Managers and head coaches that were fired shortly after winning a championship.
In athletics, one’s career never lasts. No matter how successful a team is, coaches are hired to be fired, and the one thing that is guaranteed is that they will eventually be replaced. Ideally, you are able to do so at your convenience.
Most teams view winning a title as a turning point in their history, one that is celebrated with banners hanging from the ceiling, hardware filling trophy cases, and coaches being honored with statues in front of the stadium or streets bearing their names.
Some become legendary (Ditka, for example), while others have a short honeymoon period. Many managers and coaches have left their positions after leading their teams to the pinnacles of their respective sports.
There are several ways that it occurs. Some coaches are fired due to a poor working relationship with management. Some were soon let go because they could not seem to relive the good old days. There are moments when external factors overwhelm a circumstance and compel action. The Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors both sacked their coaches recently in the NBA after winning titles a short while prior. It can easily become sour.
Here are a few instances where a head coach was fired after just four seasons after winning a championship with their team.
After longtime manager Earl Weaver resigned in 1983, Altobelli assumed control of the Orioles. Leading off with MVP Cal Ripken Jr.,
Altobelli’s team went 98-64 and won the World Series in five games over the Philadelphia Phillies. The following season, although winning 85 games, Baltimore had some difficulties and fell to fifth place in the American League East. The O’s opened the 1985 season with a 29–26 record, and Altobelli was let go. Weaver, who had been out of retirement, took over as manager.
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