When it was announced that Doug Gottlieb would be the head coach of the Green Bay Phoenix while also continuing to host a three-hour radio show every weekday, a lot of people wondered how that experiment was going to turn out.
So far, at least, it has been a disaster.
More than halfway through the season, the Phoenix are 2-17, 0-8 in Horizon League play. Their average margin of defeat in conference play is around 17 points. Gottlieb’s team lost to a Division II school after he’d referred to them as “Nobody U.” He also got into a strange Twitter beef with Adam Schefter. The team went winless during a holiday stretch in which the head coach had previously bragged about not wanting to work. Green Bay is also dead last in Division I in offensive rebounding.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the show?
Friday represented a microcosm of what this season has been like for Gottlieb as he attempts to balance his hot-take-based radio job with the demands of being a head coach.
Before Friday night’s game against Robert Morris, Gottlieb took to X to post a since-deleted video of a blunder during the Fairfield-Niagara women’s basketball game, mocking a player for scoring a basket in her own hoop.
Can you spot what Niagara WBB did wrong? (The announcers were out to lunch) pic.twitter.com/n6b5e35C10
— The Sickos CBB Committee (@SickosCBB) January 16, 2025
After he was done dunking on other college basketball players, his team went out and blew a five-point halftime lead, eventually losing by 22 points. In fact, Green Bay didn’t score during the first ten minutes of the second half while the Colonials went on a 26-0 run.
Final. pic.twitter.com/imHp4bLv9M
— Green Bay Men’s Basketball (@gbphoenixmbb) January 18, 2025
It’s unclear if Gottlieb deleted his post because he was being inundated with negative responses or if he simply realized the bad optics. Either way, add it to the list of embarrassing moments from an ever-more embarrassing season.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.