Jimmy Tubbs is my friend.

[The XtC]

I wanted to begin by saying that I’ve known Jimmy Tubbs for 15 years, and I’ve always considered him a friend. I wanted to state that first, so that there is no misunderstanding. I’ll readily admit that my viewpoint can be skewed by the fact that I’ve known him so long, and always had a high opinion of him. I have always respected Jimmy for his basketball acumen, and warm and open personality. Most of all, though, I have always admired his dedication and loyalty to SMU, he truly wanted to make this city and this institution his home. He wanted to build a winner at SMU, and keep running a winning program here until he was ready to retire. SMU wasn’t a stepping stone to a bigger and better job, he wanted to make it his home, and his life’s work.

I’m not the only one who thought highly of Jimmy, if you ask any athlete who played basketball at SMU between 1990 and 2002, you’ll find that respect and admiration for Jimmy are fairly universal. For many, it was more than just liking the man, he was their father figure during their time on the Hilltop. The charming personality I mentioned before was the reason many of them chose to come to SMU.

I want the best for Jimmy, but that being said, I was also a Mustang athlete once, and I’ve been an alum for even longer than I’ve known him. So, if it comes down to a choice between what’s best for my friend, and what’s best for my alma mater, that isn’t a choice at all. I’ll be a Mustang until I die. So, now it’s time to seriously evaluate, what’s best for Jimmy, and what’s best for SMU.

Some may disagree, but I think getting fired is one of the best things that could happen to Jimmy. Over the last few months I’ve been watching both his physical and mental health deteriorate, and I was worried for him. Now the pressure is off, and he can rest. He’s still getting paid his full salary, but he can collect it from the comfort of his living room sofa. If he wants to find another job it’ll take about a week, he’ll make a valuable assistant coach to any program within 500 miles of Dallas. But I’d really hope he just rests for a while first. Besides, the buyout makes him rich, he doesn’t need to work at all if he doesn’t want to.

Retiring early may not be what Jimmy wanted, but the job situation had reached the point where leaving was much better than staying. The investigation had cut his knees out from under him. Not many recruits were willing to even consider stepping into this [deleted] storm, and the administration wasn’t going to allow him to deal with the rebellious faction within the team, so his chances of success here were degrading with every passing day. Leaving the job unfinished was the last thing he wanted, but it really became inevitable.

Was firing Jimmy the best thing for SMU? No way to tell, it depends too much on who is hired to be the new coach. If who ever that is comes in and lights a fire under the team and rights the ship, then in the long run it may turn out to be for the best. That’s a big “IF”, though and we wont have an answer for a few years down the line.

In the short term, this is an unmitigated disaster. SMU is a laughing stock, one more time. As far as the public can see, we’re firing a coach because he helped a player do laundry. If there was anything more to the NCAA investigation than this, it damn sure should have been made public by now. Recruiting season is about done, whoever is hired as the new coach will have slim pickings to bring in to fill the holes on a team that struggled to score points last year, and lost its go-to player on offense. He may also find himself recruiting in hostile territory, in some places where Jimmy was popular a new SMU coach may not be welcome. The new coach will also have to know that he’s being hired by a lame duck AD. A month after he starts work he’ll have a new boss, a guy that didn’t hire him.

Some players may leave, and there may be a problem with some that stay. Its true, as has been rumored on this board, that some of the current players on the team didn’t like or respect Coach Tubbs. It may have started as far back as Mike Dements last year. Dement lost control of the team, the players just stopped listening to him, and he never even tried to restrain or discipline Hopkins. When Jimmy came in, he tried to rein in Hopkins, but that just created resentment. I’m not talking about the entire team, less than half actually, but the question is if they didn’t respect Jimmy, will they have any respect for the new coach? Will they be willing to accept discipline and coaching from whomever comes in next? Will SMU be able to hire the type of coach who can handle that type of situation, and regain control right off the bat? If not, things will get worse before they get better.

In regards to the investigation, I’m not going to go through all the threads and write this over again, because it’s the same thing I’ve been saying for months. The allegations amount to nothing. So far there’s no evidence of real violations. People are getting hurt over something absolutely ridiculous, SMU hasn’t just shot themselves in the foot, they’ve blown away their own kneecaps. If there was any evidence, Tubbs wouldn’t have gotten his contract buyout. If there was any evidence, someone should have made it public before this, because right now SMU looks like they couldn’t find their own [deleted] in a broom closet, if you gave them a road map and a flashlight. You can choose to believe me, or not. I’m not going to try to convince anyone, I know what I know

I had more to say, but its getting late and I’m tired, so I’m going to leave it with this. Two days ago I dropped by Moody and gave a check for $1,000 to the women’s basketball coaches, to help pay for the teams awards banquet. That’s the last dime SMU is going to see from me, for a while. They damn well better not serve hamburgers at the banquet.

To Jimmy Tubbs I want to say thanks, and good luck. Thanks for trying, and thanks for your loyalty. Good luck with whatever you do. Sincerely, Jon Embree.

