 4 hours ago

Tomlin is actually younger than Spoelstra.

Kinda wild that the two longest tenured coaches in the Big 4 sports were a 53 year old and a 55 year old

penguin_torpedo | Nuggets

1 | 5 hours ago

What about the big 5 European football leagues. I don’t follow them much but I guess Atlético’s coach has been there for a bit.

samhit_n | Lakers

0 | 9 hours ago

So many long tenured NFL coaches were fired in recent seasons. Great NBA coaches usually don’t last as long as great NFL coaches.

Cynadoclone | Trail Blazers

-1 | 9 hours ago

Didn’t Pop coach with a single team longer? What am I missing? Does this mean to say active somewhere?

MickeyNicholson | Heat

2 | 8 hours ago

Yeah, sorry, I meant active. Hopefully that was implied by talking about Tomlin stepping down, but I also updated the body of the text of the post to be more explicit

WatercressContent454 | Lakers

-1 | 5 hours ago

it’s pat riley not spo

Erik Spoelstra Now Holds the Title of Longest-tenured Coach across the 4 Major US Sports Leagues