Self-awareness might not be one of Doug Gottlieb’s strengths.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay head basketball coach and full-time Fox Sports radio host has gotten into his fair share of public spats during his first year coaching the Phoenix.
Most notably, Gottlieb recently got into it with LeBron James after he took aim at the NBA star’s son, Bronny, suggesting that the second-round pick couldn’t start on Green Bay, which holds one of the worst records in Division I. Gottlieb criticized James for “punching down” despite it being his comments on his radio show that spurred the whole incident.
Now, Gottlieb is back in the media trying to explain his side of the story, despite having three hours a day to do that on his very own national radio show.
Given exclusive access to Gottlieb and the Green Bay Phoenix basketball program earlier this month, CBS Sports college basketball writer Kyle Boone revealed even more examples of Gottlieb’s lack of self-awareness in a lengthy piece published on Thursday morning.
Among the most damning examples in the piece was Gottlieb perceiving some of the criticism against his performance as the Phoenix head coach, where he’s led the program to a 3-26 start, as stemming from “jealousy” associated with the fact that he has two very enviable jobs, despite coming from a background that wouldn’t normally lend itself to landing such high profile positions.
“Jealousy is really hard for people to process,” Gottlieb told CBS Sports. “I’ve been given great — not good, great — opportunities, despite being a very good, not great, player, at a very good, not great, not connected school. So people become inherently jealous and they can’t process [it].”
Suffice it to say, not everyone agrees with Gottlieb’s interpretation of events. Jim Sarow, a “Green Bay superfan,” had this to say about Gottlieb’s lackluster performance as head coach: “He was able to convince two employers to continue paying him big money without having to give one gig up. It’s like having two wives. People would kill for one of his jobs, and he has two.”
Maybe there is some level of jealousy. Most people don’t get to half-ass two jobs and get paid for it. There would certainly be more sympathy for Gottlieb if he gave up his radio gig, at least during the season, to focus on turning his basketball program around. But alas, he has the hubris to believe he can do both.
So far, that’s not working out too well.