[Pony_Fan]

Thanks for the posting X. SMU is f'd now - you'd think they would have learned their lesson by now, guess not.

[dcpony]

XTC,

Tubbs was screwed pain and simple. F' SMU and Copeland. I'm sick of this crap.

[LA_Mustang]

Thanks, X. While I don’t know Coach Tubbs near as well as you, I have chatted with him several times over the years and you’re right, he loves SMU.

Most will quickly point out that in two years he did not sign a big name local recruit, his record was below .500 and attendance is still lagging, but those things take time, longer than two years. Unless you have the ability to bring in highly recruited JUCO players like UTEP, Houston, or Baylor a quick turnaround is nearly impossible.

As X pointed out, once again we are a local joke. Public perception is that we fired a guy for buying his player some laundry detergent and lunch.

Regardless, I wish Coach Tubbs the best. He will always have my respect, and at this point, my school doesn't.

[jtstang]

The biggest reason I've been such an apologist for Tubbs these last two years really boils down to a quote from the press conference announcing his hiring. Anybody else remember this? "I did not come to date SMU. I came to marry SMU."

I doubt we'll ever hire another coach with that attitude. SMU is destined to be a bitter old maid.

[The PonyGrad]

The biggest reason I've been such an apologist for Tubbs these last two years really boils down to a quote from the press conference announcing his hiring. Anybody else remember this? "I did not come to date SMU. I came to marry SMU."

I doubt we'll ever hire another coach with that attitude. SMU is destined to be a bitter old maid.

Oh, puleeeze. What happened to all you people that complain about losing and of no commitment to winning by the SMU AD etc.????

As long as the coach is willing to marry SMU??? What???

[Buddha]

The biggest reason I've been such an apologist for Tubbs these last two years really boils down to a quote from the press conference announcing his hiring. Anybody else remember this? "I did not come to date SMU. I came to marry SMU."

I doubt we'll ever hire another coach with that attitude. SMU is destined to be a bitter old maid.

I remember that quote vividly, JT -- it stuck with me, too. My first reaction to all this was how Coach Tubbs was wronged. Then I took a deep breath and realized that from SMU's standpoint, this is a bad move only if the next coach doesn't do a better job. So as far as the wisdom of all this, I don't think it can be judged yet.
However, I know Jimmy Tubbs a little, too. Coach, I wish you nothing but good health, and a long and happy future, whether you stay in coaching or not. Best of luck, Coach.

[HixsontoLeVias]

Is Embree the guy that used to wear a babll on his head??

[Hoop Fan]

I too have heard that Jimmy is not doing well. Barely eating and sleeping. I wish him nothing but the best and hopefully my fears are unfounded and his career takes a turn for the better. If Tubbs did make a significant mistake that caused his dismissal, I can forgive him because I know he was always trying to do what he thought was best for the program. Its an ugly business sometimes and much harder than some of us realize.

[couch 'em]

Oh, puleeeze. What happened to all you people that complain about losing and of no commitment to winning by the SMU AD etc.????

As long as the coach is willing to marry SMU??? What???

I'm all for winning, but screwing someone over is behavior that SMU should not engage in. If he was cheating, good. If he was cheating, but we had to call him on it before it went public, fine, fire him, but reveal what happened so we don't look stupid. If we are just clearing space for someone else, fine, just say "Orsini wants his own man" and not ruin tubbs' career.

I encourage everyone to email their thoughts on the handling of the situation to president turner.

[Pony98]

Great post X. I am with you I feel JT will land on his feet. I will not be suprised if you see him on the staff at Indiana soon...

[gostangs]

Dont be stupid. SMU would not do this unless they had good reason. And it could easily not be in the press - nor is it in our best interest for it to be in the press.

And the DISD coaches have done nothing for us, so they can go jump. A bigger pile of worthless ninnys there has never been. They have no stroke anyway.

I liked Jimmy too - but I know they dont do this over hamburgers or laundry issues - none of us seem to know what this is about - but it is either big, or a pattern, or both, and why give the details to the press - there is no upside. SMU will be fine as soon as we hire a replacement, and this will speed up the NCAA investigation and we will get a handslap.

The program was going nowhere anyway so it could only help long term.

[J.T.supporta]

Tubbs got done in wrong and SMU knows that.

Copeland wouldnt have given him a four year deal if he didnt think Tubbs could do the job. Copeland's up against the wall to do something trastic right before he retires.

It is not fair that Tubbs is gone!

[Ashbymustangs]

Everyone knows this was unfair! We need to realize whoever takes over the reigns as the new head coach is going to use SMU as a stepping stone which is fine we need the program going the right direction. If JT won here and was offered the Texas job do you really think he is going to stay married to SMU?

[SMUPhil]

Well I really don't think any other schools would have come calling. He is what, 60-65 years old? Let's say it took him another 5 years to really get SMU going to the NCAA tourney every year, and really making a name for himself. What makes you think UT would want to hire a 70 year old coach? He would have stayed and retired at SMU.